Breathing Space

Purpose and goal

The project explores and envisions how the Church of Sweden, through its resources and activities, can contribute to attractive and accessible future communities alongside other societal actors. Using speculative design, future scenarios are tested. The visions address three shifts outlined by Shift Sweden, aiming to build community and restore the relationship between people and the landscape. The result is a comprehensive panorama of future places where city and countryside converge.

Expected effects and result

Through speculative design and co-creation, future scenarios are visualized where urban and rural environments converge, fostering dialogue between the Church of Sweden and societal actors. The result is a co-created panorama of future spaces interweaving three studied environments. The project challenges norms, identifying opportunities and consequences of these shifts, strengthening congregations´ roles in supporting community, circular resource flows, innovation, and reduced car dependency.

Planned approach and implementation

Case studies are conducted on three islands, each with a local parish: one in a rural area, one in a suburb, and one in the city center, representing different urbanization levels and societal shifts. Design methods are tailored to each setting, using LandLabs and Storytelling for the rural area, speculative planning for the suburb, and Backcasting for the city center. These methods are complemented by co-creation workshops with local stakeholders to create a full panorama of future spaces.