Kan man ingjuta mer liv i Norra Fäladens centrum? : analys, diskussion och förslag på hur man kan skapa ett bättre lokalt centrum genom fysiska åtgärder.

Abstract: This is a master thesis on how to develop the central area of Norra Fäladen, a suburban housing area in the town of Lund, Sweden. The area is discussed on the basis of literature studies, analysis, and place descriptions, which leads on to a proposal. The starting point for the proposal is to create a more lively local centre and to make the area pleasanter for the visitor. A large part of the thesis is devoted to giving a background about local centres and to describe and analyse the area. Fäladstorget has an important role as a central place for supply and services and as a local meeting place for the inhabitants of Norra Fäladen. The centre square has a calm atmosphere, the space is easy to overview and it is free from cars. The square has a coherent design, with the same red brick colour on the ground paving and church walls. On the other hand, the square gives a rather dull impression, with its uniform facades and lack of ongoing activities. The immediate neighbourhood is in many ways a shattered as well as an empty and ugly environment, dominated by a large parking space, a road with broad margins and cycling paths that lack in variety. Fäladstorget, with its lack of connection to the surroundings, functions almost as an isolated island, which makes it difficult to generate a stream of people moving over the centre square. It is a problem that the buildings that form the square present their backside to the arriving visitor, with closed facades and unclear entrances. Fäladstorgets introverted form is therefore problematic. On the other hand, the square itself has important qualities, which would disappear if the enclosed space were to be opened up. The background analysis and discussion are largely an attempt to find out what is most important: to preserve the form of the square as it is today or to change its enclosed and introverted character. Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehls theories on how the city structure affects social life, play an important role in the thesis. Their theories have been used to find arguments for a development of the place. In the proposal I have not restricted the focus to Fäladstorget. Instead, I have widened the perspective to encompass the whole central area of Norra Fäladen. A purpose in this thesis is to bring understanding on the planning traditions which shaped suburbs and local centres in Sweden. I have also visited, as well as read about, other local centres in order to find an understanding on the function and role of local centres and to be able to compare local centres of different form and state.