Lund Sydvästra. Mitigating the housing crisis in Sweden’s “City of ideas”

Abstract: Today, Sweden is experiencing a significant pressure on the housing market. Most of the municipalities are facing a housing shortage, and the problem is especially acute in metropolitan regions. Currently, Sweden has one of the highest levels of urbanization in the EU and, taking into consideration the rising population, the lack of housing has become a national issue. Lund is a university town and students is one of the main reasons of the growing pressure on the housing market. In the most likely scenario of development, Lund will experience a stable growth in the nearest couple of decades. Population is expected to significantly increase: net migration will remain positive, the number of students will likely increase, a fairly large number of refugees is expected to be accepted, and, in addition to that, completion of Brunnshög construction will facilitate an inflow of people into the town. According to forecasts made by Lund Municipality, Lund’s population might reach 200 000 inhabitants in 40 years. One of the major problems Lund is currently facing is an acute shortage of housing. The pressure on the housing market started to emerge a couple of decades ago and, since the population growth of the last decade exceeded all expectations, the existing construction pace is a way too slow to supply a number of housing needed to accommodate all the people. Lund Sydvästra is one of the places highlighted as an important area for future development. The master plan for the area has not been approved and the planning process is still undergoing. Hence, there is a place for new ideas and design proposals. One of the main purposes of the thesis project is to develop a solution, which would contribute into more sustainable growth of the town and help to mitigate the growing tension on the housing market.