KULTURVÅRD & CIRKULÄR EKONOMI Att skydda befintlig bebyggelse och främja en hållbar utveckling i fysisk planering

Abstract

This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of integrating conservation practice and the circular economy into practical planning processes. In recent years, the discussion of circular economy and its relevance in the sustainability debate has intensified. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the transition to a circular economy is crucial to achieving the national and international environmental and climate goals as well as the global goals in Agenda 2030. Parallel to this, there is a long established heritage discourse that emphasizes the importance of preserving buildings and cultural environments as part of our cultural heritage. These two discourses have common goals, but they differ in how they present their respective arguments. The purpose of this study is thus to explore what possibilities there are for the conservation field to adopt arguments from the circular economy discourse and vice versa. The study is based on two case studies, kvarteret Tuppfjätet and the former school Flickläroverket in Gothenburg, both of which were granted demolition permits. Through discourse analysis, the negotiation of values in both planning processes is analyzed. The method becomes a way of trying to understand how language has been used in the planning processes, what effects this has had on the value negotiation and how it has contributed to shaping structures and behaviors within these processes. In conclusion, the challenges and opportunities that emerged when it comes to integrating arguments from the heritage field and circular economy in the planning processes are identified. The result shows that clearer regulation is required in legislation and an increased need for cooperation to strengthen conservation and resource management in planning processes.