Planning for communities of care

Insights from “Muslica” - supporting Fargemarka Boligprosjekt with Urban Ecological Planning approaches

Opportunities and challenges presented by non-traditional planning approaches for urban experiments

A case of Fargemarka, Trondheim

Muslica

“Translates from Hungarian into ‘fruit fly’ – a small, yet unmistakable being that is everywhere and nowhere. Almost invisible but still participating. It subtletly interferes and takes a closer look under the surface where it appears.”

Planning Of Communities Of Care

A semester project by:

Hamish Hay, Laura Flóra Podoski and Fabian Wildner for the course: AAR52230 Understanding Urban Ecological Planning

Supervisor(s): David Smith, Rolee Aranya

Pictures & Figures: Oda Balke Fjellang, Hamish Hay, Laura Flóra Podoski and Fabian Wildner

Trondheim, 5th June 2020

Theresearch project used the principles of action research and analytical autoethnography to explore challenges and opportunities faced by a nascent urban experiment, Fargemarka Boligprosjekt Association, and provide recommendations that have wider applicability. Urban experiments often defy traditional planning approaches and propose alternatives in the face of community, climate and ecological breakdown at a local and global level. The Fargemarka Boligprosjekt aims to create a ‘community of care’ using abandoned buildings in Trondheim, Norway, integrating principles of sustainability, inclusion and activist planning. The project drew on established academic theory related to intentional communities, insurgent planning and self organisation & self governance, along with associated case studies, to examine how the Association could more effectively achieve its Vision. It was concluded that a productive partnership with the Municipality could be created through a practical synthesis of rebel action and co-production, and a stronger focus on internal decision-making structures, as well as activities promoting cohesion, could improve the effectiveness and inclusivity of the group.

Presenting the task and research question.

Globalisation, whilst bringing people together in new ways, has conversely led to “widening social divisions, growing inequality, and increasing alienation” (Healy, Arunachalam and Mizukami, 2016, p.24). Higher incomes have not resulted in higher levels of happiness, well-being or security and arguable an erosion in social capital (Lockyer & Benson, 2011). Furthermore, the most vulnerable in society (including migrants, minorities and the elderly) have frequently been excluded from the benefits of a more connected world (Healy, Arunachalam and Mizukami, 2016).

Urbanisation is another main driver of change in society today. As stated by the United Nations (2017) “(...) by 2050 the world’s urban population is expected to nearly double, making urbanisation one of the twenty-first century’s most transformative trends”. The New Urban Agenda composed by the United Nations on Sustainable Urban Development, also called ‘Habitat III’, emphasises the importance of enshrining the vision of the ‘right to the city’ in governments’ legislations, political declarations and charters - including the right to decent housing and standards of living. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development formulated in 2015, consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDG’s’), where SDG 11 deals with making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (United Nations, 2015).

In the face of these pressures and global trends, urban experiments that promote environmentally sustainable lifestyles, along with non-financial metrics for well-being and happiness, are becoming increasingly prominent. Such experiments can be exclusionary, but more frequently are driven by a desire to be “models and demonstration centers for a transition to a more just and sustainable society” (Lockyer & Benson, 2011, p.4). The term ‘Planning for communities of care’ has been adopted for this report, reflecting the focus of this research on urban experiments that concentrate on care for people, communities and the environment. Communities of care are “places where members care about and support each other, actively participate in and have influence over the group’s activities and decisions, feel a sense of belonging and identification with the group, and have common norms, goals and values” (Battistich, 1997, p.137). Often, such projects and communities aim to challenge and ultimately change existing traditional systems of planning that seek to perpetuate ways of living that they perceive as having failed.

This study focuses on a growing ‘community of care’, a singular nascent urban housing experiment, Fargemarka Boligprosjekt Association. This translates as “colourful field housing project” and is based in Østmarka in north-east Trondheim, Norway. The NTNU Fargemarka Research Group (informally known as ‘Muslica’) was created in the context of the ‘Understanding Urban Ecological Planning (UEP)’1 self-guided module. The Research Group shared personal and academic interests in the Association and established itself to carry out action research to identify, understand and critique the opportunities and challenges faced by growing urban experiments in the context of the Norwegian planning system. By better understanding the social processes of creating and sustaining new intentional communities, the possibility exists to champion positive effects and minimise unintended consequences for comparable urban experiments around the world.

The group adopted the following research question: “What opportunities and challenges are presented by non-traditional planning approaches for urban experiments?”

The research involved a challenging period of immersion in the activities of the Association including weekly meetings and working groups, combined with note-taking, interviewing, and exercises in self-reflections. The research techniques of the group drew on principles of analytic autoethnography, in particular the work of Sally Denshire (2014) and Leon Anderson (2006). These principles supported the team in gaining insight into wider processes of social change, whilst grappling with the tension between the phenomenological experience of being a complete member of the Association whilst engaging in strenuous data collection and self-reflection.

The report begins with additional background information on the Fargemarka Boligprosjekt Association, its Vision, and how this corresponds with the objectives of the Trondheim Kommune (Municipality) and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Next, academic theory around urban experiments and associated case studies are presented around three research domains (“intentional communities”, “insurgent planning” and “self governance & self organisation”) and compared to observations in the Association. This is followed by joint and individual reflections on the process of action research offered by the Research Group, and the voices of other members of the Association are presented through interviews and a survey. Then, opportunities and challenges are discussed that could have wider relevance for urban experiments around the world. A short documentary accompanies this report to illustrate a holistic picture of the case.

1 Course description: https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/ courses/AAR5230