With increased urbanization around the world, accessing land as well as housing in urban areas presents huge development limitations. This master thesis will explore the relationship involving law as well as development through examination of ways in which law affects the regulatory structures that govern official accessibility to land along with housing processes. It can be argued that legal reforms affect ways in which regulatory frameworks are articulated that in turn influence the efficient and unbiased processes whereby poor people in urban areas may have formal access to housing as well as land. This thesis focuses on the urban renewal policy on housing conditions in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Other mega cities within Africa such as Johannesburg in Southern Africa tends to have several post-legal-reform positive trends involving the processes compared to Dar es Salaam, thus illustrating the role played by law as an important tool that can be used to achieve development and bring change in urban areas.

The field of International Relations is Western-centric through its main theories, which risks undermining the development of non-Western countries. This thesis aims to implement the alternative analytical, non-Western approach of Global IR through a Comparative Case Study of South Korea and Vietnam to analyse the so-called ‘global’ Sustainable Development Goals through two research questions: How have South Korea and Vietnam managed to fulfil SDG no. 11? and How can Global IR be used to problematise the Westernised and overly universal UN measurement indicators of SDG no. 11 in South Korea and Vietnam? Conclusively, South Korea falls more in line with the Western depiction of development than Vietnam. But Global IR can be used to problematise the UN indicators by arguing historical implications to reach their Western-centric model in non-Western countries and provides indicators that consider countries individualities. This ultimately creates a more global approach, as it acknowledges differences instead of attempting to fit all countries into one specific box of sustainable urban development.

Children and youth’s involvement in participatory urban planning processes is a phenomenon that is given increased attention by planning actors and stakeholders, as well as it is gaining space in research regarding environmental- and social sustainability. This thesis research examines how children and youth’s participation is defined, and implemented, in the two major Swedish cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg. The main challenges, and current possibilities, for planning professionals in the two cities are explored. Drawing on qualitative interviews with experienced planning professionals, and relevant documents, I analyze current issues with defining and implementing children and youth’s participation in the practice of urban planning. Discerning participation from consultation, or simply asking about children and youth’s opinions, is surrounded by some confusion. This occurs in the phase of defining and implementing children and youth’s participation, in both theory and practice. There are also factors in the formal institutional context which pose challenges to implementation, since time frames, budgets, and resources to develop knowledge and competence are limited. Other challenges planners face relates to ways in which they can use the information collected when engaging children and youth, and how to provide feedback to participants as a part of daily practice. Participatory planning projects allow for learning to take place, inclusive of planners, children and youth. Children and youth contribute with new perspectives and insight about their surroundings, which are important to include in urban planning. Participatory processes enable them to develop skills of becoming community builders and democratic citizens.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study assesses the role of service delivery protests (SDPs) in promoting access to services such as water, electricity, and housing in Gugulethu and Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The study was conceptualised within the context of escalating frequency and scale of SDPs in South Africa. Although the first decade of democracy saw a decline in protests, some groups and movements protested. However, since 2005, when SDPs took national prominence, South Africa has experienced soaring levels of dramatic protests. This frequency of SDPs invites research. Why have SDPs (e.g., for housing, water, and electricity) increased despite the government promising a ‘Better life for all’ for nearly three decades, and how have they unfolded?

Due to globalization and influx, Sweden is facing the challenge of fostering socially inclusive and non-segregated cities. To tackle this challenge, the implementation of social sustainability in urban development projects is crucial. Therefore, this study examines how leadership is perceived to facilitate this process. For this purpose, the authors propose a leadership approach consisting of three aspects (i.e., Communication of Vision, Stakeholder Engagement, Adaptation to the Transition Process) and a framework that makes social sustainability tangible in an urban context. The context of this descriptive case-study was Drottninghög, a multicultural district in Helsingborg, which was the focus of an ongoing urban development project during the conduction of this thesis. The study made use of a qualitative approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews with leaders and community members in Drottninghög and unobtrusive field observations. The data were analyzed using a directed content analysis. Among the main findings were the importance of the use of diverse communication strategies and channels and continuous information loops, to adequately reach all stakeholders while communicating the vision; the significance of empowering stakeholders to actively engage in the community by offering appropriate and diverse activities and creating a personal atmosphere as well as including stakeholders as early as possible in the processes; and the value of leaders being flexible and adaptive to individual needs through inside knowledge and personal involvement when supporting stakeholders to adapt to the transition process.

Den här uppsatsen belyser allas rätt till staden. Genom att fokusera på de sociala värdena anammas begreppet gränssnitt för att beskriva länken mellan människan och den byggda miljön. I arbetet lyfts detta relativt outforskade begrepp fram och utvecklas så att det kan inkludera olika kvaliteter och värden. Gränssnittet avser här zonen där byggnad möter gaturummet och där det privata övergår till publikt. Syftet med arbetet är att ta reda på vilken betydelse gränssnittet har i den byggda miljön och om begreppet kan vara behjälpligt i stadsutvecklingsprocesser. Arbetet fördjupar sig i den nya stadsdelen Västra Hamnen i Malmö. Frågorna som ställs är; Hur kan vår användning av begreppet gränssnitt vara till hjälp för att beskriva kopplingen mellan människan och den byggda miljön? och Vad har gränssnittet för roll i utvecklingen av en ny stadsdel som Västra Hamnen i Malmö? Metoderna för studien innefattade intervjuer med bland annat arkitekter och byggherrar, observationer av tre specifika byggnader i Västra Hamnen samt enkäter som skickades till de boende och arbetande för respektive byggnad. Resultaten av studien visade på hur gränssnittet användes, fungerade och resonerades kring. Slutsatsen som dras är att gränssnittszonen besitter stor potential. Begreppet kan hjälpa diskussionen kring den sociala stadsutvecklingen framåt, dock är det ännu inte vidare etablerat i nuläget. Ytterligare forskning bör därför bedrivas för att vidare sprida begreppet och dess vikt. / This essay highlights everyone’s right to the city. By focusing on the social values, the concept of interface as a link between man and the built environment is adapted. Interface, as a relatively unexplored concept, is in this thesis established and explored with its values and qualities. Here it refers to the zone where a building meets the streetspace and where private seeps into public. The aim of the study is to find out the significance of the interface and whether the concept can be helpful in urban development processes. It also takes a stance in a newly developed district called Western Harbour in Malmo, Sweden. The questions asked are; How can our use of the concept interface be helpful in describing the link between man and the built environment? and What role does the interface play in the development of a new district as the Western Harbour in Malmo? The approach of the study was through interviews with, amongst others, architects and developers; observations of three specific buildings in Western Harbour and surveys sent to the residents and employees of each building. Results showed how the interface was used, operated and further reasoned about. The conclusion made is that the interface concept has great potential. It can help the discussion of social urban development evolve, however, it is not yet established. More extensive research should therefore be conducted to further disseminate the concept and its importance.

Stakeholder participation and perceptions by urban practitioners is a study area that requires further research, particularly in socially innovative living concepts where quality of life and social sustainability are key considerations for end-user stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to contribute to knowledge of these innovations by focusing on urban practitioners’ perception of end-user participation in innovations of living such as co-housing, sharing communities and cooperatives that have been built recently responding to societal needs and growing concerns over social sustainability in urban areas. This study answers research questions of perception of urban practitioners towards the participation of end-user stakeholders, practitioners’ perception in its use of organisational learning, and their interpretation regarding the distribution of power between all stakeholders. Through the lens of a theoretical background based on stakeholder theory and shared value creation, power, empowerment and sharing of power, adaptive and resilient organisations concepts; and adaptive organisational learning processes. Semi-structured interviews with practitioners, employed in the cities of Malmö and Copenhagen, were conducted, transcribed and then interpreted by the authors through an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology that was used to interpret data. Findings suggest that most perceive a value in stakeholder participation and those practitioners exposed to end-user stakeholder participation have a higher comprehension of its potential value. Respondents agreed that the municipality remains a key stakeholder in the shaping process, even though this was not part of initial questioning. Finally, there is a notion of an interplay between power and financial resources that still controls the development process. The paper concludes while there is a perceived value of the processes and knowledge sharing on the process of end-user stakeholders not all perceive the benefits. The authors recommend further development in this area to increase comprehension, knowledge sharing of the possibilities and barriers to innovations of living.

abstract: Images are ubiquitous in communicating complex information about the future. From political messages to extreme weather warnings, they generate understanding, incite action, and inform expectations with real impact today. The future has come into sharp focus in recent years. Issues like climate change, gene editing, and smart cities are pushing policy makers, scientists, and designers to rethink how society plans and prepares for tomorrow. While academic and practice communities have increasingly turned their gaze toward the future, little attention is paid to how it is depicted and even less to the role visualization technologies play in depicting it. Visualization technologies are those that transform non-visual information into 2D or 3D imagery and generate depictions of certain phenomena, real or perceived. This research helps to fill this gap by examining the role visualization technologies play in how individuals know and make decisions about the future. This study draws from three phases of research set in the context of urban development, where images of the future are generated by architects and circulated by built environment professionals to affect client and public decision-making. I begin with a systematic review of professional design literature to identify norms related to visualization. I then conduct in-depth interviews with expert architects to draw out how visualization technologies are used to influence client decision-making. I dive into how different tools manage the future and generate different forms of certainty, uncertainty, persuasion, and risk. Complementing the review and interviews is a case study on ASU at Mesa City Center, a development project aimed at revitalizing downtown Mesa, Arizona. Analysis highlights how project-specific visual tools affect decision-making and the role that client imagination and inference play in understanding and preference. This research unpacks the social, technical, and emotional knowledge embedded in visualization technologies and reveals how they affect decision-making. Information about the future is uniquely mediated by each technology with decision-making bound up in larger sociopolitical processes aimed at reducing uncertainty, building trust, and managing expectations. This suggests that the visual tools we use to depict the future are much more dynamic and influential than they are given credit for. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Science and Technology Policy 2019

Cette thèse propose une analyse croisée des politiques d’aménagement et de transport au sein de la ville de Freiburg (Allemagne). L’objectif est d’interroger l’évolution des pratiques de la fabrique urbaine et de saisir les multiples transformations des systèmes de mobilité au prisme du développement durable. La recherche se fonde sur un double dispositif d’enquête quantitatif et qualitatif conduit au sein de la ville, et s’efforce de suivre les processus sur la moyenne durée afin de mieux éclairer les dynamiques d’actualité, tant du point de vue des conflictualités en jeu que des compromis pratiques. D’une part, l’examen des modalités de mise en œuvre des politiques de durabilité urbaine souligne l’existence d’espaces de négociations permanents entre acteurs concurrents. D’autre part, l’analyse affinée du système de transport et de la mobilité quotidienne des habitants des « quartiers durables » de Vauban et Rieselfeld, usuellement considérés comme des « modèles » en la matière, interroge au concret la portée d’une politique locale intégrée de développement urbain et de déplacements, en particulier quant à la place de l’automobile et ses alternatives. / This dissertation thesis presents a combined analysis of planning and transport policies in the city of Freiburg (Germany). The aim is to examine the evolving practices of the urban fabric and to grasp the multiple transformations of mobility systems from a sustainable development perspective. The research is based on quantitative and qualitative data from a survey conducted in the city. The research traces back the processes of transformation over the past few years in order to better understand current dynamics both from the point of view of the conflicts at stake and the compromises in practice. On the one hand, the study of the implementation modalities of urban sustainability policies highlights the existence of permanent negotiating spaces between competing actors. On the other hand, the refined analysis of the transport system and the daily mobility of the inhabitants of the "sustainable neighborhoods" of Vauban and Rieselfeld, which are usually considered as "models" in this matter, actually questions the scope of integrated local policies for urban development and mobility, in particular with regard to the place of the automobile and its alternatives.