Speaker
Description
Adapting urban planning practices to mitigate and respond to the impacts of climate change is an urgent global challenge. In Finland, urban typologies and planning practices significantly influence the amount and structure of residential greenery (Leppänen et al., 2024). For instance, single-family housing areas, which dominate urban land use in many Finnish regions, present unique opportunities and challenges for integrating climate resilience into urban planning. These areas offer potential—or pose challenges—in implementing vegetation-integrated stormwater management, enhancing habitat diversity, and supporting ecological networks (Tahvonen, 2018). This article examines the role of workshops as participatory methods for fostering innovation in climate-resilient planning, with a focus on two workshops conducted in collaboration with municipal planners in the Finnish municipalities Pori and Joensuu.
Part of the Climate-Resilient Single-Family Housing Areas (ILPI) project, the workshops aimed to evaluate the applicability of three planning tools: green factor metrics, limits on impermeable surfaces, and the 3-30-300 guideline. These tools seek to balance urban densification with vegetation preservation and biodiversity enhancement. The process integrated theoretical discussions with practical site visits to small-scale housing areas, enabling participants to contextualize planning challenges and develop locally tailored solutions. Stakeholder participation in adaptation planning is often conducted through structured workshops, which organize both the content (e.g., data and information) and the process (tasks, steps, and interactions) (McEvoy et al., 2018).
Key insights from the workshops included the value of incorporating local knowledge into planning processes, particularly in identifying site-specific barriers to implementing climate-resilient measures. The collaborative format encouraged critical reflection on existing practices and co-development of innovative strategies for enhancing the ecological character of single-family housing areas. Small-scale interventions, such as permeable paving and strategic vegetation placement, emerged as practical solutions for managing stormwater, mitigating urban heat islands, and enhancing biodiversity.
Interdisciplinary collaboration proved essential. By engaging planners, environmental experts, and other stakeholders, the workshops fostered a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between urban design, environmental resilience, and community well-being. Site visits grounded theoretical discussions in tangible contexts, offering examples of the challenges and opportunities in achieving climate resilience within single-family housing areas. Field observations highlighted the predominance of impermeable surfaces, often driven by car parking requirements, at the expense of green space.
The findings suggest that workshops can serve as effective tools for creative innovation in urban planning, especially in addressing the multifaceted challenges of global warming. Field observations highlight the essential need to educate households on the importance of permeable surfaces to facilitate the transition from grey to green spaces. However, the study identifies areas for improvement, such as establishing clearer frameworks to translate workshop outcomes into actionable policies and ensuring sustained collaboration beyond workshop settings.
This article contributes to the growing research on participatory planning methods by documenting experiences from Pori and Joensuu. It provides valuable insights for practitioners and researchers aiming to integrate innovative approaches into the planning and design of single-family housing areas. Ultimately, the study highlights workshops' potential to bridge the gap between global climate goals and local planning practices, offering a replicable model for addressing critical environmental challenges.
References
Leppänen, P. K., Kinnunen, A., Hautamäki, R., Järvi, L., Havu, M., Junnila, S., & Tahvonen, O. (2024). Impact of changing urban typologies on residential vegetation and its climate-effects – A case study from Helsinki, Finland. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
Volume 96, 128343
McEvoy, S., van de Ven, F. H. M., Blind, M. W., & Slinger, J. H. (2018). Planning support tools and their effects in participatory urban adaptation workshops. Journal of Environmental Management, 207, 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.10.041
Tahvonen, O. (2018). Scalable Green Infrastructure—The Case of Domestic Private Gardens in Vuores, Finland. Sustainability 10, no. 12: 4571. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124571
| Keywords | Climate resilience, Participatory planning, Single-family housing, Green infrastructure, Workshops |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
