Revealing the value and feedback dynamics of green space co-design through causal loop diagrams

Abstract Urban green spaces are vital for environmental sustainability and social equity, yet their co-design, a participatory approach to stakeholder collaboration, remains under-evaluated despite its rising global adoption. In a London, UK, case study, this study introduces a novel application of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs), a systems thinking tool, to unravel co-design’s benefits, barriers, and dynamics in urban green space planning. Through interviews ( n = 23) and focus groups ( n = 15), we identified 43 sub-themes across six overarching themes. CLDs, built from these themes, reveal the dynamic interactions and leverage points, showing social capital, community empowerment, and stakeholder capacity thriving through inclusive arrangements, local context, and trust, shaped by socio-economic, cultural, and organisational dynamics. The developed CLDs provide policymakers and practitioners with actionable indicators to enhance the effectiveness of co-design approaches. While focused on green spaces, the success factors, constraints, and system dynamics found in this study offer transferable insights across diverse collaborative domains.