The public housing company Svenska Bostäder, owned by the City of Stockholm, was commissioned to carry out the refurbishments of the selected buildings.

Local residents were the key target audience of the refurbishment plans, but they did not play an active role in the beginning.

The city initiated Vision Järva 2030, which focused on the technical retrofitting of the housing stock in Järva. After drafting the first development plans in 2008, an invitation brochure was distributed to invite residents to participate in the development of "Vision Järva 2030". Communication, however, happened very much top-down and did not reach the intended audience, which had severe effects (see next phase, context box).

Invitation brochure © City of Stockholm

The Delegation for Sustainable Cities was appointed by the Swedish government in the years 2008–2012 to promote the sustainable development of cities, including the allocation of financial support for urban development projects.

The municipal housing company Svenska Bostäder developed the concept for the Järvadialogen in cooperation with the Swedish Union of Tenants and the city of Stockholm.

The Royal Institute of Science and Technology (KTH) was hired and responsible for the evaluation of the project.

Various city administrative departments worked on the project (mostly the building and city planning department, as well as the traffic office, and the Stockholm water and waste management company – Stockholm Vatten).

Local residents were included in a deep participatory process with Svenska Bostäder and the Swedish Union of Tenants. In addition, residence hosts were appointed to make the discussions more accessible for all residents.

A dedicated communications officer, a female with a migrant background, acted as the local representative of the Swedish Union of Tenants. She became influential in "turning the ship" around and achieving a positive dialogue with the residents. She was later recruited to the municipal housing company to manage communications with the residents.

The Sustainable Järva project was established as a pilot project for a planned sustainability profiling of all of Stockholm’s "million homes programme" areas. With new technology, information, and education and as a result of its focus on improving safety and security, Järva should become a model of sustainability, promoting environmental responsibility and energy efficiency while still preserving the area’s unique cultural and historical values.

The Järvadialogen concept consisted of three steps:

1. Collect resident views and suggestions;
2. Present and vote on the collected views and suggested measures;
3. Share the synthesised solutions that are planned to be implemented in the future.

Approximately 10,000 people participated in the process and about 30,000 opinions were collected to improve the neighbourhoods. Of the 30,000 opinions, only 20% were about the residences. The main emphasis turned out to be on schools, outside areas (safety), traffic, and other conditions. The residents were invited to provide input and suggestions for other measurements and workshops were carried out. One of the activities that was included as part of the consultation process involved a heat map, on which residents were asked to mark positive or safe areas with a green dot and negative or unsafe areas with a red dot.

Järvadialogen workshop © City of Stockholm

Residents were also consulted prior to each building renovation and were involved in the decision-making process at both the building level and apartment level, as the renovations aimed to improve living as well as energy efficiency standards. Furthermore, households were given information and courses on reducing their carbon footprint, including content such as waste management and efficient use of water and heating.

Every resident was given a vote for what level of upgrading should be carried out in their apartment, which would directly affect the rent. At the building level, tenants worked directly with architects to agree and vote on a proposal. At the apartment level, tenants could decide on a variety of items, such as flooring, kitchen furniture, etc. This voting was part of an effort to strengthen local democratic processes. This was eventually made anonymous in order to promote women’s voice, which proved to be very effective. In this regard, the establishment of women networks was a supporting structure.

Overall, there were a number of measures related to social inclusivity in the "Sustainable Järva" project:

• Residence hosts – a man and woman were selected from each building, and served as intermediary communicators between residents and the city administration for the period of one year;
• Establishment of a climate week as a public event;
• A women’s swimming course;
• Cleaning actions, creating ownership of public space;
• Collaborations with the library/school to ensure an environmental emphasis in education (e.g. about eco-labelled goods, courses for bicycling licences);
• Arrangements with sports organisations for dropping off and picking up children.

Svenska Bostäder and the City of Stockholm reflected on the process and decided to continue with some of the positive new procedures that were developed. In addition, the Royal Institute of Science and Technology (KTH) began its evaluation work to learn from the project’s activities.

Well-designed resident participation represents an important social innovation in the case of Järva. In total, ten measures were identified and implemented to achieve a more sustainable Järva:

1. Energy-efficiency renovations;
2. 50% reduction in energy consumption;
3. Energy derived from renewable sources;
4. Sustainable transport solutions;
5. Measures to promote the use of bicycles and cycling;
6. Communication with and the involvement of residents;
7. Environmental education;
8. A cultural-historical educational trail;
9. Monitoring and evaluation;
10. Contribution to national and international environmental and climate targets.

As a result of the positive outcome of the project, the dialogue format that was developed from it had grown into a standard procedure for planning future neighbourhood refurbishments. The organisational learning in the city administration and the housing company can be considered as the change in social relations and hence a social innovation.

Refurbished houses © Gary Polhill

As an outcome of the project, Järva had 10,000 m2 of photovoltaic installations on approximately 40 roofs, making it one of Sweden's most densely equipped areas in this regard. Different types of housing have become more energy-efficient and sustainable transport and cycling measures were made throughout the Järva area. The city’s commitment to facilitating and promoting the use of bicycles included the implementation of a loan-a-bike facility, signposting improvements (for bikes), an annual cycle week, and free cycling courses for adult residents. Overall, it can be stated that, thanks to the implemented energy solutions, the neighbourhood had transformed considerably and the social interventions have generated an increased feeling of safety and well-being.