Parks and Recreation : A study in planning

Abstract: Urban green space is of substantial importance in regards to the development of sustainable cities. Both the UNs Agenda 2030 and the Swedish environmental goal of A Good Built Environment identify that the city's green space is important for the well-being of humans. According to the World Health Organization, urban green space contributes to mental and physical health and reduce the risk of disease and poor health amongst the urban inhabitants.  Today, Europe is experiencing a high rate of urbanization in several parts of the continent and according to the EU the rate is at its highest in the Stockholm region. The city's share of green space area has decreased in recent decades and according to government authority Boverket this negative trend is part of the reason why the goal of A Good Built Environment won't be reached in 2030. 2030 also marks the end year for the goal of building 130 000 new housing units in the municipality of the City of Stockholm, a goal the municipality has set in order to meet the increase in housing demand. The capital's green space is of importance for the inhabitants' well-being. At the same time, a race against the interest of increased development in the city is in full swing. In light of this, this essay aims to investigate how the issue of urban green space is handled by city planners and how the question is regarded by the citizens in the context of planning.  The focus of the essay lays on the municipality of the City of Stockholm and by conducting a case study, three different planning programs are investigated within the municipality. Background work, program proposals and public feedback reports are analyzed. Initially, a theoretical framework is presented together with the municipality’s guideline document Grönare Stockholm (“Greener Stockholm”) with the purpose of aiding the conclusions that are made in the essay. Conclusions show that there are similarities in regards to planning approaches between the municipality’s guideline document Greener Stockholm and the contents of the program proposals. This could be an indication that the guideline document is of importance when it comes to the result of urban green space planning in practice.  There are also similarities between the management of green space in the program proposals and the result from the early background work, that is the planning of green space tends to be based on the conditions that have been identified on site in the early stages, where the needs and wishes amongst citizens are of importance. Finally, the question of urban green space tends to be of big interest amongst citizens, based on the analysis of public feedback reports. Furthermore, the subject also seem to be sensitive amongst citizens due to the overwhelming negative feedback on the municipality's program proposals.