The role of co-production in a conflictual planning process: the case of Haga station in Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract

AbstractThis paper draws on the intersection of the themes of co-production, knowledge use, and planning that are relevant for urban transformation debate. In theory, co-production is seen to have the potential to facilitate conflict resolution, and thereby contribute to inclusive governance and transformative change. However, critical voices argue that these theoretical aspirations have limited effects in practice. Here we analyze the role of co-production in urban planning to better understand its role in conflict resolution and its potential to contribute to urban transformation. We provide a knowledge-based analysis of the possibilities and limitations of institutional and participatory co-production as it is conceived, designed, and applied in a specific conflictual strategic planning process in a case of Haga station which is a part of complex infrastructure development project, the West Link, in Gothenburg, Sweden. Through conducting an in-depth qualitative empirical analysis of the knowledge use practices in the planning of Haga station, we bring the discussion of co-production from theory to practice and take a critical look at its limitations. The results show that co-production worked well within and among the participating governmental organizations, even across distinct organizational boundaries. However, it was more limited between the public organizations and informal opposition actors, despite formal structures and processes aimed specifically at these types of participation. The analysis of knowledge use practices shows how the conflict was exacerbated due to the conflation of incommensurable knowledge claims by the institutional and oppositional actors, leading to a crisis of legitimacy for the involved public agencies.