Att mötas : ett examensarbete om integration och planering

Abstract: My honour/master thesis is an analysis of three so called "problematic" outdoor urban environments. These three environments have been selected based on the quite different strategies taken to fight the problems, though in common the ambition has been to improve the quality of life for the nearby residents and visitors. Early on I understood that integration and segregation are key issues in all three areas and I therefore selected these questions as the focus of my work. Furthermore, I have chosen to make a study of the history of imigration, which I have made reference to in one of the chapters. As the first residential area, I visited Holma in Malmö where the property company MKB has tried to implement "user awareness" and successfully managed to make the residents feel more comfortable and be more proud of their outdoor surround-ings. The second area is Gårdsten in Gothenburg, where the property company Gårdstensbostäder has spent a lot of efforts into renovating the houses and the outdoor surroundings. The goals have been to increase the quality of life for the residents and to make the area more attractive in order to recruit new tennants to Gårdsten. Close to the area is the park "Dalen" where major improvement also have been undertaken. The mission has been quite successful as judged from the decreasing number of vacant apartments. The third area, I visited was the department for exploitation in Stockhom, to study the initiation of a project to open up an overgrown park, known as Nydalsparken, near Tensta. The park has not been managed for decades and was in obvious need of attention to become more attractive to visitors. After speaking with representative it became apparent that Stockholm city has ongoing plans with this park along with several new attractions, which are expected to be completed when the renovation is ready. A park by the name of Krokbäcksparken is situated between Holma and Kroksbäck in Malmö, and makes an important part in the stretch of parks and green areas that lead from the heart of Malmö to Hyllie, via Kungsparken/Slottsparken, Pildammsparken, Ärtholmen and Kroksbäcksparken. Although Malmö city once had advanced plans which would maintain the beauty of the park, the management soon fell in to dormancy. I have presented principle drawings of how the park can be made more attractive and also make the visitors feel more secure. In order to better understand the needs I have visited the park on several occasions. To establish a broader basis of the needs I have also conducted a survey amongst pupils in grades 8-9 at the school of Kroksbäck. In addition, I have made interviews with residents in Krokbäck and with Nattvandrare I have met in the park. As I have understood, there is an overwhelming majority who want the park to be reopened. Also, installation of lights could significantly improve the feeling of security during dark hours. To further improve the value of the park, construction of new activities for the benefit of both children and adults alike were recommended. This thesis demonstrates that ways to improve the so called "problematic areas", i.e. outdoor environments in urban areas that have degraded due to poor management, are engaging people all over Sweden. I have also drawn attention to the number of ways trying to solve the problems, and to where and whom responsability lies in such area improvements. Clearly, there are few alternatives to hard work and action to get people to feel comfortable in their housing communities.