Climate change is placing increasing pressure on water and wastewater systems in Sweden. More frequent cloudbursts, periods of drought, and growing infrastructural demands call not only for technical solutions, but also for changes in everyday practices and a deeper public understanding of how water systems function. Research and practice alike demonstrate, however, that conventional information campaigns rarely lead to sustained behavioural change. This disconnect between infrastructure and everyday life forms the starting point for the UPPLEV project.

UPPLEV develops and tests place-based, co-creative approaches that translate complex water challenges into meaningful, engaging, and actionable learning experiences. The project focuses particularly on children and young people aged 13–18, who are invited to participate as co-creators rather than passive recipients of information. Through workshops, prototyping activities, and field-based learning in everyday environments—such as residential areas, water treatment facilities, and flood-prone zones—participants explore how water, climate, infrastructure, and individual choices are interconnected.

Methodologically, the project builds on Design Thinking, adapted to water-related sustainability challenges through a strong emphasis on place, visualisation, and social learning. Young participants collaborate with water utility professionals, educators, designers, and researchers to identify key challenges, generate ideas, and develop early-stage prototypes that support sustainable water-related behaviours. These prototypes function as practical interfaces between individuals and infrastructure, enabling participants to experiment with everyday practices, reflect on consequences, and develop a sense of agency.

The project results include both tangible pedagogical prototypes and a transferable methodological framework for place-based co-creation. These outcomes are designed for use by municipalities, water utilities, schools, and science centres, and will be integrated into Navet Science Center’s long-term public exhibition and educational programmes. In doing so, UPPLEV reaches large and diverse audiences over time.

In the longer term, UPPLEV contributes to increased behavioural capacity among citizens, improved communication practices within the water sector, and greater public acceptance of necessary investments in water infrastructure and nature-based solutions. Beyond the water sector, the project offers a scalable and transferable approach for addressing other sustainability challenges where everyday behaviour, technical systems, and societal responsibility intersect.

The project, funded by Formas, is a collaborative initiative involving the University of Borås, Navet Science Center, and Borås Science Park.