Daring to Imagine a Different City: Exploring the Opportunities for Urban Planners to Contribute to a Degrowth Transformation

Abstract

This thesis explores possibilities and challenges for urban planners to contribute to a degrowth transformation. Degrowth calls for a reduction of production and consumption, a redistribution of wealth and a shift in societal norms and values to address the current environmental crises. According to the existing literature, urban planners may be able to help advance and implement degrowth. To explore this possibility, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 urban planners working in eight Swedish municipalities, during which a future urban vision inspired by degrowth proposals was presented. The interviews were analysed through thematic coding and supported by an operationalised analytical framework, revealing various difficulties and opportunities. The analysis finds that planners’ operating space for transformative change is limited by the embeddedness of growth in societal structures, governance institutions, and the mindset. These structural, institutional, and cognitive conditions limit planners’ power and their ability to independently pursue transformative change alone. At the same time, the study identifies three main possibilities for planners to contribute to a degrowth transformation: (1) their influence on the physical space, (2) fostering collaboration, and (3) their knowledge and skills. The paper concludes that urban planners have opportunities to contribute to a degrowth transformation within Swedish municipalities, but their role is partial and constrained. While it remains unclear how a degrowth transformation would occur in practice, future research could further explore potential triggers for such a transformation and the role urban planners might play in it.

Popular Abstract

Can urban planners in Swedish municipalities be a part of a radical change towards a degrowth future?
Degrowth suggests that society must give up the pursuit of economic growth to tackle the environmental crises and secure the well-being of the planet and humanity. This thesis finds that planners could partially help create a different system, which does not require economic growth to function. However, their power is limited, and their possibilities are restricted. The main challenge is that the goal of economic growth is built into many different aspects of our lives, as well as into planning itself.
Cities cover less than 3% of the Earth’s surface. Yet, more than half the world’s population lives there, and cities cause 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. So, what would need to change for cities to offer a safe and sustainable home for people on a healthy planet? Proponents of degrowth argue that it requires a radical change. Instead of trying to continuously grow the gross domestic product (GDP), the economy should decrease or de-grow. If the GDP increases, more things must be produced, which requires resources and causes emissions. Instead of focusing on growth, degrowth puts justice, collaboration, well-being, and nature-connectedness at the centre.
But what would degrowth mean for cities? For this thesis, a vision of a ‘degrowth city’ was developed and discussed with urban planners working for eight different Swedish municipalities. It does not seem easy for planners to work for radical change because they are part of a larger system, designed around economic growth. For example, municipalities need economic growth to finance public services. The existing infrastructure restricts change, too. For simply planting a tree, the planners need to consider existing underground pipes and cables. Planners also do not work in isolation. Firstly, they need to adjust to changing contexts, like a new focus on military preparedness. Secondly, the planning process is influenced by many other actors, including politicians and private developers. Those other actors may oppose degrowth, and within planning itself, the idea of economic growth as desirable is still dominant. The mindset is a hurdle to change, also because planners sometimes feel powerless, given that the environmental crisis can be overwhelming, and the power for action is divided among different actors.
Despite the difficulties, planners have some possibilities to contribute to a degrowth transformation. Planning influences the physical environment, which in turn can shape behaviour and norms. For example, urban planners can plan for better biking lanes. This way, more people may start to bike, and in the long term, biking instead of driving a car may become the norm. Thanks to their connections and their experience, planners could further enable collaboration. That is important, as such a big undertaking like changing society and cities requires many different actors to work together. Another major contribution of planners is their knowledge. They know a lot about topics important to a degrowth transformation, from biodiversity to building insulation. Finally, planners’ knowledge represents a source of power, as their assessments inform politicians' decisions. The planners also have experience in communicating their knowledge, thinking about the bigger picture and the future, as well as experimenting and visioning. Those skills could be helpful to realise change. While we cannot know how the transformation will happen, it seems important that it does, and planners can play a role in it.

• author: Eberhöfer, Laura and Jönsson Roseen, Agnes
• supervisor: Misse Wester
• organization: Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
• course: VBRM15 20261
• year: 2026
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: Postgrowth, spatialising degrowth, transformative change, urban planning, Swedish municipalities, lock-in, growth dependency, sustainability
• language: English
• id: 9246299
• date added to LUP: 2026-07-03 07:41:11
• date last changed: 2026-07-03 07:41:11