Thesis advisor: David Quigley / Thesis advisor: James O'Toole / The most expensive single highway project in U.S. history almost never happened. When the Big Dig was first envisioned by planners, it was meant to deeply incorporate citizen participation into the planning process. Despite this lofty philosophy, planners failed to properly do so when they designed Scheme Z -- a blueprint for the Charles River crossing. The design stirred so much controversy that citizen participation was fully incorporated. This resulted in the designing of a new crossing which is now known as the Zakim Bridge. Though it stands today as the focal point of the Big Dig and an iconic gateway into the city of Boston, the story of the fight to get it built, which was decades in the making, serves as an important lesson in the role of citizen input in public projects. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Morrissey School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History. / Discipline: Departmental Honors.

This thesis explores the ontologies of planning, science, and politics underlying the tunnel project at Hallandsås. Four such foundational (universal) views are identified – absolute conceptions of space, linear notions of time, binary logic and anthropocentrism. The thesis examines the subsequent re-workings of the foundational philosophies of space, time, environment, nature and the human behind the initial project in the aftermath of the environmental scandal. The basic aim of the thesis has been to argue for alternative ontologies of planning, science, and politics. In this regard, it is argued that a recasting of the foundational notions of mainstream planning, science and politics is a crucial first step. The thesis contends that perspectives based on hybrid geographies offer an alternative foundation for policy, planning and science that is closely adjusted to a more than human world. The issue of whether one can distinguish signs of a de facto shift to a hybrid geographic perspective in the post-Hallandsås tunnel project is also explored. The methodology of the study is inspired by the precepts of ANT (Actor Network Theory) of following actors in their networks, events and processes. In as much as humans and non-humans participate in the construction of the world in multiple or complex ways the thesis has tried to give voice to these different actors. As such, the study of the tunnel project follows a hybrid method, one that includes humans and non-humans. The thesis makes the case for discussing hybrid geographies as one possible alternative perspective in planning. Hybrid geographies propose a multifaceted perspective that argues for an inclusive geography and one that is adjusted to a more than human world. The experiences from the project at Hallandsås should therefore be applied to other projects and planning. In times of complex ecological and environmental problems, alternatives to mainstream planning are both desirable and required. Hybrid geographies involve issues of altering our ways of thinking, acting and being in the world, for our own good. In this regard, hybrid geographical perspectives could be a basis for alternatives to mainstream planning.

Denna undersökning kretsar kring att lyfta offentlig konst och medborgarinflytande. Teorier och tidigare forskning som lagts fram har skapat förståelse för hur konst är ett betydelsefullt verktyg i stadsmiljön, som kan användas för att förbättra människors upplevelse av en plats. Därför är det viktigt att man inkluderar individer i framtagandet av de konstnärliga verken. Denna inkludering har undersökts i uppsatsen genom fallstudier på tre specifika konstprojekt. Två av dessa projekt valdes för att en av författarna hade deltagit i dem och kunde återberätta sin upplevelse. Dessa projekt är Street Art och Närlunda Tunneln, som utfördes av Helsingborgs stad. Det tredje projektet var den statliga satsningen Konst händer av Statens konstråd. I de kommunala projekten hittades ingen dokumentation som utförligt beskrev process och resultat. Därav utfördes intervjuer med deltagare i respektive projekt. Gällande Konst händer däremot, hittades nyanserad dokumentation som redovisade projektets process och resultat. Resultatet av studien visade att alla tre projekt inkluderat civilsamhället på olika sätt. Individerna fick vara en del av gestaltningen i både Street Art och Närlunda Tunneln. Genom intervjuerna gick det även att konstatera hur de kommunala projekten fortfarande inspirerar deltagarna än idag. Däremot är det Konst händer som har inkluderat människor i störst utsträckning, genom att låta dem påverka projektet som helhet fram tills att resultaten var nådda. Den övergripande slutsatsen som dras är att de tre projekten lyckats förhålla sig till forskningen kring offentlig konst och deltagande. Förhoppningen med studien och dess resultat är att uppmuntra till ökad medborgarinflytande i framtidens konstprojekt. / This thesis serves to elevate public art and civic influence. Theories and previous research has created an understanding of how art is a meaningful tool in the urban environment, which can be used to improve people’s experience of a place. Therefore, it is important to include people in the production of these artistic works. This inclusion has been investigated in the thesis through case studies on three specific art projects. Two of these projects were chosen as one of the authors had participated in them and was able to recount her experience. These projects are Street Art and Närlunda Tunneln, which were carried out by the municipality of Helsingborg. The third project was the state initiative Konst händer by the public art agency of Sweden. In the municipal projects, no documentation was found that described the process and results in detail. For this reason, interviews were done with participants in the respective projects. On the other hand, nuanced documentation was found that reported the process and results of Konst händer. The results of the study prove that all three projects included civil society in different ways. Individuals were a part of the design of both Street Art and Närlunda Tunneln. Through the interviews, it was further possible to ascertain how the municipal projects still inspire the participants to this today. Although, it is Konst händer that has included civic engagement to the greatest extent, by letting the people influence the project as a whole until the results were reached. The overall conclusion that is drawn is that the three projects succeeded following the research regarding public art and participation. The ambition of this study and its results is to encourage greater citizen influence in future art projects.