ABSTRACT
This chapter synthesises the empirical and conceptual contributions of the book using Aalborg as a case study to examine how sustainability emerges through situated planning practices. It addresses the guiding research question: How does Aalborg’s trajectory towards urban sustainability transform abstract policy goals into situated planning practices embedded in places, politics, and time? Anchored in the Urban Sustainability Compass, the chapter traces the interplay of the interpretive logics and the theoretical perspectives (Chapter 1) across six thematic domains: historical foundation, strategic planning, urban identity transformation (Aalborg waterfront), green infrastructures and public spaces (Nørresundby waterfront), urban ecologies and blue-green corridors, and sustainable mobility. Findings illuminate Aalborg’s experience as a grounded narrative of adaptive, participatory, and context-sensitive sustainability governance. By engaging with recent developments such as the Climate Plan 2021–2030 and the 2024 Aalborg Conditions, the chapter highlights the book’s contribution to a necessary paradigm shift in planning for urban sustainability.
