NavRISK: Achieving sustainability through risk-taking? Navigating between risk and and stability in urban experiments in planning.

The notion that we must go beyond business-as-usual and innovate to achieve climate and sustainability goals is widely accepted. However, developing novel solutions inherently involves some degree of risk. Urban experiments bring together a variety of actors negotiating risk, yet planners occupy a unique position due to their political mandates and responsibilities. Risk-taking often conflicts with the ethos of the public sector in general, and with the ideals and practices of traditional planning in particular, which emphasize stability, predictability, and long-term solutions. This raises a critical question: how do urban planners navigate risk-taking while balancing the tension between stability and innovation?

This project aims to examine how local planners approach risk-taking in urban experiments and to explore the ethical questions that arise as they operate within this tension. We will draw on a tentative theoretical framework informed by research in risk, urban experiments, and organization theory, and adopt a methodology that captures a broad range of perspectives and experiences of risk-taking. Our approach includes multi-sited case studies, expert interviews, and stakeholder workshops designed to create opportunities for planners to reflect on and engage with risk-taking.

In terms of social impact, the project will generate guiding ethical principles to empower planners to proactively and responsibly engage in risk-taking, thereby supporting innovation in urban planning while maintaining accountability and public trust.

The project is a collaboration with Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren and Mats Fred at the Department of political science at Lund University.