Where is my village; finding social resilience through adaptive reuse on a neighbourhood scale
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Program
Architecture and planning beyond sustainability (MPDSD), MSc
Publicerad
2024
Författare
Jose, Jasmine
Elander, Maria
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Resilience, in a broader context, has been explored in diverse academic fields and contexts.
Apart from discussions on ecological and economic resilience, recent debates are also
placing emphasis on the concept of social resilience (Larimian et al., 2020). Social resilience
engages with questions of social practices and human agency and can be portrayed
through three fundamental capacities: coping capacities, which are reactive and absorptive;
adaptive capacities, which are proactive; and transformative capacities, which are
participative (Keck & Sakdapolrak, 2013). To develop social resilience, these fundamental
capacities need to be strengthened which requires improving co-existence and collaboration
across various societal levels.
This thesis has delved into the examination of social resilience on a neighbourhood scale,
exploring the interdependencies among the built environment, societal structure, housing
forms and neighbourhood planning. In Gothenburg, the current societal challenges that
counteract the vision of a socially resilient neighbourhood include loneliness amongst
young adults, isolation of the elderly, shortage of affordable housing and increased segregation,
especially among the newly arrived. This leads to an undesirable sorting of socio-economic
groups within society and the generation of homogenous neighbourhoods.
In addition to the insufficiency of affordable housing projects, the current recession has
led to a decline in housing starts (Göteborg stad, 2023), leading to a further discrepancy
between the need and what is being built.
Solutions to the above-mentioned societal challenges have been explored through the
adaptive reuse of three institutional buildings in Fjällbo park, which has led to a proposal
for alternative housing with sharing-based principles. The decision making for the transformation
has been led by weighing the social, environmental and economic impacts
against each other. We have worked on three scales; the building, the in-between outdoor
spaces and the surrounding neighbourhood, with the aim to facilitate social interaction,
which, in turn fosters social cohesion and thus makes way for the building of social resilience.
This thesis further discusses the challenges with adaptive reuse to alternative
housing within the framework of Swedish building regulations, as well as the opportunity
for adaptive reuse to generate affordable housing within the current rental system.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Social resilience, adaptive reuse, alternative housing