Storying Multispecies Heritage: Artistic Approaches to Designing Urban Futures

Abstract The paper examines how art-based, multispecies storytelling can inform heritage and urban planning through the case of The Conference of the Birds (CoB) in Frihamnen, Gothenburg. Bringing together artists, designers, architects, and ornithologists, CoB demonstrates how emotional and sensory engagement can deepen understanding of historical and ecological layers of place. Using a critical heritage ecologies lens, we show how the project reframes heritage as a dynamic ecosystem service. A boundary-work perspective further illustrates how artist-created spaces that bridge species and disciplinary divides can support sustainable planning, multiprofessional collaboration, and participatory urban development.