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SIMON RUNSTEN
Tracing the Export of Swedish Urban Sustainability
To Cities in the Global South,
From Sweden with Love
The idea behind the dust jacket of this thesis,
inspired by Hult (2017), is to graphically
play with how the concept of Swedish urban
sustainability has been packaged to travel to
low-income cities in the Global South. The
use of the term love refers to the attraction
which I argue that the Sustainable City
concept has had on a wide range of actors.
More intuitively perhaps, it also helps to
emphasize how this export, regardless of the
critical stance I at times assume, has of course
always been well intended. The postal stamp
in the upper right corner depicts the Turning
Torso, which is a landmark in the Swedish
urban flagship district Västra hamnen in
Malmö. With it, I refer to the remarkable
stability I note that these districts have
assumed as role models in the export of
Swedish urban sustainability. The priority
stamp on the back hints at the sense of
urgency which has come to shape its
packaging.
Cover artwork by the author.
“Par Avion” illustration released
under Creative Commons CC0.
Turning Torso stamp retrieved
from Postmuseum.
To Cities in the Global South,
From Sweden with Love
Tracing the Export of
Swedish Urban Sustainability
by
Simon Runsten
To Cities in the Global South,
From Sweden with Love
Tracing the Export of
Swedish Urban Sustainability
av
Simon Runsten
i
Master of Science Thesis
INDEK 2017:52
To Cities in the Global South,
From Sweden with Love
Simon Runsten
Approved
2017-06-05
Examiner
Cali Nuur
Supervisor
Pär Blomkvist
Commissioner
Contact person
Abstract
Rapid urbanization and limited resources is creating enormous challenges to cities in the global South, which has been increasingly acknowledged as a motivation for international cooperation in recent years. Both theory and practice have however paid little attention to how differences in geographical contexts and views on what sustainability is play out in such cooperation. This study therefore explores how Swedish actors have sought to contribute to urban sustainability in low-income countries in the Global South. These efforts are traced through a case study of the Swedish SymbioCity concept by using an actor-network theory approach. Policy mobility theory is used to discuss how the transfer and translation of policies between cities takes focus away from their contested nature. Concepts are then drawn from socio-technical transitions theory to discuss what this specifically means in transitioning towards sustainability. Data is gathered through review of written materials and semi-structured interviews with actors in the case study.
ii
In following the evolution of the Sustainable City concept, I argue that it has managed to mutate so well “from trade to aid” due to its “fluid” and lovable qualities and a notion of Swedish urban sustainability which can be flexibly interpreted. In tracing the networking of Swedish sustainability, I argue that SymbioCity has followed a previously observed pattern in which the approach has been adapted to travel and the recipients have been prepared to receive the approach. In considering how the approach has impacted its recipients, I argue that although its applications seem to have been appreciated, the translation of urban sustainability throughout the network has turned focus away from the issue of what urban sustainability is by coordinating activities and by educating the recipients’ attention towards techno-managerial problem framings.
I conclude that Swedish actors have managed to carefully adopt a commercial model of urban sustainability to the purposes of development cooperation and its geographical contexts of application. While this mutation has given rise to a network of somewhat disconnected practices, the efforts of both branches have nevertheless contributed to establishing sustainability as being fundamentally uncontested in its nature. This view of sustainability can be said to be permitted by certain interpretations of the Swedish experience of becoming more sustainable. From this I conclude that to ensure that international cooperation for urban sustainability takes place on equal and fundamentally democratic terms, Swedish actors (and sustainability transition theorists alike) would do well to also encourage and facilitate inclusive and critical discussions of how urban sustainability can be understood, in the North as well as the South. The main limitation of this work lies in the actual engagement with the targeted cities, which prevents a thorough understanding of both the perceived and the actual impact of the export of Swedish urban sustainability. Further research should therefore pay attention to how it has affected the targeted cities.
Key words: Urban sustainability, Development cooperation, Actor-network, Policy mobility, Socio-technical transitions
iii
Examensarbete
INDEK 2017:52
To Cities in the Global South,
From Sweden with Love
Simon Runsten
Godkänt
2017-06-05
Examinator
Cali Nuur
Handledare
Pär Blomkvist
Uppdragsgivare Kontaktperson
Sammanfattning
Hög urbaniseringstakt i kombination med begränsade resurser skapar enorma utmaningar för städer på södra halvklotet, vilket under de senaste åren i allt högre grad betraktats som en motivation för en intensifiering av internationellt samarbete. Både teori och praktik har emellertid ägnat lite uppmärksamhet åt hur skillnader i geografiska sammanhang och sätt att se på hållbarhet inverkar på sådant samarbete. Den här studien undersöker därför hur svenska aktörer har försökt bidra till hållbara städer i låginkomstländer på södra halvklotet. Dessa försök utforskas genom en fallstudie av det svenska SymbioCity-konceptet med hjälp av aktör-nätverksteori. Teori om policyrörlighet används för att diskutera hur överföringen och översättningen av praktiker mellan städer vänder fokus bort från deras omtvistbara natur. Begrepp hämtas sedan från teori om omvandling av socio-tekniska system för att diskutera vad detta specifikt innebär i termer av omställning mot hållbarhet. Data samlas in genom granskning av skriftligt material och semi-strukturerade intervjuer med aktörer i fallstudien.
iv
Jag avhandlar tre faser i utvecklingen av det svenska konceptet för urban hållbarhet. Initiativet att exportera svensk kompetens inom urban hållbarhet uppstod i första fasen ur intresset att kombinera stadsplanering med export av miljöteknik, som inspirerades av svenska aktörers deltagande i en tävling om stadsplanering i Kina. Behovet av att kommunicera svensk urban hållbarhet på internationella arenor ledde till slut till att detta intresse tog formen av Sustainable City-konceptet. Konceptet marknadsfördes med en berättelse om Sveriges frikoppling av koldioxidutsläpp och ekonomisk tillväxt. Konceptet har sedermera etablerats som en obligatorisk passagepunkt i aktörsnätverket för att hjälpa svenska företag att sälja miljöteknik till nya marknader.
I andra fasen identifierade Sida behovet av ett integrerat tillvägagångssätt för stadsplanering, såsom Sustainable City-konceptet, i låginkomstländer. Detta ledde till tillämpningen av konceptet i två pilotstudier och utvecklingen av en manual. Sida bjöds senare in av Business Sweden för att i kommunikationssyfte bilda ett gemensamt koncept för svensk urban hållbarhet, som kom att kallas SymbioCity.
I tredje fasen överfördes tillämpningen av tillvägagångssättet för stadsplanering i låginkomstländer från Sida till SKL International. Förutom att dela Sidas avsikt om att bistå fattiga städer med stadsplanering, har övergången också betraktats som ett sätt att bygga upp kapacitet i urban hållbarhet inom SKL International:s nätverk. Tillvägagångssättet tillämpades på ytterligare pilotprojekt, en andra rapport utvecklades och ytterligare dokument utvecklades för att operationalisera och sprida konceptet. Detta bidrog till att etablera SymbioCity-konceptet som en obligatorisk passagepunkt i stadsplaneringsnätverket. Även om det har funnits avsikter att skapa ett gemensamt koncept, kan SKL International sägas ha etablerat sig som en im-passagepunkt mellan de två grenarna i nätverket.
I kartläggningen av utvecklingen av Sustainable City-konceptet argumenterar jag för att det har kunnat anpassats så bra från marknadsföring till utvecklingssamarbete på grund av vissa "flytande" och ”älskvärda” egenskaper, samt en tolkningsflexibel uppfattning om svensk urban hållbarhet. I spårandet av nätverkandet av svensk hållbarhet argumenterar jag för att SymbioCity har följt ett tidigare observerat
v
mönster där tillvägagångssättet har paketerats för att spridas och där mottagarna har blivit förberedda på att ta emot det. När jag överväger hur tillvägagångssättet har påverkat sina mottagare argumenterar jag för att även om dess tillämpningar tycks ha varit uppskattade, så har översättningen av urban hållbarhet i hela nätverket vridit fokus bort från frågan om vad urban hållbarhet faktiskt är genom samordning av aktiviteter och riktande av mottagarnas uppmärksamhet mot tekniska och organisatoriska problemformuleringar.
Jag drar slutsatsen att svenska aktörer framgångsrikt har anpassat en modell för hållbar stadsutveckling med kommersiellt ursprung till utvecklingssamarbetesändamål och de därför avsedda geografiska tillämpningsområdena. Även om denna anpassning har givit upphov till ett nätverk av åtskilda praktiker, har båda grenarnas verksamheter verkat för att befästa hållbarhetsbegreppet som fundamentalt obestritt. Denna syn på hållbarhet kan sägas ha blivit möjlig genom vissa tolkningar av den svenska erfarenheten att bli mer hållbar. För att säkerställa att internationellt samarbete för urban hållbarhet sker på lika och grundläggande demokratiska villkor, föreslår jag att svenska aktörer (och teoretiker tillika) också kan uppmuntra och underlätta inkluderande och kritiska diskussioner om hur hållbarhet kan förstås, i städer på södra så väl som på norra halvklotet. Den främsta begränsningen i detta arbete är den i engagemanget med städerna i fråga, vilket förhindrar en grundlig förståelse för både den upplevda och den faktiska effekten av exporten av svensk urban hållbarhet. Ytterligare forskning bör därför inriktas på hur exporten av svensk urban hållbarhet har påverkat de avsedda städerna.
Key words: Urban hållbarhet, Utvecklingssamarbete, Aktörs-nätverk, Policyrörlighet, Socio-teknisk omvandling
vi
Table of Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................................................... i
Sammanfattning ...................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents ................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures ....................................................................................................... viii
List of Tables ........................................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. x
1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................................. 3
1.2 Problematization ........................................................................................ 6
1.3 Purpose and Research Questions ............................................................ 7
1.4 Contribution ............................................................................................... 8
1.5 Delimitations ............................................................................................... 8
1.6 Disposition of the Thesis .......................................................................... 9
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 10
2 Previous Research ............................................................................................. 11
2.1 North-South Transfer of Urban Sustainability as Anti-Political ...... 13
2.2 Swedish Expertise in Development Cooperation ............................... 14
2.3 The Swedish City as a Role Model ........................................................ 17
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 20
3 Theoretical Framing .......................................................................................... 21
3.1 Socio-Technical Transitions Theory and Sustainability Transitions 23
3.2 Actor-Network Theory: Material-Semiotic Toolbox ......................... 30
3.3 Policy Mobility Theory: Circulation of Expertise ............................... 34
3.4 Applied Analytical Approach and Concepts ....................................... 36
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 38
4 Method ................................................................................................................ 39
4.1 Research Approach .................................................................................. 41
4.2 Data Collection ......................................................................................... 42
4.3 Research Quality ...................................................................................... 44
4.4 Research Process ...................................................................................... 45
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 46
vii
5 Introduction to the SymbioCity Approach ................................................... 47
5.1 SymbioCity as a Conceptual Framework ............................................. 49
5.2 Working Procedure in the Approach .................................................... 51
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 52
6 Three Phases of the Actor-Networking ........................................................ 53
6.1 Exporting Environmental Technology through Urban Planning .... 55
6.2 Adding Development Expertise to the Sustainable City Concept ... 60
6.3 Building and Networking Municipal Expertise ................................... 63
6.4 Overview of Documents and Events ................................................... 67
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 70
7 Mutation, Promotion and Impact of the SymbioCity Approach .............. 71
7.1 Mutating the Concept for Development Cooperation ...................... 73
7.2 Promoting Swedish Urban Sustainability to the Global South......... 79
7.3 The Impact of Circulating and Performing Swedish Sustainability . 84
7.4 Summary of Translations of Urban Sustainability .............................. 87
Chapter Summary .................................................................................................. 92
8 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 93
8.1 Summary of Findings .............................................................................. 95
8.2 Relating the Findings to the Literature ................................................. 98
8.3 Practical Implications of the Findings ................................................ 101
8.4 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Further Research .... 103
Chapter Summary ................................................................................................ 104
References....................................................................................................................... a
viii
List of Figures
Figure 1 Socio-technical transitions as understood from the multi-level
perspective (2005). ......................................................................................... 24
Figure 2 Conceptual framework of the SymbioCity Approach. Source:
Ranhagen and Groth (2012). ........................................................................ 50
Figure 3 Aspects of sustainability in the SymbioCity Approach. Source:
Ranhagen and Groth (2012) ......................................................................... 50
Figure 4 Stakeholder involvement as suggested by the approach.
Source: Andersson et al. (2014) .................................................................... 52
Figure 5 The SymbioCity graph, illustrating the Swedish experience of
decoupling economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions. Source:
Hult (2013). ..................................................................................................... 58
Figure 6Visit of Kenyan council of governors to Hammarby Sjöstad,
Sweden. Source: Omenya and Krook (2014). Cropped by the author. . 76
Figure 7 Sketch of the Actor-Network(s) of Swedish Urban
Sustainability Export ...................................................................................... 90
ix
List of Tables
Table 1 List of consulted informants .......................................................... 43
Table 2 Timeline of documents describing the Sustainable City concept
........................................................................................................................... 68
Table 3 Timeline of a selection of events in evolution of SymbioCity. . 69
Table 4 Analysis of the actor-network using Hallström’s (2003, p. 52)
traits .................................................................................................................. 87
Table 5 Tracing of the Translations of Swedish Urban Sustainability in
the Actor-Network of SymbioCity. ............................................................. 88
x
Acknowledgements
While I am the solemn and responsible author of this work, the process
of writing it has undoubtedly been supported by innumerable others.
Here I would like to the opportunity to thank some of those of particular
importance. Firstly, I would like to thank Pär Blomkvist who has
supervised the work by providing a productive container for the writing
process and by guiding me through the theoretical and methodological
jungle. I also owe thanks to David Nilsson and Peder Roberts at the
Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment, and Anna
Hult and Nelson Ekane at the Department of Urban Planning and
Environment for their helpful comments on the thesis proposal. I would
also like to thank my peer students at the thesis seminar at the
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal
Institute of Technology, for providing constructive feed-back. Finally, I
would like to thank my family and friends for their unconditional support
in whatever I take on and wherever it takes me.
1
1 Introduction This chapter introduces the topic of exporting
Swedish expertise in urban sustainability to the Global South
and motivates the purpose and research questions of this work.
A background is provided of the challenges facing cities in the Global South
and how this challenge has been addressed through international development cooperation.
The lack of understanding of the contested nature of sustainability transitions
both in practice and theory is problematized to motivate investigation of
why and how the actor-network of Swedish urban sustainability export has emerged.
Lastly, necessary delimitations are presented followed by contributions
made by the investigation to literature and practice is presented.
The introduction is concluded with an overview of the disposition of the thesis.
2
“The increasing rapidity and scale of urbanisation,
especially in areas of Asia and Africa, presents a vast and
urgent need for more holistic governance and planning of
urban development. Though urbanisation generates
significant environmental and socioeconomic challenges, it is
essentially a positive phenomenon. With proper governance
and planning, urbanisation can contribute to improved
livelihoods and social values, ethnic and cultural
integration, extension of democratic rights and poverty
alleviation. Urbanisation can enhance political, cultural
and economic development and living conditions. ”
Background to the SymbioCity Approach
(Ranhagen and Groth, 2012, p. 8)
INTRODUCTION
3
1.1 Background
This chapter provides a background to the export of Swedish urban sustainability
expertise to the Global South. First the challenge of urban sustainability in the Global
South is briefly presented, followed by an introduction and critique of how this challenge
is addressed through international cooperation. I then address a blind spot in the
literature, on how such cooperation seeks to influence transitions towards urban
sustainability. This is followed by an introduction to the Swedish SymbioCity concept
as a case of such cooperation.
The Sustainability Challenge of Cities in the Global South
It has been widely cited that 2008 was the year in which the world’s urban
population outgrew the non-urban (UN, 2015). By 2030, almost 60 per
cent of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas and 95
per cent of urban expansion over the next decades will take place in the
so called developing world. Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on
fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health.
However, the high density of cities is also thought to enable efficiency
gains and technological innovation, while at the same time reducing
resource and energy consumption. Sustainable cities is thus prioritized as
one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Agenda
2030 (UN, 2016a), and has also been given attention through the
development and adoption of the New Urban Agenda (UN Habitat,
2017). Cities in the Global South1, subjected to limited resources and
strong pressures of urbanization, face an especially daunting challenge in
1 The term Global South is used here as a socio-economic and political reference, not always coincident with the southern hemisphere. The term is recognized as a contested construct encompassing a diverse set of contexts with limited economic and political resources in relation to a globalized economy. For further discussion, see Pagel et al. (2014) and Hollington et. al. (2015). While actors in the study at times refer to “developing countries”, I use the term “Global South” as a part of trying to maintain a neutral position with regards to what is to be considered developed or sustainable. When contextual characteristics such as income levels are relevant I refer directly to those.
BACKGROUND
4
this regard (Patel et al., 2015). At the same time, it has been suggested
(though not without contest (Rock et al., 2009)), that such cities also hold
the opportunity to “leapfrog” development, i.e. to avoid the mistakes of
so called developed countries and directly implement more sustainable
modes of production and consumption (Tukker, 2005; Poustie et al.,
2016).
International Development Cooperation and Urban Sustainability
Local governments across the Global South have often, encouraged by
donors and aid agencies, resorted to adopting “best practices” of city
development motivated by the sense urgency indicated by the quote
introducing this chapter. This adoption of best practices has however
tended to obscure the politics of urban sustainability and led to an often
uncritical replication of solutions between cities and countries (Patel et
al., 2015). Such uncritical replication of solutions between the Global
North and the South also appears notably counterproductive to attempts
of leapfrogging, as leapfrogging was defined as avoiding the mistakes of
the so called developed countries in search for more sustainable ones,
especially to the extent of which the sustainability of solutions in cities in
the North can be questioned (Binz et al., 2012). At the level of theory,
urban scholarship has also been criticized for what is considered uncritical
adoption of both practices and theory springing from the Global North.
It has therefor been argued that a provincialization (i.e. provincial re-
orientation) of global urbanism is necessary to challenge urban theories
that treat Northern urbanization as the norm, to incorporate expertise
and perspectives of urban majorities, and to imagine and enact alternative
urban futures (Sheppard et al., 2013). Similarly, the necessity of a critical
view on the framing of sustainability itself has also been pointed out
(Lawhon and Murphy, 2012). International initiatives for sustainable
urban development can thus be understood as epistemologically and
politically loaded, and at times contested, engagements with the Global
South, in which specific qualities of the initiative and the place meet.
INTRODUCTION
5
The Lack of Power and Place in Sustainability Transitions Theory
Research on sustainability transitions has largely been oriented around
single countries and simply assumed that innovations spread from
“enlightened” “developed” countries to countries less so. However, in
recent years initiatives oriented towards sustainability transitions in the
Global South have been multiplying (Truffer, 2012; Truffer et al., 2015).
A perspective which has become a compelling mode of analysis of urban
sustainability transitions is the multi-level perspective (MLP) (Lawhon
and Murphy, 2012). It enables such analysis by mapping out the co-
evolutionary process between incumbent socio-technical configurations
(regimes), emerging alternatives (niches), and developments or events in
the system environment (landscape) that can lead to deeper structural
change (Geels, 2002). Sustainability transitions are conceptualized as
shifts from what is considered an unsustainable socio-technical regime
towards a more sustainable one, through an interplay of forces at the
different levels (Truffer and Coenen, 2012). Drawing lessons from this
field, transitions management provides a prescriptive framework for how
such transitions should be approached. However, applications of the
MLP have tended to lack political aspects, and neither considered
geography sufficiently (Lawhon and Murphy, 2012; Smith et al., 2010).
Especially, there has been a lack of engagement with the Global South in
socio-technical transition theory (Lawhon and Murphy, 2012). Recent
research has therefore engaged in trying to bridge the gap between
geography and transitions theory (Hansen and Coenen, 2015; Truffer et
al., 2015), notably also in the urban context of the Global South (Ernstson
et al., 2010). However, it seems no work has yet explicitly considered the
influence of international development cooperation initiatives on urban
sustainability transitions innovation niches.
PROBLEMATIZATION
6
Export of Swedish Expertise in Urban Sustainability
An initiative for international development cooperation for sustainable
cities based in Sweden is SymbioCity (formerly Sustainable City). As a
government initiative run jointly by Business Sweden (promoting national
exports on behalf of the Swedish government and industry) and SKL
International (supporting cities in developing countries to plan and build
sustainably) with support from the Swedish international development
agency (Sida), it is a platform for Swedish know-how in sustainable urban
development, using amongst other elements so called good practices. As
a framework, the so called SymbioCity Approach gathers Swedish
methodology for and experiences of sustainable urban development
(SymbioCity, 2016). It provides an interesting case both for engaging with
the transfer of urban sustainability across geographies and for
constructive engagement with sustainability transitions theory. The
intentions and strategies of its actors have so far only been studied with a
focus on the promotion of environmental technology (Hult, 2013; Mejía-
Dugand, 2016).
1.2 Problematization
While international partnerships are considered key in addressing the
sustainability challenges of cities around the world (UN, 2016a, 2016b),
practice as well as theory has thus far tended to disregard the contexts in
which sustainability is to be achieved, the diversity of interpretations of
what sustainability is and different standpoints on how it should be
achieved (Guy and Marvin, 1999; Smith et al., 2010; Lawhon and Murphy,
2012; Sheppard et al., 2013; Patel et al., 2015). The literature has also paid
insufficient attention to how actors in such partnerships and their
approaches seek to influence urban sustainability transitions, especially in
the Global South (Lawhon and Murphy, 2012). While Sweden has been
an early player in urban sustainability export, the intentions and strategies
of its actors have so far only been studied with a focus on the promotion
of environmental technology.
INTRODUCTION
7
1.3 Purpose and Research Questions
The goal of this work is to contribute to an emerging field of research at
the intersection of sustainability transitions theory and human geography
by providing an understanding of how international cooperation
initiatives seek to affect the conditions for sustainability transitions. The
purpose of the study is to explore how Swedish actors have tried to
contribute to urban sustainability in low-income cities in the Global South
and how these efforts may have impacted its recipients. The purpose is
fulfilled by answering the general research question and its sub-questions
as follows:
Main RQ Why and how has the actor-network of Swedish
urban sustainability export to low-income contexts in the Global
South emerged?
RQ1 By whom and for what purposes was the Swedish concept
of urban sustainability developed?
RQ2 How has the Swedish concept of urban sustainability been
promoted and circulated to low-income cities in the Global South?
CONTRIBUTION
8
1.4 Contribution
By engaging with the above research questions, this work contributes to
scholarly literature on the empirical fields of Swedish aid, Swedish urban
sustainability and development cooperation for (urban) sustainability2. It
also makes an empirical and theoretical contribution to the field of
sustainability transitions by engaging in its conversation with other fields
and its expansion to previously understudied geographies. Lastly, the
review of the SymbioCity concept and its activities contributes practically
to practitioners involved in its network.
1.5 Delimitations
As is hopefully discernable from the background, there are many
questions related to striving for urban sustainability in the Global South
worth considering. This work is not meant to engage with the question of
what constitutes urban sustainability or determining whether the
approach is effective in promoting whatever it is thought to be across
space and between socio-economic contexts. It is rather meant to explore
how sustainability is negotiated and how this negotiation is affected by
the positionality of its negotiators. The work is furthermore delimited to
the case of SymbioCity and its extension to low-income cities in the
Global South. While delimiting its external validity to relations in other
constellations of countries and cities, this nevertheless provides valuable
empirics for both literature and theory, as suggested in section 1.4.
2 I have been made aware that another thesis is currently being written on the case of SymbioCity and how it translates urban sustainability across scales and space. Efforts to take part of it have however been unyielding. See Toni Adscheid, forthcoming master thesis at Stockholm University.
INTRODUCTION
9
1.6 Disposition of the Thesis
The succeeding chapters of this thesis are structured as follows. The
introductory part continues with chapter 2, introducing previous research
on transfer of policies for urban sustainability, historical examples of
Swedish export of expertise, and previous accounts of Swedish cities as
role models for urban sustainability. Chapter 3 introduces theory on
sustainability transitions and transfer of urban policies, as well as an
approach to tracing actor-networks. It is however worth pointing out that
previous research and theory overlap to some extent. My intention is
using the former section to point to the state of relevant empirical
knowledge, whereas the latter introduces useful theoretical approaches to
the analysis. Chapter 4 then motivates the case study method chosen to
explore the actor-networking of Swedish urban sustainability.
Chapter 5 introduces the analysis and argumentation by presenting the
SymbioCity Approach. Chapter 6 is dedicated to a chronology of what I
identify as three phases of the actor-networking of Swedish urban
sustainability. Chapter 7 presents what I argue to be three themes of the
actor-networking of the concept of Swedish urban sustainability, namely
how it has managed to mutate for various purposes and contexts, how it
was promoted to the context of the Global South, and how the circulation
and performance of it has impacted on its recipients. As the reader may
note, the analytical chapters 6 and 7 also overlap to some extent. To clarify
the analysis, these chapters are therefore concluded with overviews of
central events and documents (section 6.4) and central translations
(section 7.4)
In the concluding chapter 8, I first summarize my findings by responding
to the research questions. I then relate the study to previous research and
the theoretical debate on sustainability transitions (outlined in chapter 3).
I also provide some practical implications of the findings. Lastly, I note
some limitations of the thesis, from which I make suggestions for further
research. An overview of the thesis can be obtained by reading the
summaries at the end of each chapter.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
10
Chapter Summary
This chapter has introduced the topic of exporting Swedish expertise in urban
sustainability to the Global South. Rapid urbanization and limited resources is
creating enormous challenges to cities in the Global South, while sustainable cities have
also come to be seen as a necessary part of sustainable development in general. While
local governments in the Global South have often, encouraged by donors and aid
agencies, resorted to adopting practices from the global North, this has tended to
disregard differences in geographical context, access to resources and views on how
sustainability should be understood. Sweden, a respected actor in both urban
sustainability and development cooperation, and its SymbioCity concept constitutes a
case of transferring practices for urban sustainability to cities in the Global South. This
study explores how Swedish actors have sought to contribute to urban sustainability in
the Global South through the Sustainable City and later SymbioCity concept.
11
2 Previous Research This chapter presents previous research relevant to the study.
This includes research showing how transfer of policies
for urban sustainability has become depoliticized,
historical examples of Swedish export of expertise,
and previous accounts of Swedish cities
as role models for urban sustainability.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
13
2.1 North-South Transfer of Urban Sustainability
as Anti-Political
Urban sustainability policy and its North-South transfer has been argued
to have become depoliticized as a part of the wide-spread acclaim of
consensual approaches towards sustainability (Raco and Lin, 2012;
Beveridge and Koch, 2017). This depoliticized or anti-political policy
mobility is attributable both to an historically consistent will to keep urban
policy mobility networks intact but also to more recent broader anti-
political trends in society (Clarke, 2012a). This broader trend consists in
practices of contributing to urban sustainability being increasingly
oriented towards a “Third Way” in which governance is reconfigured as
consensus-oriented multi-stakeholder processes in which traditional state
forms (various levels of government) partake alongside with experts,
NGO’s and other responsible partners.
This Third Way is propagated by post-political writers through depictions
of politics having moved beyond class-politics, leaving no alternative but
to focus on non-adversarial politics (Raco and Lin, 2012). The underlying
normative affirmation is that there is no alternative to sustainable urban
development and that a failure will result in apocalypse (Mössner, 2016),
ultimately necessitating “urgent, sustained and consensual action”
(Swyngedouw, 2009, p. 602). This opens up an opportunity for elites to
roll out sustainability policies, often involving “reshaping local
development practices, techniques of management and technologies of
government” (Raco and Lin, 2012). Contemporary political theorists
argue that depoliticized discourses have been hegemonic over the last
decades” (Žižek, 2000; Mouffe, 2005; Swyngedouw, 2010). Such
discourses have in turn been argued to have motivated consensus
thinking and a technical and managerial view of politics, risking to shift
attention away from grass root concerns over global developmentalism
(Raco and Lin, 2012). Exactly how these post-political agendas are
SWEDISH EXPERTISE IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
14
constructed and what rationalities underpin them in different
geographical contexts has however been little explored (Raco and Lin,
2012).
Indeed, it has been shown that consensus-building can serve as a political
strategy which aims to depoliticize sustainable urban development and to
relocate the decision making process outside societal debate (Mössner,
2016). In transferring urban policies, McCann and Ward (2010) have
described how policies get translated or reduced into models that travel,
whereas destinations are subjected to discursive preparation through
briefing papers, study tours, etc. It has furthermore been shown that
Northern cities have at times taken on the role of experts in North-South
interurban partnerships as a means to gain access to funding, and that
cultures of accountability (i.e. expectations to deliver results) have favored
short-term and delimited projects over well-crafted partnerships (Clarke,
2012b).
2.2 Swedish Expertise in Development Cooperation
While acknowledging the multiple de- and connotations of the concept,
Bruno (2016) broadly refers development as a process of socioeconomic
change in the form of modernization, carried out by technical experts,
state officials or peasants, whereas development aid aims to facilitate
actions leading to it. He notes that the intellectual origins of development
assistance have been traced to progress and development as central
tenants of Western intellectual history since the Enlightenment. In the
nineteenth century, the concept of development was explicitly linked to a
process of social progress through modernization. This understanding
among Western thinkers was a fundamentally ethnocentric and
uncriticizable one in which improvement and civilization came about
through the import of science and technology from the West (Sutton et
al., 1989). Since then, substantial criticism has been aimed at the concept
from many authors, of which Escobar’s (1995) is well-known.
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While few attempts have been made to engage with the actual activities
of Swedish development assistance from an ideological perspective, many
studies have discussed the interests driving Swedish development aid
policy (Öhman, 2007, pp. 22–23), which have been argued to range
between solidarity and commercial interests in extending trade. Öhman
herself (2007, p. 90) argues that during the course of Swedish
development aid, altruistic ideals and commercial interests have been
closely entangled. The development aid scholar Olav Stokke (1996) has
suggested that the aid programs of all Scandinavian countries were rooted
in values of international solidarity stemming from the dominance of
Social Democratic parties, lending basic altruistic features to their aid
interventions. Having no administrative burden from colonial territories
may also have increased the ability to provide aid. A lack of colonial
territories is nonetheless to be understood as lack of colonial interest.
Regardless of altruistic motives, the phenomenon of development aid
draws much of its meaning and coherence from colonial relationships.
This observation is emphasized by post-colonial perspectives of
development aid and its stressing of continuities between colonialism and
development aid, including discrimination and oppression (Bruno, 2016,
pp. 21–22). In relation to the promotion of Swedish expertise, it is worth
noting that Sweden has always emphasized that aid should not be used to
sell a Swedish model but rather that foreign aid can assist the realization
of the recipients’ visions for development (Danielson et al., 2005).
Bruno (2016) assumes that expert authority is a central defining
characteristic of modern society and consequently the development aid
which aims to reproduce it. He notes that expert knowledge is necessary
not just for solving problems but also to identify and legitimize methods
for their solution. He cites Zygmunt Bauman (1989, p. 220):
“technology does not serve the solution of problems; it is, rather,
the accessibility of a given technology that redefines successive
parts of human reality as problems clamouring for resolution.”
SWEDISH EXPERTISE IN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
16
Technology thus seek applications through the problematizations of new
areas3. Drawing on Vandendriessche et al. (2015) and Stehr and
Grundmann (2011), he notes that this is a complicated process in which
experts do not act merely as neutral mediators of knowledge but actively
transform it through the performance of their expertise. This process, he
notes from the writings of Fergusson, is further complicated by the
observation that expertise tends to depoliticize matters, turning what is
social or political issues into technical ones, finding answers in expertise.
This tends to draw attention away from social injustices and to delimit
considerations to what is defined by the expert, thus often not accounting
for all the needs of the affected.
Bruno (2016) analyzes the role of agrarian expertise in Swedish
development aid between 1950 and 2009. He does so by responding to
three set of questions. The first is concerned with how Swedish expertise
came to be considered relevant in the context of aid. He identifies a
number of actors and explains how they were able to formulate
development problems which were compatible with the expertise
available at the Swedish universities of agrarian sciences and could be
accepted by financiers and the aid practitioners. He further shows how
these formulations also allowed fulfilment of other organizational goals
of the universities. The second set of questions is centered around how
the Swedish experts approached the problem of development and the
application of their own expertise in the context of aid. He shows that the
strategies proposed by the experts were understood as being grounded in
the Swedish context, which made them attentive to how technologies
were adapted and the importance of practical knowledge, but less so to
the societal contexts and the social effects of their involvements. The
3 The similiarity to Akrich’s (1992) notion of “technology as script”, of which I will make use
later in this thesis, is noteworthy.
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third set of questions is related to the institutional long-term cooperation
between Sida and one of the universities, SLU, focusing on how and why
it was created. He shows that while the cooperation was at times
unbalanced and the goals of the parties was different, it was at the same
time distinguished by a strong mutual sense of trust. Furthermore, Bruno
emphasizes previously shown links between aid and Swedish domestic
expertise, where Sweden, lacking a colonial base of knowledge, to a large
extent had to found their aid interventions on domestic knowledge and
on relations to other countries.
2.3 The Swedish City as a Role Model
Hult (2017, p. 5) traces the history of Sweden’s reputation of claiming to
be and being portrayed as one of the world’s “most progressive, modern,
equal and environmentally friendly countries” back to the so called
Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, placing Sweden as a central nation
internationally in modernism and functionalism (Rudberg, 1999). Around
40 years later, in 1972, Sweden hosted the first UN summit on the
environment, referred to as the Stockholm Conference, placing Sweden
as a central figure in international environmental affairs and later also in
sustainable development. In the line of these events, she places the 2010
World Expo in Shanghai, in which Swedish government bodies came
together with private actors to promote Sweden as a role model in urban
sustainability under the banner of “Better city, Better life”. She finds two
intentional logics behind the Swedish export of sustainable planning
services: to shape a better world and to export clean-tech products (Hult,
2015).
THE SWEDISH CITY AS A ROLE MODEL
18
Hult (2013) has explored how Swedish urban sustainability has been
promoted through the SymbioCity concept by engaging with the World
Expo in Shanghai. She takes a starting point in the Swedish pavilion there
and by using Actor-Network Theory (see chapter 3.2), considers it to be
a node in a wider network producing an image of Sweden as a role model
for urban sustainability. This allows her to trace the interests and
knowledges which have informed and shaped the production of this
image. The image is centered around a graph depicting Sweden’s
decoupling of economic growth and emissions of carbon dioxide, which
as she argues, is presented as a fact which lends authority to Swedish
experience and knowledge of urban sustainability. She argues that central
to the image presented is a view of sustainability in which “progress” is
equated with “decoupling” of economic growth and carbon dioxide
emissions. This Swedish experience, she argues, is furthermore portrayed
as transferable to China, which reproduces views of progress as being
linear and space as being static. Hult argues that this image, founded on a
production perspective of emissions, when viewed from the lens of a
consumption perspective, turns into a myth.
This storyline, Hult further argues (2017, p. 19), has been deliberately
linked to urban flagship districts such as Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm
and Västra Hamnen (Western Harbor) in Malmö. She problematizes the
promotion of these districts as best-practice in urban sustainability. Citing
Kreuger and Gibbs (2007), she notes that entire nations, Sweden among
them, have been pointed out as best-practice examples; and Fitzgerald
and Lenhart (2016) who point out that three of the most celebrated
European eco-districts are Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, Västra
Hamnen in Malmö and Vauban in Freigburg. However, she notes,
Rutherford (2008) and Pandis Iveroth (2014) claim that there is more
environmental discourse than actual performance measurement of
Hammarby Sjöstad. Hult further places these cities in the line of fire of
environmental gentrification and reinforcement of an ecological
modernization discourse by drawing on Rutherford (2008) who portrays
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Hammarby Sjöstad as being purposely kept a green middle-class enclave
through housing policy after a change of government, and Baeten (2012)
and Sandberg’s (2014) argument that Västra Hamnen turned a post-
industrial landscape into a middle-class enclave mainly to meet economic
development goals. She also notes that the Swedish government’s efforts
of creating such demonstration projects has continued through the
planning of Norra Djurgårdsstaden (the Royal Seaport Area). Wangel
(2013) takes the critique of these districts further as she argues that not
only are they cities which were deliberately built to showcase
environmental technology and failing to meet the set standards, their
promotion as role models also works as a form of “lifestyle imperialism”.
In this promotion, supposedly efficient environmental technologies
provide means of becoming more sustainable without challenging more
fundamental concerns, such as the lifestyle of the inhabitants.
Following up on Hult (2013), Mejía-Dugand (2016) traces the continued
evolution of the SymbioCity concept by drawing on experiences from the
World Urban Forum 7 held in Medellin, Colombia, in April 2014. He
explores the strategies used to promote the SymbioCity “tool”, by
studying physical and non-physical message from the Swedish delegation
and its exhibition and by interviewing actors at the conference and from
the Medellin city administration. He notes (p. 75) that “it is clear that the
ultimate goal of this tool, i.e., the promotion of the export of eco-profiled
technology, has not changed—but the message has”. Taking a starting
point in the observation that the SymbioCity is for the most part trying
to sell technological solutions which due to their invisible or hidden
nature are difficult to see or comprehend, he argues that differences in
contextual and historical characteristics between the idealized future and
the target cities influence their willingness to adopt the promoted
solutions. By drawing on examples he argues that the concept, or at least
the message of it, has evolved to become more flexible and allow for
bottom-up considerations to enter the discourse. This partly means that
the message has improved its ability “to shift between cooperation and
CHAPTER SUMMARY
20
commercial interests, as well as between a people-centered and a
technology-centered approach” (p. 77). He nevertheless argues that Sida
and SKL International have functioned as door openers to environmental
technology suppliers in developing countries, taking advantage of locals
that have been trained by them and who can facilitate market entrances,
provide legitimacy and give access to distribution networks (Mejía-
Dugand, 2013, 2016).
Chapter Summary
In this chapter I have introduced previous research of relevance to the case study of the
Swedish Sustainable City concept. This includes research showing how transfer of
urban policies become depoliticized by being framed as techno-managerial. Not only
has North-South transfer of urban policies and practices a history of being understood
as non-political, but approaches built on consensus are also increasingly portrayed as
necessary to cope with the challenges of urban sustainability in the Global South. Critics
claim that this tends to draw attention away from concerns over global
developmentalism. Previous studies of Swedish expertise in development cooperation has
also problematized how expertise contributes to such depolitization. Historical
examples of Swedish development cooperation have shown motivations of engagement
have ranged between solidarity and commercial interests, where it has been argued that
these have at times been closely entangled. Sweden has however always emphasized that
aid should not be used to sell a Swedish model but rather that foreign aid can assist
the realization of the recipients’ visions for development. Studies on the export of
agricultural expertise have however shown that formulations of the problems to be
addressed have indeed taken a starting point in the existent Swedish knowledge base.
Research on the positioning of Sweden and Swedish cities as role models for urban
sustainability have tended to problematize the way sustainability is defined and
communicated. This includes criticism of Swedish demonstration cities aimed at
promoting environmental technology, how the Swedish model for urban sustainability
has been marketed abroad and how this model has been adapted for purposes of
development cooperation.
21
3 Theoretical Framing This chapter presents literature relevant to understanding why and how
the actor-network of Swedish urban sustainability
export to the Global South has emerged.
This includes literature on sustainability transitions, the methodology
of Actor-Network Theory and theory on policy mobility.
Finally, an overview is given of the concepts used
in this study and how they are applied.
THEORETICAL FRAMING
23
3.1 Socio-Technical Transitions Theory
Socio-technical transitions theory seeks to understand the co-evolution
of societies and technological systems (Murphy, 2015). In doing so, two
concepts are central: socio-technical regimes and niches. A socio-
technical regime is defined as “the coherent complex of scientific
knowledge, engineering practices, production process technologies,
product characteristics, skills and procedures, established user needs,
regulatory requirements, institutions and infrastructures” (Coenen et al.,
2012). As a concept, it shows that scientific knowledge, engineering
practices and technologies are socially embedded (Rip and Kemp, 1998),
which constrains incremental socio-technical change to happen along
established pathways (Markard et al., 2012). Sustainability transitions are
thus seen as shifts from what is considered an unsustainable socio-
technical regime towards a more sustainable one (Truffer and Coenen,
2012). Niches are conceptualized as spaces protected from the logic and
direction of the prevailing regime, allowing radical innovation to take
place, creating novel technologies which may eventually compete with
incumbent ones.
Two theoretical frameworks considered central to sustainability
transitions theory are those of Technological Innovation Systems (TIS)
and the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP). TIS emphasizes functions that
support the diffusion of new sustainability innovations across space and
time, and focuses on institutional and organizational changes necessary
for such innovations (Markard et al., 2012). This approach is criticized by
proponents of the MLP for its preoccupation with successful
technologies (Truffer and Coenen, 2012), which tries to explain
transitions as co-evolutionary processes between multiple levels. These
levels are incumbent socio-technical configurations (regimes), emerging
alternatives (niches), and developments or events in the system
environment (landscape) (Geels, 2002), as shown in Figure 1. Some have
SOCIO-TECHNICAL TRANSITIONS THEORY
24
suggested an integrated framework to account for both approaches
(Markard and Truffer, 2008), although others (Stirling, 2011) have
questioned whether the diverging ontological assumptions of the schools
allows such integration (Truffer and Coenen, 2012).
Figure 1 Socio-technical transitions as understood from the multi-level perspective (2005).
Two other central frameworks with more prescriptive approaches are
Strategic Niche Management (SNM) and Transitions Management (TM).
While SNM has focused on the role of niches, and how they can be
deliberately created and supported, TM has taken a larger view on how
transitions can be influenced in more sustainable directions. This has been
THEORETICAL FRAMING
25
done by drawing insights from complex systems theory, governance
literature and by further development through action research (Markard
et al., 2012). In relation to cities, urban transition labs have been suggested
as a way of adopting TM to the urban context (Nevens et al., 2013) and
similar concepts have been developed in the context of the Global South
(Anderson et al., 2013).
TM has however been criticized for its post-political tendencies. TM
suggests, as Kenis et al. (2016) argues, that sustainability transitions
requires new modes of governance in which transitions processes are
understood not in political but in market terms. It seeks consensus in
long-term coordination towards a common good over traditional
consensus model of negotiation between social interests. Its reliance on
such a deliberative conception of democracy (consensus through
dialogue) instead of aggregative (aggregating previously existing interests
of individuals and groups through elections or voting) fails to
acknowledge power relations, radical pluralism and the constitutive
potential in conflict. This view is also contrasted by Mouffe’s (2005)
advocacy of an agonistic conception of democracy in which conflict or
antagonism is recognized as inevitable and in which actors understand
their relations as political opposition. This new governance approach is
further criticized for its focus on privileged groups in the name of
bottom-up processes, which reinforces unequal distribution of power and
makes this distribution invisible. While there is room for alternative paths
to sustainability, their contestation is largely understood in the quasi-
market terms of competing niches. Being based on a market-model, it
also considers neutral the neoliberal political economy as a fundamental
landscape element. This, they argue, makes it difficult for “ordinary”
citizens both to acknowledge the political and finding ways of being
represented. A short quote summarizes their critique:
SOCIO-TECHNICAL TRANSITIONS THEORY
26
[The dominant conception of sustainability transitions is that of]
“radical techno-managerial and socio-cultural transformations,
organised within the horizons of a capitalist order that is beyond
dispute” (Swyngedouw, 2010, p. 219).
The Geography of Urban Sustainability Transitions
Albeit popular for studying sustainability transitions, the MLP has been
critiqued for a lack of scale, place and space for two key reasons. Firstly,
institutions governing regimes and niches are not properly related to
territorial contexts in sociotechnical transition theory, which makes it
unable to explain why transitions towards sustainability can proceed in
spatially uneven manners. Secondly, as the levels in the MLP are related
to the maturity of the socio-technological system (degree of structuration
of practices) rather than different geographical scales, it can be insensitive
towards the scale of developments affecting the transitions. A multi-scalar
approach has therefore been suggested, where levels and scale are two
dimensions for classifying a transition (Coenen et al., 2012), which has in
turn inspired what is called a second generation MLP, incorporating a
spatial scale along with time and structure (both seen as implicit in the
original levels). This second generation MLP explicitly theorizes
developments in and between regional, national and international
contexts. A consideration of space introduces a number of new
dimensions to the analysis of socio-technical systems (Raven et al., 2012):
distance (or proximity) as a factor in innovative activity; spatial differentiation,
from the observation that different places, however defined, exhibit
niches, regimes and landscapes with different characteristics; and reach,
the observation that ‘action at a distance’ operates in social systems across
scales and levels.
THEORETICAL FRAMING
27
As a response to the lack of sense of place and space in the MLP in
attempts to understand urban sustainability transitions, it has been
suggested that cities can be viewed as (although not necessarily always
functioning as) innovation niches for sustainability transitions at the larger
scale (Hodson and Marvin, 2010; Wolfram, 2016). From that view, two
aspects of the MLP specific to cities necessary to consider have been
recognized: As the levels of the MLP are, as previously noted, not related
to geographical scales, one relevant aspect is that regarding the
“nestedness of regimes”, meaning that cities can shape and be shaped by
national [and arguably also international] transitions; a second
observation is that of the multiple levels of governance affecting the city,
enabling and necessitating consideration of the intentional and
unintentional influence of actors at national and supranational scales on
action at the city-scale (Hodson and Marvin, 2010).
Applying the MLP on urban sustainability transitions in turn necessitates
two considerations: firstly, the role of visions as reference points for
building of networks for, committing to, orienting actions towards and
persuasion of the desirability of the transition; secondly, the critical role
of systemic intermediaries, i.e. organizations “set-up to intervene in a variety
of ways in existing systems of producing and consuming resources”
(Hodson and Marvin, 2010). Regarding the role of visions of
sustainability, several papers have pointed to their contested and changing
nature (Meadowcroft, 2011; Garud and Gehman, 2012) and the necessity
to consider their framing and negotiation (Eames et al., 2006; Truffer and
Coenen, 2012). The role of systemic intermediaries and the capabilities
required for such has also been studied and elaborated in more detail
(Anderson et al., 2013; Hamann and April, 2013).
Others also recognizing the importance of actors and institutions at the
supranational scale have suggested adopting a dialectic view of global
networks with local nodes, allowing the dimensions of transitions to be
defined based on how actors themselves develop relationships over space
SOCIO-TECHNICAL TRANSITIONS THEORY
28
(Coenen et al., 2012). Such mapping of actors can also be done by
complementing the MLP with inspiration from Actor-Network Theory
(ANT) (Raven et al., 2012; Maassen, 2012), although it is worth noting
that the ontological consistency (i.e. multiple levels versus flat) of such a
combination has been disputed (Geels, 2011; Maassen, 2012).
Further examples of engagement with the supranational scale of
transitions include conceptualizations of leapfrogging of urban
infrastructures in relation to spatially conceived innovation systems (Binz
et al., 2012), and engagement with transition management (pointing
amongst other things towards the necessity of considering the role of
international development institutions) (Poustie et al., 2016).
Development aid interventions has also been given attention in relation
to the MLP through conceptualizations of donor programs as a form of
transnational linkage (Hansen and Nygaard, 2013). Work on relational
and territorial aspects on the global scale and their effect on urban
(energy) transitions in the Global South (Mans, 2014) seems hitherto
limited to a focus on business relations. As far as I am informed, no work
has yet considered the influence of development cooperation initiatives
at the supranational scale and their impact on urban sustainability niches
as conceived in the MLP.
The Politics and Power in Sustainability Transitions
Apart from geographical aspects of transitions, the need to consider social
processes and power relations has also been urged. Particularly, the MLP
has been criticized for its techno-deterministic and teleological approach,
and for focusing on elite actors in shaping transitions while insufficiently
acknowledging the challenge of pluralistic and inclusive governance of
transitions. This has inspired a complementing of the MLP with insights
from political ecology by identification of interrelated problems and
competing interventions, by consideration of a broader range of actors
and their knowledges and by exploring the impact of power relations on
transitions (Lawhon and Murphy, 2012). Others have joined in voicing
THEORETICAL FRAMING
29
the need to consider the agency of actors, their strategies and their
resources involved in shaping sustainability transitions (Farla et al., 2012).
To such ends, Murphy (2015) describes a relational “place-making”4
framework to reveal how actors construct places such as cities, with
claimed relevance for both TIS and MLP approaches and then
demonstrates how it can be applied to analyze the contested politics that
shape the prospects for sustainability transitions. Others (Kern, 2015)
have focused on the politics, agencies and structures in TIS. On the MLP
field, the politics of transitions has been given attention through work
focused on niche resistance (Geels, 2014) and critical niches (Smith et al.,
2016). Notable applications of the MLP drawing on global political
economy have considered economic power relations on the global scale
in the shaping of energy transitions in the Global South (Newell and
Phillips, 2016; Power et al., 2016). In the urban context the urban political
ecology of urban infrastructures has also been given attention (Monstadt,
2009). Nevertheless, the recent attention given to the urban context in the
MLP has yet to fill a gap in considering the politics of and the power
relations in international development initiatives.
4 Place-making is defined as “the process of reproducing, eliminating, and/or modifying the structures, identities, meanings, geographies, positionalities, and power relations associated with a given place” (Murphy, 2015), p. 84).
ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY: MATERIAL-SEMIOTIC TOOLBOX
30
3.2 Actor-Network Theory:
Material-Semiotic Toolbox
Paying attention to the role of actors, ANT has in recent years gained
attention from MLP scholars (Maassen, 2012) and in relation to urban
planning (Doak and Karadimitriou, 2007; Farías and Bender, 2012;
Beauregard, 2012; Rydin, 2013; Rapoport and Hult, 2017). Some
ingredients in an ANT account includes (Law, 2008, p. 146):
• semiotic relationality - networks whose elements define and
shape one another,
• materiality - stuff is there aplenty, not just “the social”,
• heterogeneity - there are different kinds of actors, human
(“actors”) and otherwise (“actants”),
• process and its precariousness - all elements need to play their
part moment by moment or it all comes unstuck, and
• attention given to:
o power as an effect - it is a function of network
configuration and in particular the creation of immutable
mobiles, and
o space and to scale - how it is that networks extend
themselves and translate distant actors.
Although emphasis is put on the precariousness of processes, there is also
an acknowledgement of how the arrangement of relations into orders and
hierarchies which may render a network (or parts of one) to be more
provisional or stabilized (Rydin, 2013).
THEORETICAL FRAMING
31
ANT should be understood not as a theory as much as a toolkit (Law,
2008, pp. 141–142). This toolkit is based on three methodological
principles (Callon, 1984):
• agnosticism – abandoning a priori assumptions of the nature of
networks,
• generalized symmetry – using a single explanatory frame,
regardless of actor, and
• free association – abandoning any distinction between natural
and social phenomenon.
In using this toolkit, the network in ANT is not something waiting to be
discovered but is rather what is defined by tracing the agencies of actors
(Latour, 2005). An ANT account is thus an attempt of understanding the
dynamic ways in which relationships between actors are established,
negotiated and maintained (Rydin, 2013). An actor is defined here as “any
element which bends space around itself, makes other elements dependent upon itself
and translates their will in to a language of its own” (Callon and Latour, 1981, p.
286). In operationalizing ANT for technology studies, actor-networks can
be analyzed by considering four different traits (Hallström, 2003, p. 52):
content, i.e. actors, actants and specifically those constituting obligatory
passage points; interests of the actors, the power resources enabling the
enactment of a (part of a) network and its durability.
A central concept in tracing a network is translation, which refers to the
process of establishing actants’ identities and the conditions of their
interactions as well as the characterization of their representations
(Crawford, 2005). Translation can, in the vocabulary of ANT, be broken
down into problematization, interessement, enrollment, and mobilization.
Problematization refers to the framing of the problem, and may include
definition of obligatory passage points (Callon, 1984). Obligatory passage
points, i.e. points between the translated and the translation, require
actors to gather around the dominant framing and then engage in
ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY: MATERIAL-SEMIOTIC TOOLBOX
32
negotiations within the context of the framing (Callon, 1986). A problem
definition is furthermore inseparable from the actor who makes it and
there is always a target group (Callon, 1980, pp. 209–210).
The definition of the problem is followed by the actor getting other actors
interested in the problem definition. Interessement thus refers to the
process by which actants are locked into proposed roles by accepting the
problem definition and may include the accepting of a specific actant as
focal in the definition of the obligatory passage point. If the
interessement is successful the interested actors are enrolled, meaning
that they become involved in the network relationship on specific terms.
If the enrollment then results in active support, the actor has mobilized
an actor-network (Callon, 1986; Rydin, 2013). Mobilization thus refers to
the representation of the network by a spokesperson, i.e, the person
speaking on behalf of an actant or actor. The process of mobilization may
then include what is called black-boxing (Rodger et al., 2009), referring to
the stabilizing and immunizing of translations against critique (Latour,
2005). Such immunizing can for instance be part of establishing “good”
practices which may be applied in a multitude of locations (Rydin, 2013).
ANT further distinguishes between intermediators and mediators, where
intermediators only transfer the agency of other entities, thus extending
the network without translation, while mediators multiply difference and
thus interfere with the translations (Latour, 2005). Trying thus to
understand translations, recognizing the multiplicity of actor-networks is
essential (Law, 2008), i.e. there is not one actor-network identical to all
the actors but several contingent on how agency is being felt and exerted
among them.
For a project to be successful, it requires a global network which lends it
resources and a space of negotiation, as well as a local network within that
space which carries out the project and feeds the results back in to the
global network. The actor who manages to establish itself between these
networks as an obligatory passage point gains control over the project,
THEORETICAL FRAMING
33
which is understood as required for its success. Keeping to the
precariousness of processes, ANT nevertheless acknowledges that
translations may indeed fail, and obligatory passage points may vanish
(Callon, 1986).
Networks further depend on what circulates in them, which can also be
referred to as tokens or quasi-objects (Latour, 1996, p. 379). What circulates
is similarly to a scientific text defined by “the competence it is endowed with, the
trials it undergoes, the performances it is allowed to display, the association it is made
to bear upon, the sanctions it receives, the background in which it is circulating etc”
(Latour, 1996, p. 378), all of which brings attention to the agency of texts.
Faithful to the principle of the precariousness of processes yet again, the
persistence in time and space of what circulates (and thus constituting the
network), i.e. its “isotopy” or “immutability” cannot be found in any essence
but is a result of narrative programs and paths (Latour, 1996). A critique
of ANT is that it leaves no room for “Otherness” and allows nothing to
stand outside the network established in an account (Hetherington and
Law, 2000). The notion of absence-presence (Callon and Law, 2004) can
however be a way of considering what is absent present in a network and
what constitutes a network without being present (Hult, 2013).
In seeking to trace such circulations it is thus also important to consider
the interpretative flexibility of what circulates, i.e. the degree to which a token
can be differently interpreted among actors in the network (Callon et al.,
1992, p. 24). In relation to technology transfer, De Laet and Mol (2000)
provides an account of the role of mutability or “fluidity” for a technology
to be successful in its contexts of application. By departure from the B-
type bush pump, providing water to rural sites in Zimbabwe, they
demonstrate three forms of fluidity, namely the shifting boundaries of the
solution, a flexible working order and a compliant maker. The utility of these
concepts has been further demonstrated in a study of the Swedish nuclear
waste management program by Elam and Sundqvist (2011). They also
argue that while such fluidity may in the case of the bush pump render it
POLICY MOBILITY THEORY: CIRCULATION OF EXPERTISE
34
admirable or even “lovable”5, it should in the case of the nuclear waste
issue be looked at with suspicion as a means of power with the ability of
maintaining the control of the nuclear industry.
In relation to sustainability transitions theory, ANT challenges the
Giddensian notion of structuration which constitutes the foundation of
the levels in the Multi-Level Perspective and brings attention to how the
process of transitioning is interpreted by the actors themselves. Assuming
thus instead a relational view of niches and regimes, necessitates
consideration of their novelty and obduracy respectively, which in turn does
away with niche-variations or regime-selections being a priori ascribed to
particular actors. Empirical studies have found obduracy in systemic lock-
out, points of im-passage and disconnected practices (Maassen, 2012).
3.3 Policy Mobility Theory: Circulation of Expertise
How knowledge or expertise regarding urban policy is circulated,
mediated and applied is the core of work on urban mobility (McCann,
2011; Temenos and McCann, 2012). Such studies of interest to this work
has considered North-South interurban partnerships by starting from
British municipal internationalism (Clarke, 2012b), the role of
transnational planners in the post-colonial context (Ward et al., 2010), and
the local reception of circulating models for sustainability planning
(Temenos and McCann, 2012). Temenos and McCann (2012) study how
imported models of sustainability draw attention to certain problem
definitions and promote certain types of policy solutions. They study the
local politics of these policies and the processes in which the models are
5 The “love” of technology is introduced in Latour and Porter (1996) as the lacking factor leading to the failure of the French automated tram “Aramis”. For De Laet and Mol (2000), the term is not used normatively to deem a technology sound or not, but descriptively as a means of denoting the attraction it exercises. See also Wormbs’ (2003, pp. 186–194, 217–220) account of the love of experimental satellites in the Nordic countries.
THEORETICAL FRAMING
35
learned within the local. They describe the process of such learning by
drawing on McFarlane’s (2011) distinction of three interrelated ongoing
processes: “translation” – actors’ mediation of relationships and
knowledges, “coordination” – the use of structures and objects to organize
discussions about policies, and the “education of attention” by hands-on
training.
Rapoport and Hult (2017) examine the role of global engineering and
architecture firms, which they refer to using the term Global Intelligence
Corps (GIC), such as the Swedish firm SWECO (which was involved in
developing the SymbioCity Approach) and their role in circulation of
sustainable urbanism. They suggest that the GIC circulate and promote a
model of urban sustainability as a consistent “menu of options” to choose
from, which is underpinned by the premise of sustainable urbanism and
economic growth being complementary objectives6. Its procedural
elements consist of an advocacy for an integrated, multi-disciplinary
approach, drawing on expertise of professionals from several disciplines
(Rapoport and Hult, 2017). The question remains to be answered, they
note, of how this model can be expanded to incorporate a wider range of
theories and approaches for creating change. Hult (2017) further points
to the necessity of examining the role of national government in
promoting urban sustainable development and how responsibility for
social equity and consumption can be taken into account in urban
planning practice.
6 While Rapoport and Hult are concerned with the role of the GIC in the Chinese market, a similar remark has been made regarding the role of such firms in promoting “fantasy designs” for African cities (Watson and Babatunde, 2013).
APPLIED ANALYTICAL APPROACH AND CONCEPTS
36
3.4 Applied Analytical Approach and Concepts
Inspired by the urge from geographers to allow the dimensions of
sustainability transitions to be defined based on how actors themselves
develop relationships over space (Coenen et al., 2012), I follow Maassen
(2012) by bringing sustainability transition theory into conversation with
actor-network theory in this work. I further follow Wormbs (2003) in
considering ANT useful as an approach to the analysis since “it takes
complexity and uncertainty into consideration, because it avoids a priori
divisions and distinctions, and because it usefully stresses how the relation
between content and context is continually formed and changed”. Such a
framework facilitates situating the SymbioCity and its proposition in both
the global and the urban context. It also helps in considering the
contestation (explicit and implicit) of sustainability transitions, as the
attentiveness of ANT with the precariousness of processes render it
particularly suitable for studying controversies and societal shifts (Rydin,
2013). I thus use ANT as an approach to try to bypass explanatory biases
from theory on policy mobility and socio-technical transitions.
In chapter 6 I trace the actor-network of Swedish export of urban
sustainability using the ANT-conception of translation, by paying attention
to the processes of problematization, interessement, enrollment and mobilization,
paying particular attention to the establishment of obligatory passage points
between the global and the local networks. The concept of tokens is used to
understand what has been circulated in the actor-network, including a
story of Swedish environmental history and the approach to urban
sustainability. Doing so, I use the term black-boxing to describe how the
translations of Swedish urban sustainability have been immunized against
critique.
In chapter 7.1 I explore how the concept of Swedish urban sustainability
has evolved and how mutable or fluid it has been in that process. In doing
so, the notion of multiplicity is used to emphasize the multiple ways in
which the network has extended itself. The notion of interpretative flexibility
THEORETICAL FRAMING
37
is then useful for understanding how Swedish sustainability has been
understood differently among different actors. The fluidity of the
SymbioCity concept is discussed by considering qualities which have
previously been shown to provide fluidity, namely shifting boundaries of the
solution, a flexible working order and a compliant maker (de Laet and Mol,
2000; Elam and Sundqvist, 2011). I make use of the terms disconnected
practices and points of im-passage to describe the co-evolution of the multiple
translations in the network. I also use the notion of stability in referring to
durable elements in the network.
In chapter 7.2 I structure the discussion of how the approach has been
promoted to low-income cities in the Global South according to the
previously observed pattern in North-South urban policy mobility
(chapter 3.3), namely how the approach has been adopted for travel and how
the recipients have been discursively prepared to receive it. In the same
chapter I also discuss some geographical aspects of this process, drawn
from the second-generation multi-level perspective, namely distance
between Sweden and the recipient cities; if and how the spaces of novelty
(i.e. niches) have been understood to be different (spatial differentiation) and
how the actor-network allowed Swedish actors to reach the recipients and
perform action at a distance.
In chapter 7.3 I try to understand how Swedish urban sustainability has
been received and use the concepts of translation, coordination and education
of attention to do so. The notions of mediation and intermediations are then
useful in pinning out the details of the translation. I also use the notion
of absence-presence (Callon and Law, 2004) in considering what helps to
constitute the network without being present (Hult, 2013). In discussing
the process of coordination, I also make use of the notion of relational
place-making to describe how relations across distances have shaped how
places are made.
In chapter 7.4 I provide an overview of the actor-network through a
summary of their translations and four different traits in them (Hallström,
CHAPTER SUMMARY
38
2003, p. 52): their content, i.e. actors, actants and specifically those
constituting obligatory passage points; the interests of their actors, their
power resources enabling the enactment of (parts of) the network and their
durability. In the concluding chapter (8.2), I bring my findings from the
actor-network theory approach in to further dialogue with sustainability
transitions theory by considering how novelty and obduracy have been
understood among the actors.
Chapter Summary
This chapter has presented theory relevant in exploring the export of Swedish urban
sustainability. Socio-technical transitions theory (STT) seeks to understand the co-
evolution of societies and technological systems, whereby sustainability transitions are
understood as shifts towards more sustainable socio-technical configurations. The field
includes explanatory frameworks such as the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), as well
as more prescriptive ones, such as Transitions Management (TM). The MLP has,
despite its popularity, been criticized for its lack of political and geographical
considerations. TM on the other hand, which also bears resemblance to the SymbioCity
concept, has been criticized for its depoliticized approach to sustainability. Actor-
Network Theory (ANT) provides a method and language for tracing how actors build
coalitions or actor-networks to achieve their objectives, without starting in explanatory
frameworks such as the MLP. In ANT, agency is ascribed to both humans and non-
humans, which clarifies how objects transfer messages and power in relation to urban
sustainability. Policy mobility theory (PMT) is concerned with precisely how knowledge
or expertise regarding urban policy is circulated, mediated and applied across various
contexts. In recent years, PMT has paid increased attention to how such policy mobility
carries with it and reinforces a depoliticized view of sustainability. The chapter was
concluded with a presentation of the applied analytical approach. The effort of Swedish
actors to contributing to urban sustainability in the Global South is traced by drawing
on ANT. PMT is used to explain how the transfer and translation of policies between
cities takes focus away from their contested nature. Concepts are then drawn from STT
to discuss what this specifically means in transitioning towards sustainability.
39
4 Method This chapter motivates the method chosen to gather empirical data
necessary to address the question of why and how the Swedish actor-
network of urban sustainability export to the Global South has emerged.
The method consists of a case study informed by a review of written
materials and semi-structured interviews with some of its actors.
The chapter also provides a critical discussion of the source material and
briefly describes the evolution of the research process.
METHOD
41
4.1 Research Approach
The purpose of this study is to explore how Swedish actors have tried to
contribute to urban sustainability in cities in the Global South and how
these efforts have impacted its recipients. This topic is (as motivated in
chapter 1) understudied and needs to be explored both for theoretical and
practical reasons, which makes a qualitative research approach suitable.
Such an approach provides means for exploring and understanding the
meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem, in
this case that of urban sustainability. A qualitative approach is especially
useful for subjects where the important variables are not known
beforehand (Creswell, 2013).
Case Study of the SymbioCity Concept
To explore why and how Swedish actors have sought to contribute to
urban sustainability in cities in the Global South, I take a starting point in
the SymbioCity concept, as it has been central to the export of Swedish
urban sustainability. As I am interested in an in-depth understanding of
the interplay in the actor-network, I choose a case study approach as it
provides the opportunity of a feasible, yet potentially detailed and deep
scrutiny of actors (Yin, 2013). It is worth noting that the focus on Swedish
actors and their strategies limits the statistical generalizability of the case
study. However, in its capacity of a single case, it serves as an inductive
basis for critical engagement with established theories on sustainability
transitions (as outlined in chapter 3.1) (Yin, 2013), an thus provides some
analytical generalizability. SymbioCity is chosen as a case of North-South
transfer of expertise and particularly one with a consensual approach
bearing resemblance to approaches towards sustainability from literature
and practice (see chapters 2 and 3). I take SymbioCity as a concept of
urban sustainability as unit of analysis as that facilitates foregrounding the
actors, relations and circulations of sustainability.
DATA COLLECTION
42
4.2 Data Collection
Data for the case study is collected through a review of written materials
complemented with semi-structured interviews, as further outlined
below.
Review of Written Material
A starting point of the case study is taken in written materials and
documentation of the SymbioCity concept, including documentation of
the approach (Andersson et al., 2014, 2013; Ranhagen and Groth, 2012)
and an evaluation of its implementation (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014).
Documentation of decisions concerning the concept retrieved from Sida,
listed in Table 1 serves as a cross-reference to validate information from
the interviews.
Semi-Structured Interviews
To complement the written materials available on the SymbioCity
Approach and to consider the perspectives of the involved and affected
actors, interviews are held with actors that are found relevant in the
scoping phase of the case study and as the actor-network is traced. While
a case study based on interviews comes with risks of subjectivity which
could be argued to impede its validity, ANT stresses that actor-networks
must be understood according to how actors themselves perceive agency
(Latour, 2005). Semi-structured interviews are considered appropriate
both for the explorative purpose of this work, and for recording a wide
range of considerations among the actors including their interests,
resources and strategies in engaging in the actor-network. Consulted
informants are listed in Table 2. As can be noted, they include the central
actors in the Swedish actor-network of urban sustainability.
METHOD
43
Table 1Reviewed documentation concerning SymbioCity retrieved from Sida
Year Documents (№)
2006 038415, 038419
2007 025554, 026967, 029707, 057500
2008 014101, 028752
2009 001001, 026188, 033829
2013 001234, 000369
Table 2 List of consulted informants
Informant Organization/Affiliation Function/Title Date of Interview
Lena Falcón SKL International SymbioCity Project leader
2017-02-16 2017-04-05*
Thomas Melin Sida Responsible for SymbioCity
2017-02-22
Mats Jarnhammar SKL International SymbioCity Urban advisor
2017-03-06*
Håkan Dahlfors Business Sweden (formerly)
Former Vice President
2017-03-03
Ulf Ranhagen KTH School of Architecture, SWECO
Author of the approach
2017-03-13
Cecilia Schartau Business Sweden Responsible for SymbioCity
2017-03-31
Gustaf Asplund SKL International Consultant 2017-04-20*
*Telephone interviews
RESEARCH QUALITY
44
4.3 Research Quality
The quality of research can be described in terms of its reliability and
validity. In this section I also provide a critique of my source material.
Reliability
Reliability traditionally refers to the extent to which an experiment can be
repeated with the same outcome. In the case of social science research
based on qualitative approaches, the subject of investigation is far too
complex for this to be possible. Reliability then becomes a matter of
ensuring that research procedures are transparently presented to the
reader. Here I have omitted more specific descriptions of research
procedures such as interview guides since the semi-structured approach
often proceeded organically without considerable reference to the guides.
I have however tried to specify analyzed documents and consulted
informants (section 4.2) and to describe the evolution of the research
process (section 4.4).
Validity
Internal validity refers to how well the research does what it is meant to
do. I have strived for such validity by motivating my methodological
choices in relation to my purpose and research question. In qualitative
research, validity refers to ensuring the accuracy of the findings (Creswell,
2013), which I discuss below. External validity on the other hand refers
to the generalizability of the empirical results to the phenomenon in
general. In this study, the external validity is largely determined by the
choice of case study (see section 4.1).
METHOD
45
Source Criticism
In terms of the quality of sources, theory is obtained from published peer-
reviewed journals and books, and is as far as possible discussed and used
critically (see section 3). While interviews may yield information which is
representative only to the informant, historical data is triangulated with
written materials and government documentation. As argued in section
4.1, the informants’ subjective accounts are valuable to the understanding
of agency in the actor-network. To ensure further validity of the interview
material, follow-up questions were used to validate interpretations of the
information (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2015).
4.4 Research Process
In performing the case study, I have used an abductive approach,
alternating continuously between studying literature and empirical
investigation, hermeneutically deepening the understanding of the case
and informing the further inquiry. Interviews have been made
continuously, starting with explorative interviews followed by more
detailed follow-ups. Whereas the initial theoretical starting point was
taken in sustainability transitions theory, the approach soon shifted
towards an actor-network approach, motivated by the contributions from
geography (see chapter 3.1 and chapter 3.4). Policy mobility theory then
provided a complementary explanatory framework in understanding the
tracing of the networks extension. The research process was guided by
the following questions: What motives have the different actors in the
export of Swedish urban sustainability had?; What resources were
mobilized in networking Swedish urban sustainability?; How has Swedish
urban sustainability been circulated and related to its contexts of
application?; What activities were enabled/disabled by how the actor-
network was configured and stabilized?; and How has the performance
and circulation of Swedish urban sustainability impacted its recipients?.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
46
Chapter Summary
This chapter has introduced the method chosen to gather empirical material. A
qualitative case study is made of the Swedish SymbioCity concept. Data is gathered
through review of written materials and semi-structured interviews with actors in the
case study. While the generalizability of a case study is limited, it’s particularity serves
as a basis for discussing both theory and practice. Reliability is strived for through a
transparency in choice and execution of the method. Validity is strived for through
triangulation of data sources.
47
5 Introduction to the SymbioCity Approach
This chapter introduces the current SymbioCity Approach
to urban sustainability, its objectives and its working procedures.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
49
5.1 SymbioCity as a Conceptual Framework
The SymbioCity Approach is meant to provide an overview of the issues,
linkages, interfaces and synergies between the various systems, fields and
functions pertaining to sustainable urban development. The objectives of
the SymbioCity Approach in its current form are to (Ranhagen and
Groth, 2012):
• encourage and support multidisciplinary cooperation among
stakeholders and an integrated approach
• contribute to capacity building by mutual sharing of knowledge
and experience, primarily at local government level
• serve as a basis for dialogue and cooperation between
stakeholders at local level, but including regional and national
institutions
• guide urban sustainability reviews at different levels, using a
combined multidisciplinary and sector approach
• contribute to city-wide strategies for improvement of urban
areas, including all dimensions of sustainability (Figure 3)
• help cities and towns to plan practical and integrated system
solutions for sustainable urban development
An illustration of its conceptual framework is provided in Figure 2. The
framework has three core areas: the conceptual model is meant to help
define sustainability in the local context by showing relationships between
the dimensions of sustainability and links to institutional aspects and
urban systems, helping to identify synergies; the institutional framework
provides a foundation for analysis of the institutional setting of
sustainability reviews or strategy development, which is seen as central for
promoting the concepts, ideas, strategies and solutions; urban systems
focuses on the interfaces and synergies of technical, environmental, socio-
cultural and economic systems.
SYMBIOCITY AS A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
50
Figure 2 Conceptual framework of the SymbioCity Approach. Source: Ranhagen and Groth (2012).
Figure 3 Aspects of sustainability in the SymbioCity Approach. Source: Ranhagen and Groth (2012)
INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
51
5.2 Working Procedure in the Approach
The working procedure of the Approach in practice consist of following
steps (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012; Andersson et al., 2013):
1. Defining and organizing the planning or review process
a. Involving stakeholders, as suggested by Figure 4.
b. Developing the process and structures
c. Planning the process
2. Diagnosing the current situation
a. Integration of systems and identifying synergies
b. Specifying objectives, indicators and targets including the
setting of long-term objectives
3. Developing alternative proposals
a. Considering a variety of solutions to a problem
b. Describing alternative scenarios
4. Analyzing impacts (social, environmental and economic)
5. Developing a strategy for implementation and follow-up
The process is guided by a facilitator and typically organized in a working
group, connected to a steering committee and stakeholder groups for
national policy makers and civil society respectively (Falcón, pers. comm.,
2017a; Ranhagen and Groth, 2012). The SymbioCity Approach is also
promoted through training courses on sustainable urban planning,
initiated and co-financed by SKL International. One of these courses is
part of Sida’s International Training Program (ITP) and one is carried out
by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). A
specific course book, titled “Developing Sustainable Cities in Sweden”
(Andersson et al., 2011) was developed as a complement for the ITP
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014).
CHAPTER SUMMARY
52
Figure 4 Stakeholder involvement as suggested by the approach. Source: Andersson et al. (2014)
Chapter Summary
The SymbioCity Approach is meant to provide an overview of issues, linkages,
interfaces and synergies between the various systems, fields and functions pertaining to
sustainable urban development. The framework links a conceptual model, with an
institutional framework and urban systems. The working procedure consists of 1)
Defining and organizing the planning or review process; 2) Diagnosing the current
situation; 3) Developing alternative proposals; 4) Analyzing impacts and 5)
Developing a strategy for implementation and follow-up.
53
6 Three Phases of the Actor-Networking
This chapter introduces the actor-network exporting
Swedish urban sustainability by providing a historical account
chronologically presented in what can be understood as three phases.
The first phase concerns the inception of the Swedish Sustainable City concept.
The second treats the adaption of the concept to development cooperation.
The third deals with the transfer of the responsibility of the application
of the concept to development cooperation from Sida to SKL International.
The chapter is concluded with an overview of documents describing the
SymbioCity concept and a selection of events and periods in its development.
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
55
6.1 Exporting Environmental Technology
through Urban Planning
This chapter presents the first phase of the actor-networking of Swedish urban
sustainability, focused on exporting environmental technology. I explore its
commercially oriented origin and evolution and specifically how Swedish urban
sustainability was conceptualized to market Swedish environmental technology.
Identifying Urban Planning as a Door-Opener
for Environmental Technology
In 2001, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the technology
consultancy firm SWECO were invited to compete in a competition to
plan a new town as part of the Shanghai One City Nine Towns Plan
drawing inspiration from other countries. SWECO decided to compete
and eventually won with the proposal which would become the Luodian
Swedish New Town (see Ranhagen (2014)), which drew attention from
the media and in extension the government. The government were at the
time interested in the possibility of connecting urban planning with
environmental and energy technology and got in contact with Ulf
Ranhagen through SWECO’s Head of Markets. Ranhagen was
consequently commissioned in his position at SWECO to author a
platform which brought together environmental technology and urban
sustainability (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). The resulting Sustainable
City concept (Ranhagen et al., 2002), was developed on behalf of the
Swedish government via the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry
of the Environment, and of the Swedish environmental technology
industry via the Swedish Trade Council. The concept was also seen as a
way to meet a perceived need of communicating Swedish urban
sustainability in international arenas. When presented at the 2002 World
Summit of Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the concept served
as a response to an identified need for holistic planning and governance
EXPORTING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY THROUGH URBAN PLANNING
56
of city development and as a niche for Sweden at the summit, which
would encourage public and private sector to demonstrate their
cooperation (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012; Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014).
Crafting Swedish Urban Sustainability from and for
Commercial Partnerships
The approach to urban sustainability developed by Ranhagen was
founded on experiences which are partly idealized and partly research
based, and can be understood as a model or vision rather than a
description of the Swedish experience. The experiences incorporated
included those gathered in a program commissioned by the Swedish
Energy Agency on sustainable municipalities (see Ranhagen (2011))
(Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). It seems as Ranhagen’s experience and
competency in urban planning, and the attention which the Luodian New
Town gave rise to, lent him the legitimacy needed for being
commissioned by the government. According to its author the
“Swedishness” of the approach is threefold (Ranhagen, pers. comm.,
2017):
• the starting point in a decentralized political structure,
• the transparency of processes and inclusion of stakeholders, and
• the ambition of a holistic and cross-sectoral approach allowing
for synergies to be identified.
These elements were repeated in several interviews, indicating a shared
view of the “Swedishness” of the concept.
It is worth noting the origins of the approach, especially its foundation in
the engineering consultancy firm SWECO. As shown by Hult (Hult,
2015) and Rapoport and Hult (2017), such firms, which they refer to as
part of a Global Intelligence Corps (GIC), package and circulate certain
models of urban sustainability (see also chapter 3.3), such as the
SymbioCity concept, thereby shaping norms regarding what constitutes
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
57
urban sustainability. Interestingly, they investigate particularly the
engagement of Swedish firms such as SWECO and Tengbom architects
in Chinese eco-city projects, which constituted the inception point of the
Sustainable City concept. While the resulting plans are shown to have had
little impact on the ground, they nevertheless reinforce a view in which
sustainable urbanism and economic growth are complementary
objectives.
Selling Environmental Technology through the Story of Decoupling
To promote the Swedish approach to urban sustainability, the trade
council mobilized a narrative of Swedish environmental history which
described how Sweden has made a successful turn from being troubled
by environmental issues to establishing itself as a frontrunner in
environmental issues. This was very much a result of searching for a story
which could be accepted by all the stakeholders in the environmental
technology industry and which could be applied in a wide variety of
contexts, such as exhibitions, embassy events and delegation trips, to
create interest among potential buyers. Central to the story is a graph
(presented in Figure 5) showing how Sweden has managed to decouple
its economic growth from its emissions of carbon dioxide (Dahlfors, pers.
comm., 2017; Schartau, pers. comm., 2017).
Indeed, Hult (2013) notes that the story depends on Swedish nuclear
power being “absent-present” (Callon and Law, 2004) in the network,
allowing a translation of Swedish urban sustainability based on
environmental technology to be black-boxed. The story further depends
on a production perspective of emissions, and can, if viewed from a
consumption perspective be disclosed as a myth (Hult, 2013). There was
however a recognition that the Swedish development is not so much a
result of technological solutions, but is rather understood to be a result
of its cross-sectoral processes (Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017).
EXPORTING ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY THROUGH URBAN PLANNING
58
Figure 5 The SymbioCity graph, illustrating the Swedish experience of decoupling economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions. Source: Hult (2013).
Establishing the SymbioCity Concept as Unique
to Sell Swedish Environmental Technology
When the decoupling narrative had been settled upon, the trade council
received means from the government for developing marketing materials
(Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017). Business Sweden then hired a
communication firm to simplify the approach for communicative
purposes, although it was also seen as compromising some of its depth
(Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). The concept was also renamed
SymbioCity as a way of protecting it as a trademark and to distinguish it
from other concepts (Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017). This indicates that
the uniqueness of the concept (although not explicitly its “Swedishness”)
was emphasized as a means of marketing Swedish environmental
technology. Together with the story of Swedish environmental history
and the slogan “Sustainability by Sweden”, the Swedishness of the
concept seems to have been considered important for framing Swedish
environmental technology as desirable.
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
59
SymbioCity as an Obligatory Passage Point in the
Environmental Technology Network
Although the Swedish trade council has aimed at promoting Swedish
environmental technology, SymbioCity was seen not as emphasizing
technological solutions per se but rather a cross-sectoral approach
enabling synergies between urban infrastructural systems. The
SymbioCity concept has thus rather been seen as a door opener for the
promotion of Swedish environmental technology. The approach was
nevertheless considered critical in framing Swedish solutions as relevant,
as single sector or “silo” approaches might render Swedish solutions to
be overlooked. Such a framing would then facilitate the work of Swedish
environmental technology companies in selling their technology
(Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017). Ensuring such a framing of urban
sustainability can be understood as the SymbioCity concept being
established as an obligatory passage point in the actor-network of Swedish
environmental technology export. This would mean that local networks
drawing resources for urban sustainability from the global network of
Swedish expertise were primed for marketing of Swedish environmental
technology. The many reported applications of the SymbioCity concept
for communicating Swedish urban sustainability (Dahlfors, pers. comm.,
2017), points to the establishing of such a passage point as successful.
In this regard, Swedish environmental technology shows features similar
to those of scripts, which “define a framework of action together with the
actors and the space in which they are supposed to act” (Akrich, 1992,
pp. 207–208), by motivating the export of cross-sectoral approaches to
urban issues. Apart from seeking to influence at policy level, Business
Sweden also saw a need to develop several offers to meet the expectation
of “selling something”. Such offers were based on thematic areas such as
airports or urban transport (Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017). This seems
partly to have been a compromise with need of cross-sectoral
partnerships, necessary to fit the available communication channels.
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60
6.2 Adding Development Expertise to the
Sustainable City Concept
This chapter presents what can be called the second phase of the actor-networking of
Swedish urban sustainability, in which the adaption of the concept to application in
development cooperation was initiated. In this phase Sida identified a need for an
integrated approach to urban planning, such as the Sustainable City concept, in low-
income countries. This led to application of the approach to two pilot cities and the
development of a manual.
Identifying a Need for a New Urban Planning Approach
in Low-Income Countries
Around 4-5 years after its inception, the Swedish international
development agency, Sida, became interested in the Sustainable City
concept (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017) and wanted to see whether it
could be applied to development cooperation. Sida had at an early stage
recognized the role which cities would need to play in pursuing
sustainable development and saw a possibility of adapting the Sustainable
City concept by adding development competence to it (Melin, pers.
comm., 2017).
“With the enormous scale of urban growth especially in some
areas of Asia and Africa the need for a more holistic planning
and governance of city development, including environmental
systems solutions, becomes obvious. There is also an urgent need
for improved management and operation of municipal
environmental infrastructure” (Sida, 2006).
The quote from the project proposal points to the challenges posed by
urban growth necessitating a holistic approach to cities and also indicates
a continuity in the attention to environmental technology and
infrastructure. Sweden’s early experience of engaging with the
sustainability of cities, in part due to experience of urban development
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
61
based on decentralized regulation and in part on municipal taxation, was
considered relevant in assisting such approaches (Melin, pers. comm.,
2017). An important factor behind the initiative was the identified
competence base within municipalities as well as other public authorities,
institutes, universities and networks (Sida, 2006).
Adapting the Approach to Low-Income Contexts
To adapt the Sustainable City concept to low-income contexts, Sida
commisioned Ulf Ranhagen to author a set of guidelines, resulting in “The
Sustainable City Approach Manual for Support to Environmentally Sustainable
Urban Development in Developing Countries”. The first Sustainable City
concept was developed by Ulf Ranhagen with a reference group of four,
including advisors from SWECO, the Swedish environmental research
institute IVL, and another consultancy firm, WSP. Apart from his own
research and experience from working with Swedish municipalities, the
manual also incorporated knowledge from consultants with experience of
the developing context (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017).
To test the applicability of the approach, two pilot projects were carried
out, one in Visakhapatnam in India and one in Skopje, Macedonia, during
2008-2009. According to Mats Jarnhammar (2017), the political view
which Sida encountered in this phase held that people should be
prevented from moving to the cities by focusing on rural development.
They therefore took upon them to convince the politicians that
urbanization is inevitable, that everyone is entitled access to the city and
that planning needs to include those living in informal areas (Gordan,
2017).
According to Melin (2017), there are many similar handbooks available
and which one is used is not critical. This view is shared in the evaluation
which notes the similarity of the approach to thinking in other national
and international institutions. It was however seen as unique in being a
process-oriented urban planning instrument which can fit into existing
ADDING DEVELOPMENT EXPERTISE TO THE SUSTAINABLE CITY CONCEPT
62
planning structures and links a conceptual model with working
procedures and best practices (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014). Melin
(2017) also stressed that other handbooks have often been developed
with an ideal city in mind, and that there is a lack of visions adapted to
poor cities (Melin, pers. comm., 2017). The concept is currently viewed
as a means of assisting countries in pursuing the New Urban Agenda and
Agenda 2030 (Melin, pers. comm., 2017).
Forming a Common Concept of Swedish Urban Sustainability
In 2007, the Swedish Trade Council (now Business Sweden) launched the
SymbioCity platform as an effort to rejuvenate and further specialize the
concept for marketing purposes. The Sustainable city concept was
eventually integrated into the SymbioCity initiative to form an all-
encompassing concept and communication platform for Swedish actors
involved in urban development (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014; Hult,
2013). The sharing arenas such as conferences and having a common
foundation was though likely to have motivated a common platform
(Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017).
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63
6.3 Building and Networking Municipal Expertise
This chapter presents what can be called the third phase of the actor-networking of
Swedish urban sustainability, in which the application of the approach to urban
planning in low-income countries was transferred from Sida to SKL International.
Transferring the SymbioCity Concept to SKL International
As Sida realized that it was politically unviable to host the concept as its
own with the withdrawal of Sida’s urban unit, they choose between
handing it over to either Boverket (the Swedish national board of
housing), KTH Royal Institute of Technology or SKL (the Swedish
Association Local Authorities and Regions (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014;
Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). Upon considering the important role of
the decentralized municipal planning monopoly as a component of
Swedish planning, the choice fell on SKL in 2009 (Ranhagen, pers.
comm., 2017). In 2010 SKL was consequently assigned the mission to
develop the concept further, which in turn assigned it to the subsidiary
corporation SKL International (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014).
Transferring the responsibility of the approach to SKL and SKL
International meant accessing the country-spanning network of
municipalities which could enable intercity learning, based on their
experiences of decentralized planning (Melin, pers. comm., 2017;
Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). It has however been noted that largely the
same work was being done as before (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014).
Building Capacity in Urban Sustainability in the Interurban Network
Apart from sharing Sida’s intention of contributing to urban sustainability
through development cooperation, taking over responsibility for the
SymbioCity concept was also seen as a way to build capacity in urban
planning in the network of Swedish municipalities. Whereas SKL
International had previously focused on administration, local democracy
and governance, this was seen as way of engaging more directly in a
BUILDING AND NETWORKING MUNICIPAL EXPERTISE
64
thematic area constituting one of the municipalities’ core activities
(Falcón, pers. comm., 2017b). It seems as SKL International’s
institutional capacity of working with both decentralized local
government and international cooperation and experience sharing, rather
than any specific experience of urban planning, was seen as a motive to
engage with sustainable urban planning abroad. Nevertheless, the
Swedish experience and expertise in municipalities in working with urban
development issues was mentioned as a good starting point for further
development (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017b). While this has led to SKL
International building capacity in urban planning internally and also
gaining a larger network, it was noted that the knowledge of the
municipalities could be better utilized (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017b).
Since SKL International took over, the SymbioCity concept has been
applied to city projects in two phases: the first between 2010 and 2015
including urban development in four pilot cities, two in Indonesia
(Probolinggo and Palu), one in China (Duyun) and one in Zambia
(Mazabuka); the second (part of the SymbioCity 2.0 program outlined
below) from 2016 and ongoing, including a global program with six urban
development projects in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Colombia, and a
bilateral program with Kenya. In this phase, Sida wishes to emphasize
sub-Saharan Africa due to its directives to focus on least developed
countries (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a; Jarnhammar, pers. comm., 2017).
The projects in Visakhapatnam and Skopje were part of ongoing
programs to which Sida wanted to apply the concept (Melin, pers. comm.,
2017). The city projects in the phase between 2010-2015 seem largely to
have emerged as a result of previous personal and organizational
connections (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014, p. 24). In this phase, three out
of four projects were assigned a Swedish partner city, as a part of Sida’s
partner driven cooperation (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014). The
SymbioCity 2.0 program marks a new phase starting in December 2015
and lasting until December 2020, with a stronger focus on poverty
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
65
reduction and gender equality. Key concepts of this phase includes
(Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a; SymbioCity, 2017):
• Advancing the SymbioCity Approach – learning from
experiences of both successes and failures and seeing how they
can be disseminated to others
• City projects designed based on experiences obtained in
previous pilot projects in Europe, Asia and Africa, and on the
needs of targeted cities
• Capacity building activities to support capacity development for
urban development professionals in local, regional and national
governments – currently in the form of an educational program
in Myanmar based on city local case studies combined with
Swedish examples and methodology.
Operationalizing the Approach
After the concept had been transferred to SKL International, Ulf
Ranhagen was commissioned to author a second version of the manual.
Experiences from the pilot projects feed in to the this conceptual
framework (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012), e.g. leading to a better balance
between environmental and social sustainability (Dahlgren and Wamsler,
2014). The renaming of the manual as an approach was seen by the author
as a way to emphasize humility and adaptability towards the context of
application (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). The approach also underwent
consultation from partner institutions which were locally anchored
(Melin, pers. comm., 2017) and consultants with experiences from
working with Sida in developing contexts (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017).
This was done via workshops and seminars and included experts from
UN-Habitat, Mistra Urban Futures, the Swedish Ministry of
Environment, the Swedish Trade Council, u-PLAN Tor Eriksson AB,
Ulricehamn Kommun (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012). This consultation
also led to other actors engaging in using the process (Melin, 2017).
BUILDING AND NETWORKING MUNICIPAL EXPERTISE
66
When assigned with the responsibility of rolling out of the approach in
2010, SKL International had no previous experience of urban
development. They found the manual difficult to use in practice and
considered it necessary to make it more accessible to practitioners in the
cities, which resulted in the “Process Guide” (Andersson et al., 2013)
(Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a). The emphasis on the process was however
seen as a risk of losing the role of the outcomes of the concept, such as
visions, scenarios and results, which were seen as critical to ensure a long-
term perspective enabling more sustainable solutions. An expert group
was also formed at SKL International, consisting of architects, urban
planners, and others with competence to act as facilitators (Ranhagen,
pers. comm., 2017).
Black-Boxing Swedish Expertise in Urban Planning
The recognition of the necessity of engaging political leadership
eventually also resulted in the inspirational publication “Get started – Move
forward” (Andersson et al., 2014) being co-authored with decision makers
in several countries (e.g. Sweden, the Philippines, Ethiopia and Turkey)
who have driven urban development processes successfully (Falcón, pers.
comm., 2017a; Jarnhammar, pers. comm., 2017). The publication
provides guidelines for city leaders on how to facilitate sustainable urban
development building on the Swedish SymbioCity Approach. This
publication has been handed out during study visits and served as a basis
for workshops for political leadership, such as a network event held
during Habitat III, the United Nation’s bi-decennial conference on
housing and sustainable urban development which took place in Quito,
Ecuador, in October 2016 (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017b). In the language
of ANT, this provides an example of interessement, in which other actors
are made interested in the problem definition and locked into proposed
roles by accepting this definition and the obligatory passage points it
requires. The co-authoring of the report with an international set of
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
67
decision makers can be understood as them being mobilized to speak on
behalf of the network. The publication then serves as a token which
through its circulation helps to black-box the Swedish approach to urban
sustainability with the support of its spokespersons.
SymbioCity as an Obligatory Passage Point in the
Urban Planning Network
It seems as though SymbioCity concept has been established as an
obligatory passage point in the Swedish urban planning network’s
extension to low-income countries. It is interesting to consider whether
the passage point is the SymbioCity approach secretariat or the
SymbioCity approach itself. It is clear that the secretariat has become an
important node which coordinates a global network from which
resources, both financial and political support, as well as capacity in urban
planning, are gathered to be channeled to the local networks through the
individual projects. In these local networks, the approach is made the
starting point for all activities meant to contribute to urban sustainability.
In the language of ANT, this could perhaps best be described as the
approach being the obligatory passage point for which the secretariat acts
as a spokesperson, and which new actors must accept to become enrolled
in the actor-network. As an actant, the approach then constitutes an
embodiment of the idealized Swedish experience of urban sustainability
which, through its facilitators, guides the interactions of the local actors
in pursuing urban sustainability.
6.4 Overview of Documents and Events
An overview of documents describing the SymbioCity concept is
provided in Table 3. An overview of a selection of events and periods in
the development of SymbioCity is provided in Table 4. The first phase
began in 2001 entering of SWECO in a competition for urban planning
in Shanghai, eventually resulting in the first documentation of the concept
OVERVIEW OF DOCUMENTS AND EVENTS
68
“The Sustainable City - A Vision of the Swedish-Chinese Partnership in a Global
Context” (Ranhagen et al., 2002), and eventually in the development of the
SymbioCity concept in 2007. The second phase began with Sida
becoming interested in the concept around 2006, resulting in “The
Sustainable City Approach–Sida Manual for Support to Environmentally
Sustainable Urban Development in Developing Countries” (Ranhagen, 2008). The
third phase began with SKL International being assigned the mission to
continue developing the concept in 2010, eventually resulting in “The
Symbiocity approach: A conceptual framework for sustainable urban development”
(Ranhagen and Groth, 2012), a process guide (Andersson et al., 2013),
and a guide for decision makers (Andersson et al., 2014).
Table 3 Timeline of documents describing the Sustainable City concept
Year Document Reference
2002 The Sustainable City - A Vision of the Swedish-Chinese Partnership in a Global Context
(Ranhagen et al., 2002)
2008 The Sustainable City Approach – Sida Manual for Support to Environmentally Sustainable Urban Development in Developing Countries.
(Ranhagen, 2008)
2011 Developing Sustainable Cities in Sweden (Andersson et al., 2011)
2012 The SymbioCity approach: A conceptual framework for sustainable urban development
(Ranhagen and Groth, 2012)
2013 SymbioCity Process Guide - In search of synergies for sustainable cities
(Andersson et al., 2013)
2014 Get Started, Move Forward - Leadership in Sustainable Urban Development - A Guide for Decision Makers
(Andersson et al., 2014)
THREE PHASES OF THE ACTOR-NETWORKING
69
Table 4 Timeline of a selection of events in evolution of SymbioCity.
Year/ Period
Event Sources
2001 SWECO enters competition for urban planning in Shanghai.
(Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017)
2002 The Sustainable City concept is developed by Ulf Ranhagen via SWECO and presented at the World Summit of Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014)
2007 SymbioCity is launched as a platform to rejuvenate the concept for marketing purposes.
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014)
2008 World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China. Sweden sends 150 delegates and occupies a fifth of the international exhibition space.
(Hult, 2013)
2008 Sida’s urban unit is shut down. (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014)
2008-2009
The concept is applied in two pilot-cities in developing countries after being further developed by Sida into The Sustainable City Approach Manual.
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014)
2010 The SymbioCity concept is presented at the World Urban Forum 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(Melin, pers. comm., 2017)
2010 SKL International is assigned by Sida via SALAR/SKL to develop the concept further.
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014)
2010- 2015
Application of SymbioCity in urban development in four pilot cities, two in Indonesia, one in China and one in Zambia.
(Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a)
2014 The SymbioCity concept is presented at the World Urban Forum 7 in Medellín, Colombia.
(Mejía-Dugand, 2016)
2016-present
A new work phase including a global program, with six city projects in Ethiopa, Zimbabwe and Colombia, a bilateral program in Kenya including cooperation with seven counties, and an educational program in Myanmar.
(Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a; Jarnhammar, pers. comm.,
2017)
CHAPTER SUMMARY
70
Chapter Summary
This chapter has dealt with three phases in the networking of Swedish expertise in
urban sustainability. In the first phase, the initiative to export Swedish expertise in
urban sustainability sprang from interest in combining urban planning with export of
environmental technology sparked by participation of Swedish actors in a competition
for urban planning in China. The need to communicate Swedish urban sustainability
in international arenas eventually led to this interest taking the form of the Sustainable
City concept. I show that this concept had a strong contextual origin within a
commercially oriented effort of promoting urban sustainability. The concept was thus
packaged as a uniquely Swedish concept to lend credibility and admirability to its
actors. This concept was propagated by a story of Sweden’s decoupling of carbon dioxide
emissions and economic growth, a story relying on a production perspective of emissions.
There was however a recognition that Sweden’s success story was not so much a result
of environmental technology as much as integrated planning processes. Establishing the
concept as an obligatory passage point in the Swedish expert network was meant to
help Swedish companies to sell environmental technology to new markets. In the second
phase, the challenges facing low-income cities in the Global South in combination with
the Swedish experience of urban sustainability motivated Sida to adopt the concept for
the purpose of development cooperation. After commissioning a manual founded on the
concept, it was then applied to two pilot projects to test its applicability to the developing
context. Sida was later invited by the Swedish Trade Council to form a common concept
of Swedish urban sustainability as a way of communicating a joint message of Swedish
urban sustainability. The third phase started with the transfer of SymbioCity from
Sida to SKL International and continues up until present day. Apart from sharing
Sida’s intention of assisting poor cities with urban planning, taking over the approach
has also been seen as a way of building capacity in urban sustainability within the
network of SKL. In this phase, the approach was applied to further pilot projects, a
second report was developed and additional documents were developed to operationalize
and promote the approach. The approach was propagated both by a message of Swedish
expertise in urban planning and by enrolling an international network of decision
makers. This helped to establish the SymbioCity Approach as an obligatory passage
point in the urban planning network
71
7 Mutation, Promotion and Impact of the SymbioCity Approach
This chapter discusses the actor-network by exploring three themes, namely
how the concept of Swedish urban sustainability has managed to mutate for purposes,
how it was promoted to the context of the Global South,
and how the circulation and performance of it has impacted on its recipients.
The chapter is concluded with a summary of the translations of urban sustainability.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
72
”The ultimate aim of the SymbioCity Approach is to
promote and encourage sustainable urban development,
primarily in low and middle income countries. By improving
the life conditions from environmental, socio-cultural and
economic perspectives, the SymbioCity Approach can
contribute to the alleviation of poverty. The conceptual
framework is generic and should be applied in a flexible way
according to the conditions and needs of the local context. The
Approach is thus also relevant for cities and towns also in
transitional and developed countries.”
(Ranhagen and Groth, 2012, p. 12)
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73
7.1 Mutating the Concept for
Development Cooperation
This chapter discusses how the SymbioCity concept has managed to mutate for various
purposes, how these purposes have been combined to form a common platform for
Swedish urban sustainability and what doing so has meant in terms of synergies and
conflicts.
Mutation of a Commercial Model of Urban Planning
While taking a starting point which was largely commercially oriented,
both as a derivate from experiences from a technology consultancy firm
and later as a toolbox for promoting environmental technology, the
concept seems to have been carefully adapted to the purposes of
development cooperation, as elaborated in chapter 7.2. It appears the
Sustainable City and later SymbioCity Concept has been a sufficiently
generic concept to mutate to fit the purposes of a multitude of actors,
including those engaged with development and urban planning and those
more focused on marketing of environmental technology. The concept
seems to share qualities which previously have been observed to provide
fluidity to technological solutions (de Laet and Mol, 2000; Elam and
Sundqvist, 2011): 1) shifting boundaries of the solution, 2) a flexible
working order and 3) a compliant maker. Firstly, the concept has gone
from being focused on environmental technology to include emphasis on
the planning approach in the work of Sida and SKL International. The
approach as such is also broad and encompasses many considerations and
can be applied to a multitude of issues. Secondly, it can be applied for
various uses, including marketing, but also urban planning activities to the
extent which is deemed appropriate by facilitators or the users themselves
(Ranhagen and Groth, 2012). Thirdly, although its maker or author, Ulf
Ranhagen, has at times resisted certain alterations, he must be understood
as for the most part compliant in allowing the concept to be adapted for
purposes of both communication and application. Such compliances are
MUTATING THE CONCEPT FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
74
exemplified by simplifications made by the communication firm when
forming the SymbioCity concept, and those made by SKL International
in operationalizing the approach through the process guide (Ranhagen,
pers. comm., 2017). Like the B-type bush pump, the fluidity of the
SymbioCity Approach seems to have rendered it “lovable” (see chapter
3.2) in that it has been able to find wide support, both for purposes of
marketing and development.
The notion of a Swedish urban sustainability has itself taken on a
multiplicity of meanings, where various actors have enrolled and
performed particular narratives and imaginaries to promote Swedish
urban sustainability, ranging from environmental performance to working
processes (Hult, 2013; Mejía-Dugand, 2016). The multiplicity of
translations of Swedish urban sustainability within the actor-network of
SymbioCity seems permitted by a notion of Swedish sustainability which
demonstrates sufficient interpretative flexibility to be black-boxed (i.e.
immunized against critique) in several ways and for more than one
purpose. Whereas the “Swedishness” of the approach has been
emphasized and fortified for purposes of trade, e.g. by trademark
registration and marketing activities focusing on Swedish technology, it
conversely seems to have been deemphasized for purposes of capacity
building and development cooperation, where the experiences from other
contexts and the generalizability of the approach have been considered
important for its applicability, relevance and its potential to gain funding
from other actors.
I would also argue that the Swedish Sustainable City concept has worked
well for its multiple applications due to its techno-managerial and
therefore depoliticized view of sustainability. At the same time,
distinguishing the concept from its commercial origin seems to have been
important for its credibility in its application to development cooperation.
For instance, SKL International considered it important that the
authoring of the report made on their behalf was done by Ranhagen via
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
75
his professorship at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, rather than via
SWECO, so as to ensure the neutrality of the platform from its
commercial origin, and also wanted one of their own consultants, Klas
Groth, to co-author the report (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017).
Although the concept and message of Swedish urban sustainability has
managed to mutate, some entities seem to have been more stable than
others, e.g. the focus on environmental technology and Swedish
demonstration projects as examples of successful urban planning. The
persistence in the focus on environmental technology and sustainability
is evident from Sida’s problem formulation quoted in chapter 6.2 and
from the first Sida manual explicitly focusing on environmentally
sustainable cities. It is also worth noting continuities and connections in
the networking, such as that part of the reason for Sida’s city project in
Duyun, China, was a request from the Center for Environmental
Technology (CENTEC) within the Embassy of Sweden in Beijing
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014, p. 23). Expert interviewees in the
evaluation of the approach were reported to agree that the approach
could increase its relevance for poverty reduction if less focus was given
to environmental system solutions and more on socio-cultural, economic
and political aspects (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014, p. 17).
“Projects such as Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm and the
Western Harbour in Malmö won international recognition, in
both developing and developed countries, for their approaches to
sustainable urban development” (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012,
p. 9)
Swedish demonstration projects such as Hammarby Sjöstad furthermore
appears to be a consistent part of demonstrating the Swedish expertise in
urban sustainability, mostly in relation to Business Sweden’s activities, as
shown by Hult (2013) and Mejía-Dugand (2016) but also with delegations
from the cities working with SKL International (Falcón, pers. comm.,
2017a), as exemplified by the visit of the Kenyan council of governors
MUTATING THE CONCEPT FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
76
depicted in Figure 6 (Omenya and Krook, 2014). While several
informants deemphasized the role of such demonstration cities (e.g.
Ranhagen (2017) and Asplund (2017)) in the context of development
cooperation, their occurrence is noteworthy. Not only are they cities
which were deliberately built to showcase environmental technology, but
their promotion as role models have also been criticized as a form of
“lifestyle imperialism” in which supposedly efficient environmental
technologies provides a means of becoming more sustainable without
challenging more fundamental concerns, such as the lifestyle of the
inhabitants (Wangel, 2013).
Figure 6 Visit of Kenyan council of governors to Hammarby Sjöstad, Sweden. Source: Omenya and Krook (2014). Cropped by the author.
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
77
Uniting Disconnected Practices Under the Umbrella of SymbioCity
When Sida in 2006 decided to adapt the Sustainable City concept for its
purposes, there are no signs that there were any intentions of creating an
all-encompassing concept which included Swedish environmental
technology. Instead it was The Swedish Trade Council which in 2007
enrolled Sida to form a common platform. Whilst acknowledging the
dangers of mixing business and aid oriented interests, common arenas
such as conferences and a common foundation likely motivated a
common platform (Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017). The actual use of the
approach in urban planning has also been seen as providing foundational
substance and trustworthiness to the concept in acting as a door opener
(Dahlfors, pers. comm., 2017). From Sida’s part the SymbioCity concept
being well packaged has later been seen as a comparative advantage to
other similar models (Melin, pers. comm., 2017). Furthermore, there has
always been an interest from the author of the approach to seek to bridge
the gap between institutional capacity building and the commercially
oriented solutions offered through the concept, where urban planning
would bring the two together. He has consequently tried to promote
closer engagement between SKL International and Business Sweden
although these efforts have so far been unproductive (Ranhagen, pers.
comm., 2017). This might be understood as a failure in an attempt of
establishing a common obligatory passage point of the two actor-
networks to unify the concepts.
At SKL International, transfer of technological solutions was considered
complicated due to the difference in contexts and they instead wished to
emphasize the planning approach; Swedish solutions are often founded
on stable and well-functioning administrations, availability of resources
and a long term perspective, which was thought to render them difficult
to transfer to contexts with scarce resources which may experience
corruption and a lack of administration (Jarnhammar, pers. comm., 2017).
Business Sweden and SKL International have however at times shared
MUTATING THE CONCEPT FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
78
arenas when asked to do so by embassies, for instance in Kenya (Falcón,
pers. comm., 2017a). There is however a recognition and emphasis of the
need to keep interest separated to avoid conditioning aid interventions
with expectations of doing business (Jarnhammar, pers. comm., 2017).
Mejía-Dugand (2016) notes that in events where SKL International and
Business Sweden have shared arenas, there has been a shift in how the
message of the Swedish delegation has been conveyed. From being top-
down it has, as he argues, shifted to allowing for more bottom-up
considerations to enter the discourse, although it is nevertheless evident,
as he argues, that the main task of the tool in such arenas is to promote
environmental technology. At instances when arenas have been shared
with Business Sweden, SKL International have seen it as their role to
provide an understanding of what solutions may be applicable and
relevant in the context (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a), which might be
understood as establishing themselves as an (im-)passage point (Maassen,
2012) in the actor-network’s common extension to the Global South. It
seems worth asking what role local businesses might play in exploring
solutions contributing to urban sustainability and why this question
hitherto appears to have received little attention. This may in part be due
to the fact that there has so far not been any means included for actual
implementation of solutions within the projects (Falcón, pers. comm.,
2017b).
While the complementary needs of communication seem to have
motivated forming a joint platform of Swedish sustainability it also
appears to have networked what are largely “disconnected” practices
(Maassen, 2012) under the same flag. While this disconnectedness has
caused some conflict over the marketing materials (particularly a
webpage), and created confusion among international urban experts and
Swedish municipal representatives, it has in practice been argued to have
negligible negative effect to the purposes of the actors’ interests
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014, p. 31; Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a).
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
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7.2 Promoting Swedish Urban Sustainability to the
Global South
This chapter provides a discussion of how and specifically on what terms cities in the
Global South have been interested and enrolled in the actor-network of Swedish Urban
Sustainability, and some geographical aspects of this process.
Adapting the Approach for Travel to Low-Income Contexts
After Sida had become interested in the Sustainable City concept, several
efforts were made to ensure its applicability to the purposes of
development cooperation. Apart from Ranhagen’s own research and
experience from working with Swedish municipalities, the first manual
also incorporated knowledge from consultants with experience of the
developing context (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). To test the
applicability of the approach, two pilot projects were carried out, one in
Visakhapatnam in India and one in Skopje, Macedonia, during 2008-2009.
The experiences from the pilot projects then fed in to the revised
conceptual framework (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012), e.g. leading to what
was considered a better balance between environmental and social
sustainability (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014).
When the second report was developed on behalf of SKL International,
the approach underwent consultation from partner institutions which
were locally anchored (Melin, pers. comm., 2017) and consultants with
experiences from working with Sida in developing contexts (Ranhagen,
pers. comm., 2017). This was done via workshops and seminars and
included experts from UN-Habitat, Mistra Urban Futures, the Swedish
Ministry of Environment, the Swedish Trade Council, u-PLAN Tor
Eriksson AB, Ulricehamn Kommun (Ranhagen and Groth, 2012). This
consultation also led to other actors engaging in using the process (Melin,
pers. comm., 2017). The renaming of the manual as an approach was seen
by the author as a way to emphasize humility and adaptability towards the
context of application (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). Although not
PROMOTING SWEDISH URBAN SUSTAINABILITY TO THE GLOBAL SOUTH
80
explicitly a pilot, the project in Zambia was initiated because Sida wanted
to see the SymbioCity Approach applied in Africa and to test its
applicability in that context (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014). SKL
International also saw a need of making the approach more accessible to
practitioners in the cities which resulted in the “Process Guide”
(Andersson et al., 2013) (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a). The emphasis on
the process was however seen to risk losing the role of the outcomes of
the concept, such as visions, scenarios and results, which were seen as
critical to ensure a long-term perspective enabling more sustainable
solutions (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017).
“The approach is “Swedish” in the sense that it is in line with
key principles and processes of Swedish planning practice, which
can be characterised by being systematic, cyclical, decentralised
and, to a certain level, participative and inclusive. Sweden further
provides many best practice examples for sustainable urban
development. The approach’s relevance for poorer, less developed
contexts comes, however, to a great extent also from Swedish
experiences with supporting urban development planning in other
countries. In the words of Ulf Ranhagen, the main author of the
approach: “It is a marriage between Swedish and other
experiences”, which resulted from a “mutual, two-way learning
process”. The working procedures, including its low-tech tools
and focus on action plans, are evidence of this process, and a
crucial aspect of its relevance for more low-income contexts”
(Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014, p. 18).
Regarding the approach itself, the idea has been to adapt the concept to
the context of application by taking a starting point in the local, where the
analysis of actors is considered critical to determine who should be
included in the process (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). This was also
emphasized by the interviewed consultant, who stressed the importance
of ensuring representation of societal groups (Asplund, pers. comm.,
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
81
2017). From that foundation, the process can be “robustly” organized,
allowing for co-creation between the actors in analysis, evaluation and
mobilization of local competence. Once the foundation has been
established, examples of holistic system solutions can be introduced,
often through visits to Sweden, showcasing not only [emblematic
demonstration cities such as] Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm and Västra
Hamnen in Malmö, but also experiences from small and medium-sized
cities. While there is a recognition of the difficulty of altering political
structures, it was expressed that much can still be done within the existing
structures, exemplified by the interest of local participation in China. The
differences in contexts, e.g. cultural differences, was also considered to
enable leapfrogging, allowing for transitions directly towards technically
advanced and resource efficient solutions (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017).
A consultant mentioned that as Swedish technological solutions may be
difficult to transfer, it is more the Swedish approach which is relevant,
showing complex relations between technical, social, economic and
environmental factors, their interrelatedness and the potential of
synergies in addressing issues relating to them. This meant speaking less
of “Hammarby Sjöstad and more of sanitation” by using examples which
can be understood in the context (Asplund, pers. comm., 2017). Mejía-
Dugand (2016) notes the role taken by environmental technology
companies in relating to the contexts of application when arenas have
been shared, exemplified by the concerns raised by a local institution
working with informal waste pickers and recyclers regarding the impact
of implementing a waste disposal system. Mejía-Dugand suggests that
their experience from working abroad has given them competence to
address such concerns, in the provided example namely by responding
that it would not be a matter of two competing systems but rather that
recyclers pick what is valuable and someone must pick what is left.
PROMOTING SWEDISH URBAN SUSTAINABILITY TO THE GLOBAL SOUTH
82
The cooperation between municipalities was also considered to be
important in ensuring learning (Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). While
Swedish experiences of participatory processes are considered substantial
and relevant, there is also an acknowledgment of issues where
competence is insufficient, such as illegal and informal settlements. In
such cases there is an ambition to include experience and practices of
other organizations and donors (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a). While there
seem to have been unanimous appreciation of the intercity cooperation,
the limited experience of working abroad among municipal staff has also
been identified as an obstacle in relating to the context (Dahlgren and
Wamsler, 2014). As of current, the intercity cooperation has however not
been include in projects of the third phase, as traditional partnership was
thought to focus more on representation than practical engagement
(Falcón, pers. comm., 2017b). Ranhagen further wished to emphasize the
importance of learning from application of the concept and expressed
concern that such learning might not have happened sufficiently
(Ranhagen, pers. comm., 2017). However, the evaluation made on behalf
of Sida (Dahlgren and Wamsler, 2014), and the component of the
SymbioCity 2.0 concerned with learning from experiences point to
ambitions of doing so. In sum, it seems as though considerable measures
have been taken to adapt the concept to application in low-income
contexts and to ensure its ability to travel.
Communicating the Swedish Experience of Urban Planning
Apart from adapting the model for travel, the process of networking
Swedish urban sustainability has also meant preparing the recipients to
receive it. This is not just evident in the promotion of environmental
technology, with the mobilization of the story of Sweden’s decoupling of
economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions. Rather, I would argue,
there are several examples of what has previously been denoted as
discursive preparation of recipients (Clarke, 2012b), through which the
policy model is made desirable. These include the promotional materials
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
83
such as the guide for decision makers, the hosting of workshops such as
the one at the Habitat III conference and study visits such as the one of
the Kenyan council of governors to Hammarby Sjöstad. In the language
of ANT, these preparations constitute a black-boxing in which the
translation of Swedish urban sustainability to low-income countries is
immunized against critique. An example of this is provided by the
enrollment of the international set of decision makers which lent
legitimacy to the inspirational guide. This is however not to say that the
networking of the Sustainable City concept has meant an uncritical
replication of Swedish solutions or even the approach, but rather that its
contents are conveyed beyond questioning. Conversely, Sida and SKL
International seem to have done well in considering contextual
differences, through iterative development of the approach informed by
experienced consultants, pilot projects, and reviews.
Geographical Aspects of The Actor-Network
While it is easy to imagine differences between Swedish cities and those
to which the SymbioCity concept is applied, a closer look at the actor-
network reveals noteworthy relational proximity between its actors. For
example many of the consultants engaged in the pilot projects, and
authoring and reviewing the manual had considerable experience from
low-income contexts, at times more than of the Swedish (Asplund, pers.
comm., 2017). These were also considered important to make up for any
difficulties arising from the limited relation to low-income contexts in the
interurban partnerships (Falcón, pers. comm., 2017a). While there was
considerable “niches differentiation” between Sweden and low-income
contexts, some of the projects, especially in Africa, were reported to show
considerable similarities, which were also thought to be likely to occur in
new projects. Differences in the application of the approach were
reported to be in large part related to the size of the cities (Asplund, pers.
comm., 2017). While the application of the approach has been reported
to have been successful in the projects, it seems unclear whether the
THE IMPACT OF CIRCULATING AND PERFORMING SWEDISH SUSTAINABILITY
84
approach has made any considerable impact in how problems are
approached (Asplund, pers. comm., 2017). Its “action across distance”
thus seems limited to the facilitated interventions.
7.3 The Impact of Circulating and Performing
Swedish Sustainability
This chapter provides a discussion of how the circulation and performance of this concept
has impacted on its recipients.
The circulation and performance of Swedish urban sustainability can be
understood through the lens of McFarlane’s (2011) distinction of three
interrelated ongoing processes in learning a policy:
• translation – actors’ mediation of relationships and knowledges7
• coordination – the use of structures and objects to organize
discussions about policies, and
• education of attention – shifting perceptions through hands-on
training
In the case of SymbioCity I have shown how the Swedish Sustainable City
concept has been translated for purposes of development cooperation.
This has been done both by mutating it from its commercial starting point
and by translating it for application in low-income contexts. The latter has
in turn been done both by adapting the concept for travel and by
discursive preparation of the targeted cities, as shown in chapter 7.2. In
this translation, consultants and reviewers have acted to mediate its
elements to fit the context, whereas documents describing the process to
policymakers and practitioners, along with facilitators and other
7Consistent with the definition provided by ANT
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
85
proponents have mobilized to intermediate its immutable elements
(which in themselves mediate the approach to urban) to the same
contexts.
Throughout this translational process, from the start and onwards, it
seems urban sustainability has been kept as a techno-managerial issue.
This is not to say that the approach to urban sustainability was understood
or conveyed as a process with an already established goal. Indeed, the
approach emphasizes the need of establishing an inclusive vision of urban
sustainability by means of multi-stakeholder engagement. Rather, the
techno-managerial framing consists in the model’s focus on how this is
to be achieved to the exclusion of what this means in political terms. This
framing is nonetheless surprising, given it partly being incepted from a
GIC-model (see chapter 3.3 and Hult (2015)) but also a necessity for the
model to travel, as is generally the case with policy mobility (Clarke,
2012a). It’s conveyance as a neutral model can in the language of ANT be
understood as being absent-present (Callon and Law, 2004) in the actor-
network; the actor-network’s extension depends on this neutrality, while
it simultaneously keeps the political nature of the traveling model beyond
questioning, i.e. black-boxed. It does not seem unlikely that this mutation
was enabled by the larger post-political trend in society in which ideas, in
this case regarding sustainability, can move freely between the domains
of business, policy and governance (see e.g. Raco and Lin (2012)).
Such translations of urban policies are learned through coordination, in
which different phenomena mediates the relations between the individual
and its environment (McFarlane, 2011). In the case of SymbioCity, such
mediation is provided by the SymbioCity Approach and its tools. To
clarify things, this means that the approach constitutes a mediation in the
relation between individual and environment, which is in turn an
intermediation of the Swedish conception of urban sustainability. These
tools are then complemented by the education of attention which is
provided by the facilitation of urban planning processes, through which
THE IMPACT OF CIRCULATING AND PERFORMING SWEDISH SUSTAINABILITY
86
the proper application of these tools is learned and a way of perceiving
urban issues is shaped. This can be understood as a form of relational
place-making process (Pierce et al., 2011), in which the SymbioCity
Approach shapes the place-frame of the sustainability transitions of the
recipient cities (Murphy, 2015). This place-making furthermore appears
to have become unidirectional according to the evaluation (Dahlgren and
Wamsler, 2014). This seems as previously observed, a result of the
rationalities of development cooperation (Clarke, 2012b). Whereas
Murphy argues that a place-making perspective of transitions is important
for the prospect of finding a consensus in the transition, I would stress
that the consensus orientation of the place-frame in this case is what is
problematic, as it precludes more politically radical conceptions of
sustainability.
Taken together, the export of Swedish urban sustainability could perhaps
be argued to be part of a sort of policy imperialism, as an analogy to the
“lifestyle imperialism”. This is what Wangel (2013) calls the Swedish
efforts of exporting environmental technology and urban sustainability
through the use of demonstration cities. This policy imperialism would
then consist of the promotion of urban sustainability as a techno-
managerial issue for cities in other countries to adopt. When considering
the translations made through the actor-network of exporting Swedish
urban sustainability, not only is what is promoted an idealized approach,
but also one which is contingent on Sweden’s particular experience of
sustainability. Firstly, as a high-income country which imports much of
its consumer goods, it has been possible to tell a story of decoupling
carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth by assuming a
production perspective of emissions. Secondly, understanding policy
making as a consensual practice could perhaps be understood as
permitted by Sweden’s relatively long history of peace and relative income
equality.
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
87
7.4 Summary of Translations of Urban Sustainability
During the evolution of the SymbioCity concept, several translations have
been made and actors have been enrolled at different points in time as
introduced in chapter 5.1. The businesses of SymbioCity can be
understood as export of environmental technology on the one hand, and
urban planning services on the other (Melin, pers. comm., 2017), briefly
presented in Table 5 and sketched in Figure 7. This section is limited to
providing an overview of what are understood to be the central
translations in the respective networks of technology and urban planning
export, presented in the terminology of ANT in Table 6.
Table 5 Analysis of the actor-network using Hallström’s (2003, p. 52) traits
Technology Export Urban Planning Export
Content Decoupling story, Business Sweden, delegations, embassies, exhibitions
SymbioCity Approach (part ideal, part experience), Swedish example cities, process guide, inspirational reports, Sida, SKL International, Swedish municipalities
Interests Exporting environmental technology, letting urban planning act as a door-opener
Development cooperation, exporting urban planning services, building capacity in urban planning
Power resources8
Funding for developing marketing materials, access to cities via diplomatic relations, exhibitions
Funding from Sida, network of municipalities, international network of decision-makers and expertise, exhibitions
Durability The decoupling story seems durable within its network, although it seems to have been deemphasized in relation to the development context
Central elements of the approach appear durable, while it has also been adapted to contexts and its applications
8 Power is according to ANT to be understood as an effect of the circulation
of immutable mobiles (Law, 2008). Power resources thus refers to what
resources have been employed in such circulation.
SUMMARY OF TRANSLATIONS OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
88
Table 6 Summary of Translations of Swedish Urban Sustainability in the Actor-Network of SymbioCity.
Technology Export Urban Planning Export
Problematization Framing of the problem, in this case the need for Swedish solutions and expertise in urban sustainability.
Swedish environmental
technology needs promotion
abroad. Decoupling of carbon
dioxide emissions and economic
growth is made possible by
Swedish environmental
technology. Sustainable solutions
require a holistic and integrated
approach to urban issues. A
united concept (planning
approach and technological
solutions) provides a more
convincing presentation of
Swedish urban sustainability.
Problematizations depend on
the actor who makes the
definition although Sida and
SKL International seem to have
been consistent in their
problematization: inclusive
urban sustainability and
development requires integrated
and holistic urban planning; it is
important for the reach of the
approach how well the tools are
communicated.
Interessement Getting other actors interested in the problem definition, locking actants into proposed roles by accepting the problem definition and obligatory passage points. Actors establishing themselves as obligatory passage points between the local and the global networks will be successful in pursuing the solution to their problem.
The SymbioCity marketing
platform seems to have been
established as an obligatory
passage point in the networking
of technology export which
renders Swedish solutions as
admirable: the experience of
decoupling carbon dioxide and
carbon dioxide emissions as
proof of the performance of
Swedish solutions, cities
approaching their challenges with
a mind-set which allows
considering integrated (Swedish)
solutions. It is notable that SKL
International does not seem to
share the emphasis on the
narrative of decoupling.
The SymbioCity Approach
seems to have been established
as an obligatory passage point in
the actor-network of urban
planning export, which draws on
resources from a global network
and determines how
sustainability is pursued in local
networks. Establishing a
common obligatory passage
point of the two actor-networks
to unify the concepts seem to
largely have failed, although
efforts were made by the author.
Nevertheless, the respective
needs of communication seem to
have motivated forming a joint
platform. However, it seems as
SKL International have tried to
establish themselves as a gate-
keeper or an obligatory passage
point to the two networks when
sharing arenas with Business
Sweden.
MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
89
Enrollment Involving new actors in the network relationship on specific terms
Business Sweden has aimed for
cities accepting a holistic
perspective to urban solutions
and their part in the Swedish
experience of decoupling to
ensure the competitiveness of
Swedish environmental
technology. After doing so the
task of selling solutions has been
handed over to the respective
companies.
For SKL International,
enrollment has required cities
accepting the necessity of a
cross-sectoral approach and
working procedure to urban
planning. At times, this has also
meant pairing the city with a
Swedish counterpart to
cooperate as learning partners.
Mobilization Finding active support. Spokespersons speaking on behalf of the network. Black-boxing (estab-lishing good practices).
Business Sweden, embassies and
delegations speaking on behalf of
the decoupling graph and the
cross-sectoral approach. To be
successful, the local political
leadership need to have accepted
the necessity of a cross-sectoral
approach and the admirability of
Swedish solutions and to have
invited Swedish companies to
discuss possible solutions to the
issues at hand.
Sida and SKL International
along with their networks have
spoken on behalf of the
SymbioCity Approach which in
turn has drawn on Swedish and
international experiences and
networks and emblematic
Swedish demonstration cases to
motivate the planning approach.
SUMMARY OF TRANSLATIONS OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
90
Figure 7 Sketch of a selection of connections in the actor-network(s) of Swedish urban sustainability export
Busi
nes
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Pro
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MUTATION, PROMOTION AND IMPACT OF THE SYMBIOCITY APPROACH
91
The sketch in Figure 7 shows a selection of connections in the actor-
network of Swedish urban sustainability export. My intention is not for it
to be exhaustive but rather to provide a pedagogical overview as a means
of following the argumentation in the analysis. As the reader can
hopefully discern, the actor-network consists of two joined but largely
disconnected practices, as I elaborate in more detail in section 7.1. The
marketing platform and the urban planning approach applied in
development cooperation, seems to have drawn some legitimacy from
one another but have not been as closely connected as its author intended.
It is also worth pointing out that only at a handful of instances have the
two branches actually targeted the same cities. It furthermore noteworthy
that although embassies have been part of networking Swedish urban
sustainability, they have played several and largely separated roles in doing
so. This seems to be a result of the functions of export facilitation and
development cooperation being organizationally separated within the
embassies (Jarnhammar, pers. comm., 2017).
CHAPTER SUMMARY
92
Chapter Summary
In following the evolution of the Sustainable City concept, I argue that it has managed
to mutate so well “from trade to aid” due to its “fluid” qualities and a notion of
Swedish urban sustainability which can be flexibly interpreted. This mutation has
however created a network of joint but disconnected practices. Nevertheless, some
continuity is observed in the evolution of the actor-network, both in the stabilized
emphasis on environmental technology and the projects carried out. In tracing the
networking of Swedish sustainability, I argue that SymbioCity has followed a
previously observed pattern in which the approach has been adapted to travel and the
recipients have been prepared to receive the approach. In considering how the approach
has impacted its recipients, I argue that the translation of urban sustainability
throughout the network has turned focus away from the issue of what urban
sustainability actually is by coordinating activities and by educating the recipients’
attention towards techno-managerial problem framings. This view of urban
sustainability can be said to be permitted by certain interpretations of the Swedish
experience of becoming more sustainable, which can be related to Sweden’s economic
and political context.
93
8 Conclusions This chapter summarizes the findings
of this work and answers the research questions.
A discussion of the practical implications
of the findings are then provided.
The results are then related to previous research.
Finally, the limitations of this work are presented
along with recommendations for further research.
CONCLUSIONS
95
8.1 Summary of Findings
The purpose of this study has been to explore how Swedish actors have tried to
contribute to urban sustainability in low-income cities in the Global South and how
these efforts may have impacted its recipients. In this section I answer the research
question of why and how the actor-network of Swedish urban sustainability export has
emerged by first responding to its sub-questions as follows.
RQ1 By whom and for what purposes was the Swedish concept of urban
sustainability developed?
The Swedish concept of urban sustainability sprang from the
government’s interest in exporting environmental technology through
urban planning. In this phase, environmental technology can be said to
have functioned as a script, which guided the actors in the venture of
exporting Swedish urban sustainability towards establishing a holistic and
cross-sectional approach to urban sustainability as an obligatory passage
point in the actor-network. This approach was promoted by a story of
Sweden’s decoupling of carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth.
In a second phase, Sida identified a need for an integrated approach to
urban planning, such as the Sustainable City concept, in low-income
countries. This led to application of the approach to two pilot cities and
the development of a manual. Sida was later invited by Business Sweden
to form a common concept of Swedish urban sustainability as a way of
communicating a joint message of Swedish urban sustainability.
In a third phase, the application of the approach to urban planning in low-
income countries was transferred from Sida to SKL International. Apart
from sharing Sida’s intention of assisting poor cities with urban planning,
taking over the approach has also been seen as a way of building capacity
in urban sustainability within the network of SKL. The approach was
applied to further pilot projects, a second report was developed and
additional documents were developed to operationalize and promote the
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
96
approach. This helped to establish the SymbioCity Approach as an
obligatory passage point in the urban planning export network. Although
there have been intentions of creating a common concept and platform,
SKL International can be said to have established themselves as a point
of im-passage between the two largely disconnected branches of the
network.
I have shown that although some of the focus on environmental
technology had become stabilized, the approach could be adapted for the
purposes of development cooperation and capacity building. This
adaption seems to have been permitted by the interpretative flexibility of
what constitutes Swedish urban sustainability and the “fluid” and “lovable”
qualities of its conceptualization, overarched by a widely held view of
sustainability as a techno-managerial issue.
RQ2 How has the Swedish concept of urban sustainability been promoted
and circulated to low-income cities in the Global South?
In tracing the networking of Swedish sustainability, I have argued that the
SymbioCity concept has followed a previously observed pattern in which
the approach has been adapted to travel and the recipients have been
prepared to receive the approach. The approach was adapted to low-
income contexts by drawing on relations which can be understood as
geographically distant but relationally proximate. This included the
conducting of pilot projects, drawing on the experiences of Swedish
consultants and having the approach reviewed through a consultation
with partner institutions. The planning approach was demonstrated by
mobilizing a national network of municipalities and demonstration cities
was mobilized. Its application abroad was then legitimized by mobilizing
an international network of decision-makers along with networking
events, promotional material and study visits to Swedish cities and
municipalities.
CONCLUSIONS
97
In considering how the approach has impacted its recipients, I argue that
although its applications seem to have been appreciated, the translation
of urban sustainability throughout the network has turned focus away
from the issue of what urban sustainability actually is by coordinating
activities and by educating the recipients’ attention towards techno-
managerial problem framings. Swedish urban sustainability has been
translated in the actor-network of its export as achievable and transferable
to other contexts through an integrated and holistic planning approach.
The SymbioCity Approach provides a toolbox for coordination of
practices to that end. The concept also provides education of attention
through the hands-on training provided by the practical facilitation of
planning processes. Although its actual impact remains to be further
explored, it can be argued that the concept’s emphasis on a consensual
and techno-managerial approach towards urban sustainability contributes
to depoliticizing the notion of sustainability, in part by means of the
mentioned strategies.
Main RQ Why and how has the actor-network of Swedish urban sustainability
export to low-income contexts in the Global South emerged?
In sum, interests in exporting Swedish expertise in urban sustainability
have ranged from commercial to solidary, where different narratives of
the Swedish experience of sustainability have been emphasized in
pursuing those interests. While taking a commercial starting point, the
concept of Swedish urban sustainability seems to have been loved by
many and has managed to mutate to the purposes of development, which
has given rise to a network of joint but largely disconnected practices.
Common to the Actor-Network is however that its performances and
circulations have contributed to views of urban sustainability as
uncontestable. This view of sustainability can be said to be permitted by
certain interpretations of the Swedish experience of becoming more
sustainable.
RELATING THE FINDINGS TO THE LITERATURE
98
Whether the love of SymbioCity is desirable or not arguably depends on
how well contextual differences are taken in consideration in its
application and how SKL International plays its role as a gate-keeper
when at times sharing arenas with the environmental technology industry.
Most importantly however, it depends on the extent to which
sustainability becomes established as depoliticized and the consequences
thereof.
8.2 Relating the Findings to the Literature
In this section I relate the findings of the case study to theory and previous research. I
discuss the contributions from theory in the empirical understanding of the case and
vice-versa.
The Actor-Network from the Multi-Level Perspective
Relating the traced actor-network to transitions theory, the actors seem
to have sought to influence urban sustainability transitions at what can be
interpreted as several levels of the MLP, including political leadership
down to individual initiatives. Novelty has been identified in the approach
to urban planning, but also continuously in integrated systems solutions
including environmental technology. Obduracy has for instance been
encountered in the institutional setting, the political leadership and the
disconnection of the actors under the SymbioCity umbrella. The
opportunity (at the landscape level) for urban sustainability innovations
to travel to the Global South seems in part to come from a growing
agreement over and sense of urgency of the role which cities must play in
sustainable development, possibly serving as arenas (i.e. niches) for
exploration of more sustainable novelties. From a more critical
perspective, it can perhaps be argued that these landscape forces are
discursively reproduced to promote a depoliticized techno-managerial
model of urban sustainability.
CONCLUSIONS
99
Locating a Transitions Initiative in Space
Locating efforts of contributing to sustainability transitions in space have
provided an empirical in contribution understanding of the relevance of
international linkages. I have shown how actors in such linkages seek
shape the interplay of actors in the identification of novelties and
obduracies by framing them as techno-managerial issues and thereby
turning attention away from the political in this interplay. These linkages
have also been shown to be more complex than what might be expected
at a glance, as actors in both development cooperation and marketing of
environmental technology have developed relational proximity to
geographical contexts in which their Swedish (and thereby geographically
and contextually distanced) approaches to sustainability are to be applied.
As far as the depoliticized view of sustainability is prevalent at the global
scale, this yet again points to the necessity of understanding urban regimes
as being nested in regimes at larger scale which seek to influence the
dynamics of transitions. Cites are thus not just a certain locus of
transitioning but a type of locus which is complexly networked across
space and scales.
Contributions to Actor-Network Theory
This study has made an empirical contribution to ANT in showing how
a dialectic between a descriptive approach of ANT and explanatory
approaches of others such as socio-technical transitions theory and policy
mobility theory, can inspire empirical investigation by deemphasizing a
priori assumed structuration but at the same time informing a common
language of societal transition processes. I concludingly suggest that ANT
provides a good foundation in the continued cross-fertilization of
disciplines for advancing the understanding of such transitions.
RELATING THE FINDINGS TO THE LITERATURE
100
The SymbioCity Approach and Transitions Management
As SymbioCity has so far mostly been engaged with policy processes and
less so with actual implementation of urban solutions, its resemblance to
transitions management remains vague. It might however be said that the
critique aimed at transitions management by Kenis et al. (2016) appears
analogously relevant to SymbioCity as an approach as well. Firstly, its
deliberative view of democracy prevents the agonistic approach proposed
by Mouffe (2005), as elaborated in chapter 3.1. Secondly, although it
seems that facilitators have been careful to ensure broad inclusion of
stakeholders, representations are, as Kenis et al. (2016) notes, always
limited. Thirdly, it seems it has until now remained unaware to its own
post-political assumptions and the exogenous forces which have enabled
and propelled them.
Relation to Previous Research
To respond to the query of Hult and Rapoport (2017) regarding how
traveling sustainable urbanisms can come to include more focus on social
sustainability, it seems that it may result from the kind of mutation which
a transfer to a non-commercial actor such as Sida has motivated in this
case. This move towards inclusion of social aspects of expert
interventions in development cooperation is also notable in relation to
studies on aid, as is the movement towards inclusion of international
bodies of expertise compared to previous reliance on bilateral contacts
(Bruno, 2016).
CONCLUSIONS
101
8.3 Practical Implications of the Findings
Having now criticized the SymbioCity concept for contributing to de-
politicizing urban sustainability, it is only right that I try to address the
question of what a sound alternative or complement might be, if such is
at all to be found. In doing so, I wish to draw on suggestions already made
by others, and which I argue can be combined for a more egalitarian and
democratic North-South partnership for urban sustainability.
A Politics of Place beyond Place
Firstly, as a means of countering the unidirectional tendency in North-
South interurban partnerships, Nick Clarke (2012b) makes suggestions
for a more cosmopolitan urbanism. He follows Doreen Massey (Massey,
2005, 2007; Massey et al., 2011) in calling for a “politics of place beyond
place”. For his cosmopolitan urbanism, this means not transferring
policies between cities but transforming policies within them by paying
attention to their impact elsewhere. This could for instance refer to the
type of shift in attention made by Hult (2017) after considering the impact
of the productions perspective on emissions assumed when promoting
Swedish urban sustainability through SymbioCity; she instead turns to
consider how Swedish cities can contribute to more efficient energy
utilization domestically.
The Value of an Agonistic View of Transitions
The second argument would be to assume Mouffe’s (2005) agonistic
conception of democracy in which conflict or antagonism is recognized
as inevitable and in which actors understand their relations as political
opposition. As Machin (2013) argues, arriving at completely inclusive
agreements on sustainability issues is impossible, and it is therefore
important to be aware of the power which is inevitably at play. As Kenis
et al. (2016), suggests when considering how to improve Transition
Management theory, a transition initiative would do well to start by
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
102
identifying and recognizing potential fault lines, power relations and
forms of exclusion and to thereby become reflexive of the political nature
of its endeavor. Such awareness, she argues, is critical both within
transition arenas themselves and in the relations between the arenas and
society at large.
Towards an Agonistic Politics of Place beyond Place
If these two arguments, calling for a politics of place beyond place and
the assumption of an agonistic view of transitions, are brought together,
it does not appear completely unreasonable for such partnerships also to
consider leaving room for inviting a critical perspective from the South
on Northern conceptions of urban sustainability. Such a shift might for
instance shed further light on the fault lines in Swedish urban
sustainability practice, which I have tried to address here, i.e. how well do
we represent stakeholders in (spatially) distant countries who may be
affected by the way we conceive and practice sustainability in Swedish
cities, and not least how we promote such practices to others. I argue that
this would enable a more genuinely democratic and cosmopolitan
urbanism than the consensus-oriented one (Raco and Lin, 2012) implied
by proponents of the post-political condition.
Perhaps this shift could be achieved by highlighting the political
dimension of urban sustainability (see e.g. Mössner (2016)) as a part of
the concept. In further practical terms, the shift could also be expressed
in the formulation of the foreign policies which shape the foundations for
development cooperation. It could for instance mean hosting discussions
on the suggested topics as a part of academic exchange, such as Mistra
Urban Futures or the partnership with the African Center for Cities which
is already established with the KTH Environmental Humanities
Laboratory.
CONCLUSIONS
103
8.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research
Spanning a large and multifaceted network, this work has by necessity
been limited in some mentionable regards. Firstly, the empirics rely in
large part on views expressed by actors in the case study, which impedes
its reliability as a historical account. These views are however elemental
to the intended understanding of the translations which have taken place
in the actor-network, and they have also been complemented by cross-
checking documentation of the case. Secondly, the initial phase and
particularly the considerations and interests of government actors is not
thoroughly examined, which is however to be expected given the focus
on the succeeding phase in which the concept has been applied to
development cooperation. Lastly and most importantly, the actual
engagement with the targeted cities has been highly limited, which
precludes a thorough understanding of both its perceived and its actual
impact. Further research should therefore pay attention to how it has
affected the target cities, both in terms of attitudes and actual impacts. I
thus join Raco and Lin (2012) in calling for further investigation of not
only how post-political discourses are constructed but also their impact
for the day-today politics and development of cities.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
104
Chapter Summary
In this chapter I have concluded that interests in exporting Swedish expertise in urban
sustainability have ranged from commercial to solidary, where different stories of the
Swedish experience of sustainability have been told. While the concept of Swedish urban
sustainability has emerged from a commercial starting point, it has managed to
transform well to the purposes of development cooperation. While this transformation
has given rise to a network of somewhat disconnected practices, the efforts of both
branches have nevertheless contributed to establishing sustainability as being
uncontested in its nature. This view can be said to be permitted by certain
interpretations of the Swedish experience of becoming more sustainable. I argue that to
ensure that international cooperation for urban sustainability takes place on egalitarian
and fundamentally democratic terms, Swedish actors would do well to encourage and
facilitate inclusive and critical discussions of how urban sustainability should be
understood, in the North as well as the South. In relation to theory and previous
research this study has shown how urban sustainability transitions can be understood
as being depoliticized through somewhat complex international linkages. It also shows
a continuity in Swedish problematizations in development cooperation taking a starting
point in identification of Swedish expertise, although it reveals a shift in inclusion of
societal considerations. The main limitation of this work lies in the actual engagement
with the targeted cities, which prevents a thorough understanding of both the perceived
and the actual impact of the export of Swedish urban sustainability. Further research
should therefore pay attention to how it has affected the target cities.
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