Everything Counts: Low-Carbon Neighborhoods, Carbon Accounting, and the Transformation of Planning in the Era of Climate Urbanism

Source abstract

Scholars have showed how an emerging climate urbanism places carbon mitigation at the center of urban policy, yet limited attention has been devoted to its ramifications for planning and the role of planners. In this paper, we trace how planning practices informed by climate urbanism are taking hold across Swedish municipalities, principally reflected by the uptake of carbon accounting. We demonstrate that while there are many merits to these techniques, they present significant challenges for planners and the planning process. We combine contributions to scholarship on climate urbanism and the role of planners with suggestions for responses to these challenges.