Site development
Place development with a regenerative perspective requires that nature, local communities, the economy and the built environment be seen in context.
Here we present a set of criteria that can be used as a practical tool in the early stages of holiday home development. The purpose is not to provide a definitive answer. The criteria are intended to help municipalities, small and medium-sized enterprises and development actors ask better questions and reflect better during the planning phase.
The criteria set can be used to:
understand local needs and challenges
map the project's potential
identify relevant measures
clarify ambition level
support dialogue and decisions between stakeholders
The criteria are open-ended questions. This makes them flexible. They can be used in different projects, in different locations, and in different phases.
Five themes in the criteria set
The criteria set is built around five themes. These show what should be investigated when holiday homes, tourism or housing projects are to contribute to more holistic place development.
1. Place identity and cultural heritage
A development project should be based on the site's history, traditions and local identity.
It's about understanding what makes a place unique. It could be landscape, building practices, cultural heritage, local stories, use of the area or the relationship between people and place.
Work questions:
How can the project gain insight into local traditions and identity?
How can local knowledge be used in development?
How can the project strengthen sense of place and preserve cultural heritage?
How can new places, spaces or meeting places support cultural diversity and learning?
2. Resilient communities
A development project should contribute to strengthening the local community. This requires insight into local needs and real participation. Robust local communities depend on good meeting places, cooperation, trust and activities that respond to local needs.
Work questions:
How can the project gain insight into the needs of the local community?
Which societal challenges are most pressing?
How can the local community be involved throughout the project's entire life cycle?
How can the project develop safe and inclusive meeting places?
3. Quality of life and health
A development project should contribute to good surroundings for both permanent residents, part-time residents and visitors. This can include physical activity, gardening, social contact, accessible outdoor areas and spaces that promote community and inclusion.
Work questions:
What needs and challenges are there related to physical and mental well-being?
How can the project create an environment that supports health and well-being?
How can the project facilitate activity, social contact and inclusion?
How can different user groups gain access to good rooms and meeting places?
4. Local value creation
EU development projects should build on local resources and involve local actors. Local value creation should contribute to economic value creation, but also to increasing the level of knowledge, cooperation, jobs, services and long-term synergies between projects and actors.
Work questions:
What local resources are available?
Which local actors should be involved?
How can the project contribute to local value creation?
How can local actors participate in development and operation?
How can the project create long-term synergies with other initiatives?
5. Socio-economic diversity
A development project should take into account the interaction between economy, society and ecosystems, and understand that these mutually influence each other. The goal is to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive effects.
Work questions:
How can the project gain insight into the interaction between economy, society and ecosystems?
How can development be balanced with the preservation of nature, culture and local communities?
How can negative impacts be minimized?
How can local communities and visitors be engaged in work with nature, learning and biodiversity?
How the criteria can be used in practice
Make arrangements for holiday homes, equipment and facilities to be used by multiple people. This could involve rental, condominium ownership, shared guest rooms, shared saunas, equipment banks or coordinated operations.
For SMEs, this can provide new services within cleaning, supervision, booking, maintenance, rental and hosting. For municipalities, it can contribute to better utilization of existing cabin areas and infrastructure.
Assessment point:
What functions can be shared?
What practical barriers need to be addressed?
Who can operate the scheme?
Can sharing lead to more activity throughout the year?
How the criteria can be used in practice
The criteria set should be used as a tool for reflection, dialogue and development of measures. It can provide actors with a common language. It can also support collaboration across roles, sectors and interests.
The matrix shows how a project can move from current practices to more sustainable and regenerative development. It can be used to assess where the project stands today, what level of ambition is realistic, and what measures can strengthen nature, local communities, and local value creation over time.
Criteria
Action/question
How can the project gain insight into local traditions and identity, as well as relationships with the area based on local knowledge?
How can the project contribute to increased sense of place, strengthen local identity and preserve the region's cultural heritage based on the findings of the mapping?
How can the project develop places/spaces/infrastructure that enrich cultural diversity and support cross-cultural exchange and learning?
Place identity and cultural heritage
Resilient communities
How can the project gain insight into the needs of the local community and identify the most pressing societal challenges?
How can the project ensure broad, real and continuous participation from the local community throughout the life cycle, as well as facilitate interdisciplinary thinking and decision-making?
How can the project develop safe and inclusive meeting places that respond to local needs and promote community-building activities in the local area?
How can the project gain insight into the needs and challenges related to physical and mental well-being of different user groups in the local community?
How can the project create a healthy environment that supports physical and mental well-being, as well as actively promote a healthy lifestyle (e.g. physical activity, gardening) for users of the area?
How can the project contribute to creating accessible spaces and infrastructure that can promote active and healthy lifestyles, as well as strengthen social interaction and inclusion of different user groups in the local community?
Quality of life and health
How can the project gain insight into local resource bases, local actors, and identify site-specific benefits and synergies?
How can the project contribute to local value creation, rebuilding the local resource base, and involving a broad spectrum of local actors in the development and operation of the project?
How can the project create long-term synergies across various initiatives both locally and regionally, and promote innovation that contributes to local knowledge building and increased value creation across actors?
Local value creation
How can the project gain insight into and acknowledge the complex interactions between the economy, society and ecosystems in the region?
How can the project balance/compensate for development with the preservation of nature, culture and local communities, so that negative impacts are minimized and positive effects are enhanced?
How can the project engage the local community and visitors in working with ecosystems and biodiversity through learning, experience sharing, and meaningful activities?
Socio-ecological diversity