Kristiansand Municipality has been working on a feasibility study for the district of Tinnheia. The project was started by the residents’ associations in the area but adopted by the municipality. The focus of the feasibility study has been on resident participation. Participation results in well-informed decisions and stimulates commitment. Some of the participatory processes were also part of the research project “Social sustainability as a new driving force in local community development (SOSLOKAL)”, funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The aim was to obtain necessary knowledge on residents’ perceptions of their local physical and social environment helping to provide new and more nuanced insights on key components of socially sustainable communities. A secondary, more practical aim was to mobilise residents to participate in shaping their local community based on social sustainability goals.
Our focus has been on involving a wide variety of different people and using a variety of methods of participation, e.g. workshops with children and youths. We used a tool called Place Standard Tool for a questionnaire with local residents and as a framework for focus group discussions. We selected groups who often are not sufficiently represented in traditional participatory processes, e.g. residents with immigrant background, older people, young adults, and families with children. Based on the results from the survey and the workshops, we decided on three topics for an urban lab. Both inhabitants, people with key roles and municipality employees were invited to discuss three different topics. We used the world café method for the discussions. The results of the participatory processes show that many local residents think that Tinnheia lacks a social meeting place and that the local square needs to be upgraded with more functions. We organised an event for Tinnheia, in collaboration with the residents’ associations where we used low scale upgrading to show how the local square easily can be improved. We presented the results from all participatory processes, and it was possible to speak with urban planners and to write down proposals for the district.
Based on the participatory processes, two architect firms produced analyses of both the built structure of Tinnheia and the green spaces and proposals for their future development.
The results of the feasibility study are presented on the project’s website.

The project has contributed with significant knowledge regarding the residents' perception of the district, the qualities they would like to preserve and what they value in future developments. The testing of various participation processes gives useful insight to future participatory processes. By working closely with the residents, we have been able to draw on the views of those who use the area daily and incorporate their feedback in our feasibility study. These processes have helped to create a strong network for those who live in the area and provided a shared understanding of the challenges and qualities of the district. The project has contributed to an increased focus on the area from both the municipality and the local politicians. The collaboration with SOSLOKAL resulted in an accumulation of knowledge related to social sustainability, which will be an integrated component in future city planning both in Kristiansand and others that work with neighbourhood development.