Smart Density. A web-application to compare density trade-offs

Research Project, 2019 – 2022

The overall purpose of this project is to make knowledge on effects of densification, one of the key strategies for sustainable urban development, accessible for urban development practice through user-friendly web-application. This responds to a growing debate about trade-offs that calls for a more informed discussion, both amongst professionals and with the general public.This web-application will be based on the results of a systematic review financed by Formas (FR-2018/0006, finishes 2019). It will make the results easily interpretable, give access to the papers these results are based on, and, most important, will ensure that comprehensive plans can be developed based on an understanding of advantages and disadvantages of densification.Currently, guidelines are popular ways to transfer knowledge from research to practice. However, such guidelines do not acknowledge trade-offs and are seldom sensitive to scale or location, which this project aims to solve. It will make the decision making process more effective and transparent and will potentially ensure a more equal and consistent evaluation process between different municipalities, especially important for small municipalities with less resources.The project is scalable in the sense that other indicators of the physical environment that are key to sustainable urban development can be added. Further, the database can be updated regularly and so guarantee continuous transfer of knowledge from research to practice.