Integrated Strategies for Sustainable Renovation of Early Post-War Housing: The Case ofTorpa, a Housing Area and National Heritage Asset in Sweden

Paper in proceeding, 2013

Based on experiences from a transdisciplinary research project this paper makes a post-reflective analysis of broad actor and stakeholder engagement to handle the complex decision-making process regarding the renovation of housing of cultural historical value. The transdisciplinary team was engaged in the early inventory and pre-study of Torpa, a housing area from the late 1940s in Sweden. The engagement of the transdisciplinary research was not of direct contact with the planning and design of the renovation of Torpa. The case of Torpa provides empirical testimony of the multiple values and the concurrence between qualitatively different objectives when aiming for sustainable renovation of culturally valuable housing. Further, the case shows how these multiple values are represented by stakeholders with different disciplinary belongings, knowledge fields and powers and legitimacy for action. In order to identify these stakes, stakeholders and powers we explore the use of stakeholder mapping and analysis. We argue that a broader stakeholder engagement will increase the understanding about the complexity of renovation among involved actors and stakeholders and thus support a learning process in which different perspectives are clarified and shared. Such a learning process is of importance to raise understanding for issues relating to the safeguarding of cultural historical values, but also of social values. A broader stakeholder involvement early in renovation can also make better use of knowledge among involved stakeholders. The case brings light to the shortage in correlation between different objectives where regulative and legislative demands for environmental protection and accessibility, national heritage interests, housing policy and economic feasibility for the property owner. From a research perspective stakeholder mapping and analysis seems fruitful as a means to identify and visualise different stakes and their power to influence decision for renovation. However, stakeholder analysis as a method for strategic planning is still on a conceptual level. To be fully integrated in renovation the method should be used by the project managers themselves.