Completing the borders of Kalmar

Abstract: How can small and medium cities absorb the world population growth in urban areas? This master’s thesis investigates possibilities for increasing population density and built density in cities, avoiding urban sprawl and population concentration in large metropolises. For this urban design investigation, the city of Kalmar, Sweden was chosen as the project site. The focus on a less populated city aims to look for ways for cities to grow without overloading the urban mobility system, concentration of jobs and extensive urban areas difficult to manage and to be read on a human scale. The proposal has the following questions as a framework: How to keep the small scale of the city and turn it into a destination? How to keep the tradition through history and propose a contemporary district? How to conciliate the urban spaces with the landscape? This project proposal shows how underutilized land and remnants of urban development in Kalmar can contribute to the growth of the city without increasing urban travels and urbanized area, as it happens in large cities. In addition, the proposal presents possibilities to reconnect the city with its natural surroundings, the water, views of the sea and the historic center.