Water and land, cities on the waterfront. Throughout centuries human settlements along the water have searched for a well-balanced relation and have produced some of the most beloved european cities, wonderful and prosperous port cities, that are now at risk. They are facing threats brought by the increasing strength of natural phenomena and disasters. To overcome these challenges what needs to be done? The most relevant questions address how, when and what are the priorities. Settled along the waterfront of rivers, seas or oceans, each waterfront city holds specific challenges and requires adaptative measures. While new risks emerge, simultaneously new opportunities to re-imagine these cities and their urban waterscapes come forward.

In the early 21st century, communities inherited waterfronts mainly shaped during the 20th century, which were built on land- fill, using concrete and creating hard surfaces. New opportunities flourish when these areas envision the transition from such rigid, controlling infrastructures to solutions based on adaptation and integration of natural systems. A critical analysis of human actions on the natural environment has the potential to produce alterna- tives that integrate new strategies with ecological functions, favouring smooth systems and a more comprehensive and integrated approach to nature.

The shrinking of biodiversity, unprecedented climate swings and the raising costs of maintenance are symptoms of a planet struggling with climate change. To re-establish a healthy condition, cities seek to develop strategies of adaptation to make the built environment more resilient to face floods, droughts, high tides, tropical hurricanes and urban heat island effects.

To deal with this topic, an ambitious collaborative research network, funded by the Research European Agency Horizon2020 — RISE Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, was created to imagine Sustainable Open Solutions on Waterfront Cities facing Climate Change (SOS Climate Waterfront). The initiative acts asa unifying force, drawing together universities and stakeholders spanning Portugal, Poland, Greece, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. At its core, the research project summonses the exper- tise of researchers, PhD students and postdoc researchers to uplift scientific excellence through a global partnership.Its primary focus lies at the intersection of waterfronts facing climate change in five key european cities: Lisbon, Gdansk, Rome, Stockholm and Thessaloniki, located in the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea. This multidisciplinary project put together a series of workshops, field work and conferences that served for sparkly ideas and enlightened thinking among the international team, municipal representatives, and a diverse array of experts. Participants covered various fields such as architecture, urban planning, environmental engineering, meteorology, law, economics, landscape, and others. These collaborative workshops involved immersive site visits, in-depth discussions, and targeted efforts on specific sites.

Collectively, the insights produced by this collaborative network offer a wide spectrum of possibilities, earnestly addressing the multifaceted challenges encountered by urban waterfronts in this era of extreme climate challenges. Participants hailing from diverse fields contributed to a cohesive body of knowledge geared towards birthing creative solutions, effectively spotlighting the material and immaterial exponentially rising costs associated with adapting to and mitigating the damages.

The emergent concept of ‘urban porosity’ stands as a pivotal framework, capable of fostering flood absorption, temperature stabilization, and the curbing of energy consumption. To face these present challenges, resilient urban environments include the inte- gration of circular economy principles and the activation of civil so- ciety towards sustainable practices and safeguarding biodiversity, implied through the concept of ‘porosity’. The flow of information between disciplines depends on the interdisciplinary exchange, enhancing the metaphorical meaning of this new concept.

The selection of five European Waterfront Cities aimed to cover a wide range of situations. Lisbon, Rome, Stockholm, Gdansk, and Thessaloniki were the main laboratories. The re- search on Lisbon’s Great Metropolitan Area addressed pivotal queries surrounding sea level rise, coastal dynamics, and human interactions within waterfront regions. Rome and the river Tiber dealt with coastal systems, historical approaches and dynamics in progress covering current transformations along the seaside and the riverfront. Stockholm, recognized as Europe’s fastest-growing city, grapples with pressing climate change challenges at its wa- terfront. Proposals across three urban sites were explored, each holding profound implications for the city’s waterfront landscape. Gdansk provided insights on how to integrate water management considerations into urban design and planning, since the growing amount of impermeable surfaces results in flooding and pollution of surface waters. The lowering level of the groundwater table im- pairs the growth of vegetation and saline intrusion into the coastal aquifers. Thessaloniki adopted a comparable approach, emphasizing the criticality of resilience for specific waterfront sites. Here, global and local expertise converged to envision transformative urban design solutions tailored to natural yet-to-be-rehabilitated waterfronts, with a keen emphasis on adaptive strategies amid urgent climate challenges.

In this publication, to address the complexity of this emergent topic, the editorial board selected original high-quality papers presenting current research, accommodating a broad spectrumof approaches ranging from speculative, informal investigationsto conventional scientific research, included in the organizationof the three chapters of this book. The first regards “sustainable strategies and cultural heritage” as local geographic and historical resources that stand as potent tools geared toward confronting the current and forthcoming societal and environmental conditions. The second chapter, on “urban waterscapes”, covers an imperative need to consider interdisciplinarity and consequent emerging chal- lenges. The third and final chapter on ‘porosity’ explores case-studies and the opportunity to fortify cities with greater resilience amid the dynamic new necessities for a “sponge-built environment”.

“Sustainable Strategy and Cultural Heritage” explores concepts and projects relating water to landscapes and cultural heritage, focusing on the impacts of the contemporary uses. History without geography is meaningless. Each cultural landscape and the way each community relates to its particularities sustains the re-signification of elements of value, new functions or conservation of heritage buildings and sites.

This first chapter gathers articles that privilege the discussion of anthropic transformation, including how tourism and economic factors impact and influence the public space.

Generations that preceded ours have tested and built many solutions which proved to be resilient and some are still active. There are records of artefacts and strategies that were well adapt- ed and yet built with simple low-tech resources.

From the cultural heritage perspective, it is meaningful to ana- lyse projects that were tested over long periods of time, including adaptive heritage, cases that enhance the integration between landscape and heritage. At present, high levels of sustainable efficiency can be reached by using either high-tech or low-tech solutions, mainly learning from the past. In the second chapter, dedicated to “Urban Waterscapes”, the critical discussion within the interdisciplinary group is driven by a search for hidden, sometimes forgotten knowledge to shed light on local, resilient and low-tech solutions. New solutions emerge from the exchange of expertise between various fields of knowledge, such as geographic, social, environmental, etc. Sustainable transformation is often based on transdisciplinary approachesand emerging strategies must include the role of the communi- ties located along the water. Cross visions between cities lead to the exchange of best practices and are used to imagine beyondthe vulnerable physical reality. Risks of floods, high tides, obsolete infrastructures are part of cultural sites along the waterfront. Currently blue and green strategies search for low carbon energy, transition to soft edges and resilient design, mitigating urban heat islands effect. Increasingly relevant are some of the recent research projects that propose innovative resilience methodologies. At pres- ent they are delivered from interdisciplinary teams, also address- ing comparative cases that succeed to preserve and enhance the natural setting and the built environment.

In the third and last chapter, “Porosity”, articles present systems of resilience to adapt and mitigate effects of climate change, such as environmental planning addressing new patterns brought by extreme swings in the waterfront. The concept has been used across-disci- plines, blending architecture, biology, organic forms and processes providing productive conceptual frameworks. It highlights the tran- sition of the built environment from hard edges to soft edges, and focuses on emergent trends of new urban waterscapes that negoti- ate with nature. It includes future strategies able to act like sponges that are able to absorb without degrading. In fact, nurturing a sponge effect portrays the transition from the 20th to the 21st century.

The concept of urban "sponge effect" implies porosity, urban waterscapes, sustainable strategy and cultural heritage. It requires a profound shift in the way of thinking, from the prominent position of control over nature to a dialogue with nature that can be reinter- preted, producing new meaning and applications within a new con- text. This shift has profound implications in the way cities have been designed, in terms of dealing with green infrastructure, integrating nature, organizing regionalization, transportation, sustainable urban development and circular economy. Sponges take and give, are passive and active, thus opening a new realm of opportunities.

Authors were selected through a double-blind peer review process. Each article reveals a concerted collaboration between academic institutions, local planning authorities and cultural institutions fostering a transformative shift in urban thought. Continually pushing the envelope, this ongoing project serves as a catalyst for innovative approaches, aimed at effectively grappling with and adapting to the multifaceted impacts of climate change within urban landscapes. The theoretical discussion includes the selection of a series of innovative urban strategies to be implemented. How will solutions to adapt and mitigate enhance the resilience of cities?

This comprehensive initiative seamlessly integrates cutting-edge technology, meticulous data collection, and imaginative design, culminating in the development of resilient solutions with potential applicability at both local and european sites. Each of the selected cities has water as its backbone, having developed and adapted along the waterline, adding value to its community.

The far-reaching outcomes of this concerted effort have been disseminated through diverse channels, encompassing open-access databases, scholarly publications, and engaging exhibitions. Between chapters, the illustrations consist of design projects that were developed by the collaborative network of experts participating in the research project throughout four years. The five projects on display were conceived as responses to climate change in the five selected cities. Together, they illustrate solutions designed to deal with each city’s specific challenges, offering opportunities to strengthen their resilience, adapting to new climate patterns and minimizing the impacts of the climate crisis on the waterfront.

The projects conceived for the metropolitan areas of Lisbon, Gdansk, Rome, Stockholm, and Thessaloniki demonstrate both sensitivity and intelligence. Sensitivity to the unique geography, history, and local community of each city, and intelligence in inte- grating new climate patterns in the design, to mitigate their effects. They were developed by multidisciplinary teams composed of experts from academic and non-academic institutions.

They are presented through drawings, including maps and diagrams. The outline of the line, that holds together the solution. Drawings are a universal language that preceded the written word. The ideas illustrated in the five selected projects presented in the book are fundamentally the result of site-specific conditions. The approach itself is multidisciplinary, based upon many different schools of thought. They merge the gap between the material and the functional, the pragmatic and the imaginary/visionary looking at the important structures and signs of the problem from the perspective of discovering how they relate to collective activity.

Each design proposal emerges from the methodology adopted. When experts holding complementary disciplines are engaged in dialogue, at first there is a moment dominated by a cacophony while facing a complex number of parameters that need to be combined. It is chaotic and unpredictable before reaching a common ground. Ideas are shared in a cross-pollination of visions among partners from public and private, academic and non aca- demic sectors in different countries.

The problems and threats are real and expanding rapidly. Solu- tions emerge from dialogue; they are creative and depend on the combination of such interdisciplinary fertile discussion. Coming from various fields of knowledge, each contribution has its own perspective and need to combine each expertise to the common vision. The formula that sustains each of the five projects succeeds to expand new perspectives and discovers new ways of designing that cannot be described in words alone. Only multidisciplinary teams composed of open-minded experts could develop such per- tinent, sustainable and inclusive design.

The richness of the solutions presented is the result of a dialogue process, which opens up new alternatives also useful for other european cities. The proposals aim to build new infrastruc- tures that integrate nature, and its ecological systems, instead of trying to limit and control. They promote solutions where there is a dialogue relationship rather than a power relationship over climate manifestations. The names assigned to the five projects reflect this perspective: “Vine as a Spine” in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, “A leaf on the water” in Gdansk”, Let it Ti(be)r” in Rome, “The Arc” in Stockholm and “Clean the soil” in Thessaloniki. All share an innovative approach, promoting contemporary strategies for urban resilience. They are inspired by the geomorphologic conditions of each waterfront area, regarding their transformations by industrial-ization, throughout the 20th century.

The content produced for this book is the result of a wide international collaboration, aiming to share a body of knowledge through text and drawings. In times of uncertainty, researches have followed a methodology that has been useful for the scientif- ic community, and can be extended to stakeholders, decision makers and to the general public interested in waterfront cities facing climate change. The Sustainable Open Solutions (S.O.S) presented within this publication are different from the common S.O.S mean- ing (Save Our Souls), which is normally associated with a last call for help. Instead, the premises of the research carried out privilege successful initiatives to highlight positive ideas that may build an inspiration for the future.

As the river winds through Guapi, it intertwines with our lives. It gives us life. In this book, we talk about the importance of the river, and how we can give back to the river for everything it gives us. We take a closer look at how we, coming from our various backgrounds and cultures, with different types of knowledge, work together in the Pacífico Econavipesca Project to design fishing boats, and new ideas for entrepreneurship and community development that are more sustainable for our economy, society, and environment.

Challenges related to the climate crisis and its consequences, such as rising sea levels, urban heat islands or floods, engender pressure on architectural education. Sustainable design often inclines to regenerative one - an emerging trend focused on the restorative power of architecture. The question appears upon the tools and methods that would facilitate both students and academics to address new challenges. This article offers insights into one of such methods based on the integration of students into research programmes. The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research project SOS Climate Waterfront and follow-up interdisciplinary courses and events offered to students at Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; and Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, are presented to illustrate this process. Starting with research by design approaches, and continuing with follow-up initiatives, groups of students gradually extend their areas of experimentation empowering urban designs with nature-based solutions (NBS), building their critical reflection through an immersion in the science-art-engineering nexus, virtual experience of nature or through creative writing about climate futures. Published, exhibited and awarded students’ works confirm numerous benefits and efficacy of the proposed research-based architectural education.

Challenges related to the climate crisis and its consequences, such as rising sea levels, urban heat islands orfloods, engender pressure on architectural education. Sustainable design often inclines to regenerative one - an emergingtrend focused on the restorative power of architecture. The question appears upon the tools and methods that wouldfacilitate both students and academics to address new challenges. This article offers insights into one of such methods basedon the integration of students into research programmes. The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research project SOSClimate Waterfront and follow-up interdisciplinary courses and events offered to students at Gdańsk University ofTechnology, Poland; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; and Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec,Canada, are presented to illustrate this process. Starting with research by design approaches, and continuing with follow-upinitiatives, groups of students gradually extend their areas of experimentation empowering urban designs with nature-basedsolutions (NBS), building their critical reflection through an immersion in the science-art-engineering nexus, virtualexperience of nature or through creative writing about climate futures. Published, exhibited and awarded students’ worksconfirm numerous benefits and efficacy of the proposed research-based architectural education.

Introduction

The waterfront of Stockholm, one of Europe's fastest-growing cities, stands at the forefront of climate change challenges. As such, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions and resilient urban design. The SOS Climate Waterfront research project gathered international experts and local representatives, coming from different disciplines to work together in May-June 2022 to discuss, explore proposals and design Sustainable Open Solutions (SOS).

This book explores three urban sites in Stockholm, holding significant implications for the city's waterfront— Lövholmen, Frihamnen, and Södra Värtan. During the workshop, SOS Climate Waterfront participants, mainly European researchers, analyzed future challenges, raised new questions, and depicted solutions, which can now contribute to cross-country comparisons in a larger EU-framework.

The three sites are not only driven by the demand for more housing but also face crucial issues related to cultural heritage, climate change, landscape ecology, and social development. Achieving a delicate balance between these aspects and economic interests presents a significant task for the city. The waterfront of Stockholm holds substantial relevance in the context of climate change and its impact on coastal areas. Thus, analysis of the Swedish context, based on data collected and on-site knowledge sustains a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Stockholm is expected to be affected by the impacts of climate change, including temperature increases, changing precipitation patterns, and the potential for more frequent cloudbursts. While the rising sea level is a long-term challenge rather than an immediate concern, increasing risks of extreme weather events and flooding were taken in consideration.

Stockholm rests on two different bodies of water, at a location where the Baltic Sea (Östersjön in Swedish) with brackish water meets Lake Mälaren, which is an important provider of freshwater for the larger Stockholm area. As the lyrics of a popular contemporary Swedish song (by Robert Broberg) describe it: “the city is full of water”. However, to ensure that the ecological and chemical status will be maintained, in facing future challenges in terms of urbanisation and climate change, much attention has been paid to ensure the preservation of the water quality of the Mälaren Lake, a vital water source for two million people.

The city values its water and continuously invests in improving the situation (e.g. the new sluice at Slussen). The activities carried out in the SOS Climate Waterfront workshop in Stockholm integrated this relationship to water as well as the continuing land-rise, the balance of which adds complexity to the sea level modelling and therefore also to the anticipations and scenarios for the future.

In this book, the authors explore innovative strategies and design proposals to tackle these challenges while preserving the cultural identity and heritage value of the sites. Researchers from various European cities, supported by experts and academic lectures, analyze extensive input materials and information, ranging from planning documents and historical records to consultation reports and city visions. By drawing upon multidisciplinary backgrounds and experiences, the researchers identify the socioeconomic and environmental qualities of each site, ultimately developing site design concepts and solutions that address climate change challenges, the maintenance of cultural identities, and the protection of biodiversity.

Throughout the book, the proposed designs emphasize the importance of finding a balance between preserving cultural heritage, the values of local communities, the stimulating economic growth, and promotion of sustainable urban development. Key elements include the reuse of existing infrastructure, the integration of green-blue schemes, the improvement of biodiversity, and the creation of vibrant and multi-functional neighbourhoods that connect people to each other and their surroundings.

While design solutions present promising approaches, their implementation and the institutional challenges that may arise in specific city contexts remain external to the results presented here. The book acknowledges the need for further research and highlights the shared recognition among the workshop participants regarding the gaps and blind spots in their findings.

The following chapters of the book delve into climate change in Sweden, the role of culture and arts in the environmental movement, and specific case studies and design proposals for each site. By exploring these diverse perspectives, this book aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on sustainable urban design and planning, to inspire innovative approaches in addressing complex challenges faced by Stockholm in the future.

PART 1 of the book offers a comprehensive understanding of climate change in Sweden, street fishing in Stockholm, and the role of culture and arts in the environmental movement in the Nordic Region and internationally. Furthermore, the lessons from Stockholm and its surroundings in this report draw on presentations, by professionals and researchers from various fields, made during the workshop. Some of these lessons have been written into interesting articles, introduced below.

The chapter “Climate change in Sweden” by Magnus Joelsson from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) provides an updated analysis with data and the context for discussing climate change in Sweden. The text makes the distinction between weather and climate, referring to the expression “Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get” that Mark Twain is said to have coined. Moreover, calling for actions by emphasising that the trend of climate change is expected to continue, both globally and in Sweden. What will happen in the far future still depends on our actions, now and in the future.

The contribution entitled “Urban nature does not stop at the waterfront, neither should urban planning, a case study of street fishing in Stockholm” raises questions about how planning and strategies for waterfront areas in cities should consider more perspectives from a wider group of interests. It discusses how urban dwellers live with water, with a focus on recreational fishing and what this use entails. The authors (Anja Moum Rieser, from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Wieben Johannes Boonstra and Rikard Hedling, both from Uppsala University) go beyond the human-centric view and expand the gaze to other species’ needs and also incorporating the body of water in planning for the urban waterfront areas.

The chapter “The role of culture and arts in the environmental movement in the Nordic Region and internationally” by Elisavet Papageorgiou and Iwona Preis from Intercult, discusses artistic perspectives on sustainability and climate change. This focuses on how art and culture can raise awareness, provide inspiring actions, and promote social cohesion around sustainable practices. Drawing on experiences from projects aiming to invite and engage community dialogues, they argue that artistic strategies can challenge dominant narratives and promote alternative visions for a sustainable future.

The contribution “Sense the Marsh” by Thelma Dethelfsen from KTH The Royal Institute of Technology, emphasises the importance of architecture and landscape design in creating adaptive and resilient strategies to manage flooding and sea level rise. The study focuses on how designs can encourage interaction and awareness with the surroundings. Thereby highlighting the interfaces between humans and nature and raising questions about how flooding can be used as a quality and catalyst to attract more people to an area. The resulting design provides an opportunity to experience nature though the design and architectural solutions, situated on the border between human, non-human species and nature.

In PART 2, readers will explore the detailed design proposals developed by different groups for the urban sites in focus. These proposals aim to intertwine sustainability, cultural identity, and economic interests, offering insights into the potential for resilient and vibrant urban spaces.

By assessing existing conditions on three sites analysed in Stockholm, including Lövholmen, Frihamnen, and Södra Värtan, the teams participating in the workshop actively contributed to the analysis of the sites and development of design solutions for the areas, in the end forming strategies for better preparedness for future challenges and better lives for the inhabitants.

Lövholmen is located in the north-western part of Liljeholmen, one of the major developmental centres in Stockholm. The area is currently a closed-off industrial site, but the municipality’s intention is to redevelop it into a mixed urban space with homes, workplaces, shops, schools, and more. It's expected that 1500 new homes will be built in the area. Many of the current industrial buildings are empty and in bad shape. While some of these will be replaced with housing, other industrial buildings have heritage value and should be protected during the development, after which a new use should be found for them. Frihamnen is, together with the Södra Värtan project, part of the larger development of ”Norra Djurgårdsstaden”, the Stockholm Royal Seaport. Frihamnen is located to the south of Värtahamnen and is in turn strongly connected to Loudden in the south. The municipality plans for the area to contain approximately 1700 homes, 4000 workplaces and 75,000 m2 of retail and office space. Some of the existing businesses in Frihamnen will remain, but much of the existing infrastructure is planned to be removed. The harbour no longer handles freight shipping, but passenger ships will continue to depart from the harbour (Frihamnspiren).

Södra Värtan is planned to contain 1500 apartments, 20 preschool departments, 155,000 m2 of office and retail space, as well as 10,000 m2 of parks and a 600 m long waterfront walkway. The new development is intended to co-exist with the activities in the harbour, which creates challenges such as the blocking of noise stemming from the cruise ships. The walkways along the waterfront are planned to have shops and restaurants.

The contributions of the articles, together with the SOS Climate Waterfront teams’ analysis of the three sites in Stockholm, provides relevant and timely interdisciplinary efforts to co-create novel solutions and future strategies to manage the climate challenges ahead.

The solutions relate to the history of the urban territory, actors involved (or those excluded) and changes, over time, of planning ideals. A key theme is how to plan by creating inclusive strategies for the future by involving representatives of diverse interests, competences, and future visions for the sites. The consequences of climate change are affecting these different stakeholders and citizens in a wide range of ways, so including them in the process is crucial. This also includes the inclusion of future generations’ views on urban transformation. The largest challenge is to create new, novel solutions where these human interests, as well as those of local nature and non-human species, can be incorporated, in an effort to plan and design for a mitigation and management of the consequences of climate change.

As we embark on this journey of exploration and innovation, we invite readers to delve into the pages of this book, where interdisciplinary research, creative design, and a shared commitment to sustainable urban development and decarbonisation strategies converge. Together, let us envision a future where cities thrive, harmoniously balancing their heritage, environment, and economic aspirations.

Solving many current societal challenges requires collaboration between numerous actors from different disciplines. However, there are several challenges in these interdisciplinary collaborations that have managerial implications, which this article aims to describe. The study is based on observations and fourteen interviews with actors from three innovation ecosystems (IES) that attack the challenges with the help of digitalization and enabling technology. Examples of identified challenges are difficulties for participating competitors to cooperate, that actors may feel threatened by the approaching result from the collaboration, that the actors may have different underlying motives for participating in the IES, and difficulties for actors to understand each other due to different domain knowledge.

Mobility services and accessibility services could contribute to reduced car-dependency and a more sustainable transport system. However, uncertainty remains regarding what the effects will be and further research is needed. In this paper we examine potential effects on passenger car-travel in an urban context. To do so, we actuate the Avoid-Shift-Improve (ASI) framework using a System Dynamics approach and develop thematic Causal Loop Diagrams. We draw on the findings from a literature study and workshops engaging actors involved in creating visions and planning for the future of mobility and accessibility services in Stockholm, Sweden. The effects discovered are categorized as direct, enabling and structural/systemic, using a retrofitted version of the Three-Levels Model. Contributions include the mapping of mechanisms through which the services can have positive and negative effects in relation to ASI, demonstrating a high degree of interconnectedness. This includes potential synergetic and competitive relations between the services. In addition, the approach gives insight to potential cumulative impact of the services, relatable to Mobility as a Service, including ‘user near’ effects regarding, e.g., commuting and leisure travel, as well as systemic and structural level effects. A discussion is conducted on the implications for actors and policy-makers.

In this paper, we explore co-creative processes between researchers, art institutions and artists and new roles emerging for engineers in that process. The modern infrastructure ideal of universal, uniform, networked infrastructure has dominated the imagination of planners and engineers in the Global North and South for over a century. However, the dawn of the Anthropocene has triggered new concerns and challenges for critical infrastructures (water, electricity roads etc.) disrupting the modernist imagination. Somewhat unsurprisingly, these concerns have been translated into academic and policy discourses about the development of more resilient and socially inclusive critical infrastructures. 

In the ongoing project entitled Examining nature and society through urban infrastructure (NATURE) we develop an art exhibition in collaboration with the art institution Färgfabriken, in south of Stockholm. Sketches from the co-creative dialogues and interviews are used to illustrate how art can have a more central role the intellectual and public policy deliberations that shape new imaginaries of critical infrastructures.  Future development of infrastructure may once again become trapped into a (less resilient and less inclusive) modernist pathway. In other words, today’s infrastructure challenges pose a threat to critical infrastructures but also a window of opportunity for environmental humanities propose strong and novel ideas shaping future infrastructures. In this paper, we will explore how the arts can help draw attention to the importance of the role of previously unarticulated socio-natures and the role of the non-human in infrastructure imaginaries. The aim of the paper is also to initiate a discussion about how arts can become catalytic for translating key insights on critical infrastructures from the environmental humanities into more widely accessible and publicly deliberated.