Integrating Housing Sufficiency into Municipal Planning Practices - From Niche to Norm
Authors
Jensen, Heidi Holm ; Nielsen, Clara Nordborg ; Larsen, Camilla Nicoline Brendholdt
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-04
Pages
115
Abstract
Denmark’s housing sector faces a tension between ambitious climate goals and growing floor area per person. This thesis examines housing sufficiency: making better use of the existing housing stock instead of only building new homes or relying on efficiency measures. It explores how municipalities can put sufficiency into practice in planning, based on cases in Roskilde, Herlev and Hvidovre, using document analysis, interviews and quantitative data. The study draws on Social Practice Theory (how everyday habits, norms and material settings shape behavior) and the Multi-Level Perspective (how change moves from small niches to the wider system). Findings show that housing sufficiency is not yet institutionalized in municipal planning. Instead, scattered proto-practices appear, such as relocation chains that help people move into better-fitting homes, and subdivision of large dwellings into smaller units. Municipalities recognize the need to address housing consumption, but lack operational tools, competencies and established planning frameworks. Barriers are not only technical or regulatory. Housing practices are tied to cultural ideas about ownership, privacy and the detached single-family house as an ideal of the good life. Deeply rooted socio-technical patterns, including growth-oriented planning paradigms and siloed administrations, also sustain the status quo. Emerging trends such as consumption-based climate accounting and growing attention to quality of life may open doors for sufficiency-oriented planning. The thesis argues that municipalities should complement their regulatory role with a more facilitative role that supports niche innovations and citizen motivation. As a practical contribution, it proposes a dialogue tool to help planners and politicians work across departments and strategically experiment with sufficiency measures. Housing sufficiency gains more legitimacy when linked to quality of life, community and wellbeing rather than climate arguments alone. To move from niche to norm, it needs to be embedded in legally binding planning frameworks, not left in stand-alone climate action plans.
Danmarks boligsektor står i et spænd mellem høje klimaambitioner og flere kvadratmeter pr. indbygger. Denne afhandling undersøger boligsufficiens: at udnytte den eksisterende boligmasse bedre i stedet for kun at bygge nyt eller fokusere på teknisk effektivitet. Formålet er at vise, hvordan boligsufficiens kan omsættes til praksis i kommunal planlægning. Undersøgelsen bygger på tre kommuner: Roskilde, Herlev og Hvidovre, og kombinerer dokumentanalyse, interviews og kvantitative data. Analysen anvender Social Practice Theory (hvordan hverdagsvaner, normer og fysiske rammer former adfærd) og Multi-Level Perspective (hvordan forandringer bevæger sig fra små nicher til det brede system). Resultaterne viser, at boligsufficiens endnu ikke er institutionaliseret i kommunal planlægning. I stedet findes spredte protopraksisser, som fx flyttekæder, hvor borgere flytter til boliger der passer bedre, og opdeling af store boliger i mindre enheder. Kommunerne anerkender behovet for at adressere boligforbrug, men mangler operationelle værktøjer, kompetencer og etablerede planrammer. Barriererne er ikke kun tekniske og juridiske. Boligpraksisser er tæt knyttet til kulturelle forestillinger om ejerskab, privatliv og parcelhuset som idealet for det gode liv. Samtidig fastholder dybt rodfæstede socio-tekniske mønstre som vækstorienterede planparadigmer og administrativ silo-tænkning den eksisterende udvikling. Nye tendenser som forbrugsbaseret klimaopgørelse og øget fokus på livskvalitet kan dog åbne muligheder for mere sufficiens-orienteret planlægning. Afhandlingen peger på, at kommunerne bør supplere deres regulerende rolle med en mere faciliterende rolle, der understøtter niche-innovationer og borgernes motivation. Som praktisk bidrag foreslås et dialogværktøj, der hjælper planlæggere og politikere med at arbejde på tværs af forvaltninger og afprøve sufficiens-tiltag strategisk. Boligsufficiens vinder lettere legitimitet, når den kobles til livskvalitet, fællesskab og trivsel frem for kun til klima. For at bevæge sig fra niche til norm skal boligsufficiens indarbejdes i lovbindende planrammer og ikke forblive isoleret i kommunale klimahandleplaner.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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