During 2022, the EU Horizon 2020 Sustainable energy Positive & zero cARbon CommunitieS (SPARCS) project’s subproject explored the potential and constraints of co-creation as a method for sustainable urban planning and continuous value creation. The SPARCS project aims to develop solutions for energy-positive regions. The objective was to establish a model for the co-creation of a sustainable and smart urban area in cooperation with urban development stakeholders. This toolkit stores the key results of the project in a user-friendly format.
The purpose and objectives of land use planning and the changing context of society determine how we plan and measure regional development. The planning system created for the spatial management of activities in an industrialised welfare society is not, as such, able to meet today’s demands for ecological, social and economic sustainability, the renewal of systemic approaches, and the implementation of digitalisation and other new technologies and practices. In addition to this, the predictability of social developments has decreased, and the number of disruptions has increased. We need new ways to develop regions to achieve sustainability goals and to mobilise a broad range of stakeholders in a systemic societal change.
What co-creation is and what it can achieve
Co-creation is people working together on an equal footing and in a network to achieve a common goal, either in a physical or virtual environment. A networked, multilateral way of working and organising enables us to process complex issues, such as achieving sustainability. Regional development is a demanding area for co-creation because of the number of parties involved and the initial vast scope of the task. In such a context, implementing sustainability goals and new solutions is a particular challenge.
Co-creation can produce not only ecologically sustainable and smart, but also community-based and active urban areas. Co-creation helps to develop user-oriented urban structures that are flexible during the regional lifecycle and better able to withstand the shocks in the operational environment. We can also create services that support the functioning of these structures and the daily lives of residents in the best possible ways. Co-creation can also optimise public and private sector resources and act as a catalyst for the development of solutions by providing testbeds for innovation.
The key issue during the project has been ensuring the success of this process involving a wide range of stakeholders. In addition to this, we have identified the growing importance when it comes to planning urban areas of ensuring continuous societal development without being anchored to a specific end state. Achieving a common understanding of the objectives and ensuring the feasibility of new ideas has also proved to be vital.
Commitment and transparency
Commitment and sharing of the lessons learned from past experiences and individual projects are key in developing a sustainable area. Further success will be ensured by offering equal voice to the members involved in the process, without strict adherence to field of expertise or ownership boundaries. A prerequisite for a successful process is the creation of an open environment for information sharing, while maintaining the possibility of protecting legitimate business-related information. The situation is similar to that of alliance projects that have become common over the last decade.
Focus areas of the model – system specificity and generality
The preparatory work for the model has focused in particular on transport and energy issues, while urban services and green infrastructure have also been considered from the perspectives of nature’s integrity and nature-positivity. All these themes form their own service systems within the urban area. However, the starting points, actors, technologies and regularities of these systems are fundamentally different. In addition to this, their relationship to business is different. The model was thus prepared on a system-specific basis, but soon a number of common features were found among the sub-processes. These can be reduced to a general co-creation process, i.e. into a co-creation model with its different phases.
Alliance model
The project has used the experience of urban development alliances as a basis for co-creation. The alliance model assumes that the traditional approach does not lead to desired results. It is not a model where everything is pre-planned, but rather where you are ready to collaborate and interact. The project is driven by a belief in innovation and continuous learning and improvement. Although the assumptions of the alliance model seem soft, the model aims to generate economic value and increase productivity. This is something that the model has also proven to be able to do in a number of successful projects. The alliance model should be considered when the project is complex and large enough, such as the development of a sustainable and smart area.
Establishment of the model during 2022
Three virtual Design Sprint events and one workshop for representatives of the City of Espoo were organised to build the model, and four interactive webinars were held to present the results. The total number of instances of participation in the process was 313 at different phases and the total number of individuals involved was around 130. 15 people were interviewed for this report. A webinar and a workshop were organised for residents, and 118 people responded to a residents’ survey. The work process was completed during 2022.
The authors of the model
The process has been facilitated and the model put together by the following working group:
Terhi Tikkanen-Lindström, WSP
Susanna Harvio, WSP
Ruut Haapamäki, WSP
Eerik Klemetti, Korkia Consulting
As experts:
Elisa Lähde, Aalto University / WSP
Katja Koskela, WSP
The work has been guided by:
Elina Wanne, The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, City of Espoo
Jani Tartia, The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, City of Espoo
Angela Juslin, The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, City of Espoo
Joni Mäkinen, The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, City of Espoo
Mia Kaurila, The Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development, City of Espoo