An equal society is based on the principle of equal rights and opportunities for all regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability or age. Cities and buildings are there for everyone, but that means they have to be designed to meet many different needs. It is a democratic right. By involving the users in the planning and design process, we gain better knowledge and it strengthens the feeling of participation and ownership for those who will use the environments.

Socially sustainable communities are inclusive, safe and resilient – a place for all

Architecture and urban design plays a vital role in the way our cities and our societies are shaped. We put people in focus to inspire sustainable ways of living; our buildings and environments prioritise wellbeing, mobility and social cohesion for all. Our architecture brings people together, gets them moving, promotes diversity, and creates the conditions that empower people to lead better lives.

Our expertise in social sustainability

Dialogue and site analysis

We conduct ethnographic fieldwork in order to gather knowledge of the locality and the people who live and work there. We make observations and conduct workshops, focus groups, interviews and neighbourhood watch activities. This qualitative material is then placed in relation to statistics and relevant research to form the basis for various analyses such as social impact analyses, social value accounting and child impact analyses.

We always emphasise a norm-critical perspective and the relationship between social and spatial structures. We also offer methodological support for citizen dialogues and value calculations that reveal both financial and social value.

CoDesign and placemaking

Involving users in the planning and design process not only provides us with more knowledge, it also reinforces a sense of entitlement and ownership among participants. We therefore work with cocreation through all types of full-scale testing and communal sketching and modelmaking. The process sometimes leads to placemaking activities in which we use temporary architecture to activate sites and test various types of use. The experiences, insights and ideas generated then form the basis for continued work. Our ambition is always that as far as possible the finished result should reflect the proposals developed.

Process management and social sustainability

In order to ensure a socially sustainable result, we work with process management in which social perspectives are emphasised, coordinated with other quality and sustainability issues and integrated into the whole. In close dialogue with the client, we formulate a vision, goals and strategy, coordinate various initiatives, plan for implementivity and monitor and analyse goal impact in the various stages of the process. We also perform economic evaluations in relation to social and ecological values.

Selected projects

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Interested in learning more? Contact us!

Viktoria Walldin

Viktoria Walldin

Social sustainability

Stockholm

+46 8 402 25 03

 

Related expertise and services

Architecture | Landscape architecture | Sustainability | Place-makingUrban design