The Scaling of Sustainable Urban Form: A Case of Scale-related Issues and Sustainable Planning in Malmö, Sweden
Abstract
In this article, I investigate “spatial scale” as an aspect that needs to be more carefully addressed in the discussion and planning of “sustainable urban forms”. Focusing on the Malmö–Lund region in Sweden, I discuss problems of scale as related to the new take on sustainability in Malmö planning documents, especially the update of the Malmö comprehensive plan from 2005. The article is divided into three sections. First, I discuss the concept and problem of spatial scale, contextualizing it in theory as well as in recent discussions on urban transformations. Second, I briefly discuss the discourse of sustainable urban forms, pointing out some scale-related issues that need to be more carefully addressed. In the third and main section of the article, I investigate plans and projects for urban development in Malmö, focusing and elaborating on spatial scale and discussing the findings in terms of three kinds of scale stabilization: in terms of territory, size and hierarchy. The article concludes with a call for further work for the possibilities of a more dynamic and multi-scalar approach in urban planning.
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For many contemporary urban scholars, theorists, and planners, the adoption of the strategies through which sustainable urban forms can be achieved is necessary for achieving the required level of sustainability.
“Of importance to underscore here is that for many contemporary urban scholars, theorists, and planners, the adoption of the strategies through which sustainable urban forms can be achieved is necessary for achieving the required level of sustainability (e.g., [42, 62-64, 67, 141, 142]).”
From On the sustainability of smart and smarter cities in the era of big data: an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary literature review (2019) · cites this paper as [67]
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- Authors
- Kärrholm, M.
- Affiliations
- Malmö University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Kärrholm, Mattias
- ORCID
- Kärrholm, Mattias
- Venue
- European Planning Studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2011-01
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 97-112
- ISSN
- 0965-4313 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-5944
- OpenAlex
- W1982279732
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 6.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Planning Studies (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
- Malmö University Publications (Malmö University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Planning and Governance
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Urban Design and Spatial Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Urban Planning and Landscape Design
- Keywords
- spatial scale, sustainable urban form, sustainable urban planning, multi-scalar planning, urban transformation, territory, urban hierarchy
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