Developing a Nordic Superblock: Contested Mediation with the City and its Citizens

More than half of the global population live in urban areas and this number is growing. In the coming years governments will need to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and accelerating inequality in cities. This will require innovations in urban development and in the ways in which residents use the city. This paper introduces the concept of “superblock,” as an innovative and sustainable way to plan and use the city. “Superblocks” are distinguished from the history of modernist, auto-centric ideas of urban planning and architecture, as well as from the contemporary superblocks in Barcelona. In the latter, the superblock model has been an innovative land-use intervention that aims to reclaim space for people, reduce motorized transport, and promote sustainable mobility, health and active lifestyles (Müller et al. 2019; Rueda 2018). The paper explores the concept of superblocks as it has been put into practice in the development of a new mixed-use neighbourhood in an old industrial area in Tampere, Finland. The development idea for the area is to create new kind superblock planning model that will enhance social and environmental sustainability. In contrast to the Barcelona model, the Tampere superblock seeks to create a new urban fabric in which superblocks also serve as platforms for new sustainable infrastructure. The development process from idea to implementation has not been straightforward, however. Ideas about how to plan urban structure, roads, services, and energy systems have all had to be transformed, engendering conflict. To address these conflicts and facilitate the transformation, a research group from the University of Tampere organised mediation workshops jointly with the City of Tampere. In these workshops we clarified the idea of the superblock in Tampere and mapped out options for implementing the plan. The mediation effort also became a policy and organizational analysis. It identified and mapped tension points between the departments of the city and also between these city departments and citizens of Tampere. It also analysed tensions that existed between traditional and new solutions. The mediation effort led to new understanding of these tension points, of the way they come into play and influence effort to plan and implement sustainable urban development. It also provided insights on how these tension and conflict can be overcome them through joint inquiry and assisted negotiation, especially in Northern European urban context.