Planning Strategies

Stockholm City Plan 1999

STADSBYGGNADS KONTORET
Stockholm City Planning Administration Box 8314 SE-104 20 Stockholm, SWEDEN Visiting address: Fleminggatan 4 Telephone: int + 46 8 508 26 000

the City of Stockholm

September 2001

Contents
Stockholm a Capital in Northern Europe . . 4 Towards Sustainable Development . . . . . . . . . . . 5 An era of Rapid Development, 1950 - . . . . . . . 6 A Liveable Place
..................................

Appendices
The planning system in Sweden In Sweden, physical planning is mainly carried out by the local municipalities according to The Planning and Building Act. The Regional Plan is mandatory only for Stockholm County. It deals with land and water use and contains general development guidelines for the county. It also constitutes a basis for infrastructure planning. It has no binding force for the municipalities or private individuals. The Comprehensive Plan is mandatory. It deals with land and water use and development and covers the entire municipality. It contains general development guidelines for the municipality and constitutes a basis for detailed planning and rulings on applications for building permits. The comprehensive plan can be detailed for specific local areas. The plan has no binding force. The Detailed Development Plan is the main document used for all urban development. The plan regulates land use and the construction of buildings and facilities and is a legally binding development document. The detailed development plan regulates where and how the property-owner may build. A planning monopoly In principle there is a municipal planning monopoly in Sweden, and the planning system is therefore basically designed for local authorities the municipalities. Each municipality, under the Local Government Act, has to handle its own affairs. This is a fundamental rule of competence for the primary municipalities. Within this Act and the framework of special laws, municipalities decide for themselves on organisation, actions, standards on town planning for instance, etc. For healthcare and public transportation, there is a regional authority, the County Council. Stockholm County Council is also responsible for regional planning for the county. The Stockholm County Administrative Board is the regional state authority responsible for certain planning control. SOME BASIC DATA ABOUT STOCKHOLM JANUARY 2001 Stockholm County Region 6.780 480 Area etc. Land area, km2 thereof parks and green zones Population density, inh/km2 Stockholm 187 approx. 60 4,013

Todays Trends and Endeavours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A strategy for the future: Build the city inwards The new Stockholm City Plan 1999 . . . Strategic Development Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . Green Structure Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Urban Design Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Population Share of Sweden, 2000 Foreign citizens 750,348 8.4 % 74,661 1,823,210 20.5 %

10 12 13 14

Three Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Hammarby Sjstad Kista The National City Park A Regional Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Housing Stock of apartments Dwellings by type of building Multi-family houses Single family houses Residents per 100 room units

405,000 89.4 % 10.3 % 53

This publication is based on Stockholm City Plan 1999, the Stockholm County Draft Regional Plan 2000 and information from the Stockholm City Planning Administration. Text: Gunnar Lantz, Architect SAR. Graphic design: Timmer Reklambyr AB Photographs: Peter Gullers, Anders Hanser, Jan Inghe, Lennart Johansson InfoBild, Klaus Luukkonen Bildmedia, Nino Monastra Printed by: Katarina Tryck AB Production: Cristina Bjrn, Strategic Planning Department Stockholm City Planning Administration

Labour market (Persons 16-64 years) Employed in all Agriculture and forestry etc Manufacturing and energy production Construction Trade and communications Financial activities etc. Education and research Medical care and social welfare Personal and cultural services Public administration etc. Gainfully employed women in % of all women Unemployed in % of labour force Men Women

Stockholm 393,000 0.3 % 8.4 % 3.4 % 19.8 % 26.4 % 8.2 % 14.7 % 12.0 % 6.3 % 78.8 % 3.8 % 2.6 %

Sweden 4,158,600 2.4 % 19.1 % 5.4 % 19.2 % 13.3 % 8.7 % 18.5 % 7.9 % 5.4 % 72.2 % 5.0 % 4.3 %

If you want to know more about Stockholm City Council: www.stockholm.se Planning for the City of Stockholm: Stockholm City Planning Administration www.sbk.stockholm.se the Regional Planning: Stockholm County Council The Office of Regional Planning and Urban Transportation www.rtk.sll.se

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A Regional Outlook
The aim of the Draft Regional Development Plan 2000 is to support three main goals for the Stockholm region: International competitiveness, High and equal living conditions and Long-term, sustainable environment. The County Council defined five areas as strategically important: Economic development, renewal and integration, Education and research, Co-operation within the Baltic Sea region, Public transport and accessibility and Housing. The Stockholm region is formally known as the County of Stockholm, but the functional region covers a much larger area. The proposal is to develop the region into a multi-centred region in order to increase accessibility for workplaces, service and culture in the different parts of the region. Contact-intensive operations are those that increase most and require densely populated locations with easy access. These often benefit from being integrated with housing and service in new centres in different parts of the region. The Plan includes two alternative structures for the future distribution of population, housing and workplaces in the region: Alternative K concentrated and Alternative P peripheral. In both cases town planning is based on increasing the developmental density and complementary additions Many people commute to their jobs in the County of Stockholm from neighbouring areas, and the housing problem in the Stockholm region can be partly solved outside the county boundaries. The extensions of the Mlarbanan and the Svealandsbanan have opened up the functional region, which today incorporates the neighbouring areas of Uppsala and the County of Sdermanland. In the long-term, an even larger area of the Mlaren Valley will become integrated into the Stockholm region. The European Corridor Co-operation exists between nearly 40 cities, municipalities and regions in southern Sweden, eastern Denmark and northern Germany for a high-speed railway from Stockholm via Copenhagen to Hamburg. This high-speed railway will constitute the backbone of a mega-region where about 5 million people live in the Swedish part. The highspeed railway will be the main part of a system of inter-city, regional and local trains that connect the different sub-markets in the whole region. It will play an important role in connecting the Baltic area with the northern parts of the European Continent. It is essential to maintain and develop environmentally sound, sustainable, cheap and effective means of transport that are necessary for the development of the Northern Europe region.

Creating a sustainable city

From an international perspective, the City of Stockholm is a small capital. Nevertheless, we who are working with the development of Stockholm find to our great satisfaction that our planning and our efforts are of interest to many people. This presentation gives an introduction to the City of Stockholm of today, to the challenges of the future and the planning for sustainable development. Stockholm and its buildings are the result of centuries of peoples efforts to build one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The City of Stockholm is the centre of a metropolitan area that comprises 25 surrounding municipalities and 1.8 million inhabitants. The Stockholm region is also a green metropolitan area and owes its unique qualities to the fact that the city is situated at the confluence of Lake Mlaren and Saltsjn, together with its vast archipelago. Stockholm, today a capital city within the European Union, is one of the leading wireless communication cities in the world. The region endeavours to strengthen its position in the Baltic Sea Region as a sub-region in a growing European Union. In an international comparison, the region is sparsely developed, and the strategy for our new City Plan is to build the city inwards in order to preserve the green qualities. The Stockholm City Plan 1999 was adopted with political unanimity by the City Council in October 1999. A broad discussion amongst the citizens, organisations, local authorities, companies and governmental authorities was part of the process in making the plan.

sterker Tby

Tby centrum

Arninge

Ingela Lindh Managing Director Stockholm City Planning Administration

BarkarbyJakobsberg

Kista-SollentunaHggvik
Vaxholm Liding

Regioncentrum

Eker

Sickla Kungens kurvaSkrholmen Farsta Flemingsberg

Huddinge Tyres Nacka Vrmd

Haninge centrum
Botkyrka
0 3 6 km

From the Draft Regional Development Plan 2000.The proposal to develop the region into a multi-centred region, alternative P peripheral.

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Stockholm a Capital in Northern Europe

Situated at Latitude 59 North, Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, which in turn is one of the four Scandinavian countries. Sweden has 8.9 million inhabitants with a density of 20 inhabitants per square kilometre. Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1995. The Stockholm County The City of Stockholm, with a population of 750,000 inhabitants, is the historic heart and centre of gravity in a region that encompasses 1.8 million people. The County Region covers an area of 6,780 km2 and extends 160 km in a north-south direction and 80 km from east to west. The 26 municipalities in the county are linked to each other in a network of growing, mutual dependency. The Stockholm-Mlaren Region The process of internationalisation is moving quickly and the region is dependent for its development on great openness towards other countries. The competition within the European Community for growth-creating activities and branches will play an increasingly greater role in the future. The Stockholm-Mlaren Region with 2.4 million people living in its towns and cities has the possibility with new highspeed train connections to develop into an effective region where the housing stock, job potential, recreation and education resources supplement each other. The Svealandsbanan railway today links towns like Eskilstuna, Strngns and Sdertlje with Stockholm, and makes it convenient to travel daily the 110 kilometres from Eskilstuna to Stockholm. A second regional train system, Mlarbanan, north to Mlaren, is nearly complete. Stockholm a node in the Baltic region Earlier historical relationships and trade links with the Baltic countries and Russia have been re-established and are growing. Countries which until a short time ago were almost wholly closed for trade and cultural exchange have now become a part of Swedens immediate surroundings and Stockholm has major possibilities to play an important role in the Baltic Sea co-operation as a node in the Baltic region. For example, Stockholm is meeting the expansion of freight-traffic from across the Baltic into the region by developing harbours north and south of the city. existing in the area. Also social and ethnic connections are essential. A co-operative program with job-matching between the growing advanced IT-industry in Kista and the housing areas south of it has been successful in providing jobs to unemployed people, mainly immigrants, and providing the firms with competent staff. A landscape park is planned with the aim of linking the developing Kista area with poorer suburban areas south of it. The idea is to promote social connections. It will be designed to be an ecological and cultural park with meeting-places like restaurants and recreation facilities. The development of Kista is also very important for the development of the surrounding municipalities. It is essential to establish planning in co-operation between several municipalities - in close dialogue with different interests and the inhabitants in the area. The National City Park A vast historic landscape in the immediate proximity to Stockholms Inner City was designated as a National City Park on 1 January 1995, Ulriksdal-Haga-Brunnsviken-Djugrden. The area contains magnificent natural, cultural and recreational values and is as large as the inner city. The park is one of the most frequented natural and cultural landscapes in Sweden. Thanks to royal ownership of the grounds and the long history as a hunting park, large parts of the landscape have more or less been preserved since the 17th century. During the 1780s, King Gustav III realized his dream of making Haga into the most beautiful park of all in the English style. Finally, during the 20th century, many institutions, museums and some houses were built in the park. The park has attracted much attention internationally. The National City Park is also sometimes called the Eco-park. The caring of the park is indeed permeated by an ecological view that will contribute to a sustainable city.

[ For more facts, see page 19 ]

ICELAND

Gvle Borlnge
SWEDEN FINLAND

NORWAY

Avesta
Helsinki

Oslo

Stockholm
Tallinn

St.Petersburg

Fagersta

Sala

Uppsala

ESTONIA

Riga
DENMARK IRELAND UNITED KINGDOM LATVIA LITHUANIA Kaliningrad NETHERLANDS

RUSSIA

Copenhagen

50 km

Enkping

Arlanda

Vilnius

Vsters Kping
BELARUS

London

Amsterdam Brussels
BELGIUM LUXEMBURG

Berlin Warsaw

Strngns Eskilstuna

GERMANY

POLAND

Stockholm
Sdertlje

Prague
UKRAINE CZECH REP. SLOVAKIA

Paris

rebro Katrineholm

FRANCE

Bern
SWITZERLAND

Vienna
AUSTRIA

Budapest
HUNGARY

SLOVENIA CROATIA ITALY SPAIN BOSNIA AND HERZEG. YUGOSLAVIA

ROMANIA

Nykping
500 km

Norrkping

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Three Examples
Hammarby Sjstad a sustainable district development The first of the strategic development areas is Hammarby Sjstad, Hammarby Sea City, a new part of inner Stockholm where the focus is on the water. This run-down port and industrial district is being transformed into a modern, ecologically sustainable part of the city. Hammarby Sjstad is Stockholms largest on-going urban development project. An old dockland and industrial area is being transformed into a modern city area that will form a logical extension of the city district Sdermalm, with 8,000 apartments housing a population of 20,000. After completion of all parts of the project in 2010, there will be 30,000 people living and working in the area. Environmentally, Hammarby Sjstad will be a well-planned area with its own recycling model and its own local sewage treatment plant. Hammarby Sjstad will have an innercity character with new, exciting architecture, establishing classic urban qualities in a modern shape. Hammarby Sjstad marks a break from the modernistic policy of building suburbs to a policy of re-establishing urban values including streets with shops and restaurants, meeting-places and a mix between work and leasure. Unique qualities and opportunities flow from the waterside location and the proximity of both the inner city and the open recreation areas nearby. In a further response to environmental concerns, Hammarby Sjstad will be well provided with transportation options including the new peripheral tramline, ferries across the Hammarby Canal, and car pooling arrangements. Plans also include a highly developed network of pedestrian and cycle paths. Kista Science City the wireless valley Kista, located in the north-western part of Stockholm, is one of the worlds most important IT-clusters. Companies like Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola have chosen to locate their development in wireless telecom and wireless Internet in this area. Kista is the result of planning activities in the 1970s. It was originally an industrial area, divided from a residential area by a motorway. Parts of this residential area are among the disadvantaged living areas of Stockholm, as are the suburban areas south of Kista. The city is now working, in co-operation with the Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, with a project to transform these areas to an attractive place for work and life. New physical connections like public transport and roads are important to increase availability, e.g. an extension of the new peripheral tramline is planned in an effort to over-bridge cultural and ethnic barriers

Towards Sustainable Development

The City of Stockholm, located where Lake Mlaren meets the archipelago of the Baltic Sea, has an unmatched character as a city of green and blue large preserved green areas and blue waters around the islands that the city is built on. This character is important as a basis for future development. The annual growth rings of town-planning and architecture can be well distinguished in Stockholms built environment. All this composes values that we trust are important for people who choose to live and work in this city. The goal is to continue to develop the city while these special urban landscape characters are preserved and enhanced. Stockholm is facing new challenges in creating a modern sustainable city for the future. Public Transport As a result of systematic investments in rail systems and subsidised fares, 70% of people travelling to work during the rush hour from the suburbs to the inner city use public transport. The aim is to maintain that figure and if possible make it even better, which is a real challenge as the number of private cars increases. A way to achieve this is to further improve the public transport system and to develop concentrated, mixed-use areas, close to public transport. Towards a more environment-oriented city Adapting the City to long-term sustainability is a question of decreasing the use of resources, closing the eco-cycles, increasing recycling and of improving the urban environment. The most serious environmental challenge for Stockholm are disturbances caused by the motorcar. The Citys technical infrastructure roads, public transport, technical services such as water, sewage, waste treatment and district heating have been built over a period of many years. These large-scale systems function well and are efficient. Today the level of air pollution is low and the sea water is so clean that you can fish and even swim in the middle of the city. Unemployment, economic pressure and welfare problems have also been felt in Stockholm during the 1990s. Social differences and housing segregation are increasing and there is a thinning out of services. Traffic noise, crowding, littering and vandalism have had an influence as to how people feel in the physical environment. In the new Stockholm City Plan, particular attention has been paid to vacant land as a limited resource, the re-use of brown-fields, the treatment and protection of the green structure and open waters, as well as the preservation of bio-diversity.

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An era of Rapid Development: 1950 Stockholm, a city with a medieval core, has gradually evolved since it was founded in the thirteenth century. The character of the Inner City block structure was set during the expansion periods of the 17th and late 19th centuries. The Stockholm of today is mainly the result of planning efforts and development strategies carried out during the last century. Since around 1920, the City Council has taken an active part in providing people with affordable and decent housing. An important part of this strategy has been to purchase land for development, recreation purposes, etc. The strategy and the planning have been inspired by modernistic ideals with clear separation between dwelling, work and business areas, following the principles of zoning, and with high accessibility to public transport. Planning for a metro city In order to outline a strategy for the growth outside the inner city, a city-wide comprehensive plan was approved by the City Council in 1952. New suburbs were planned along metro lines like pearls on a string. The land needed was owned by the city. Each suburb was designed as a neighbourhood unit with a social and commercial core, high density housing close to the station, and in the periphery work areas and lower density housing, together with self-built one-family homes. The new concept of ABC-suburb stood for work-housing-centre. A green structure was established with green areas and parks dividing the neighbourhoods. Major investments were made in establishing an efficient public transport system, based on a network of metro lines, and later on, commuter trains out into the region. The idea was to make it possible for people to live pleasantly in the suburbs and take the metro to work in the city centre or in special work areas. The post-war era has essentially been characterised by economic growth, but also by overheating and inflation. Particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, Stockholm had to cope with a high number of people moving in, as well as a rapid growth rate concerning both public economy and urban construction. During this time, Stockholm developed about twenty-five new neighbourhoods for about 10,000 residents each, served by the new metro system. The Central Business District was renovated, and older housing in the inner city refurbished. In the 1980s a change was noted in Stockholms economic structure, with the virtual disappearance of the manufacturing industry, while private services and businesses within the financial and media sectors demonstrated significant growth. The planning strategies from 1952 have served the development of Stockholm well during several decades, providing good housing conditions and a healthy environment. The regional setting A star-shaped regional development pattern and a system of green wedges in between, provide the conditions necessary for a residential environment with good communications and simultaneously good access to green areas. The City of Stockholm currently has an annual population growth rate of just over one percent. All land within the city, except parks and green areas, is used for built-up areas, and new development projects involve densification of previously developed land. In recent decades, the majority of growth in the Stockholm area has taken place outside the city limits in neighbouring municipalities. Stockholm dominates the regions labour market with 500,000 workplaces, of which almost 300,000 are in the inner city. Many workers commute to these jobs from the surrounding suburbs. The Stockholm County constitutes an important part of the Stockholm Mlar Region. The Stockholm Mlar Regional Council (Mlardalsrdet), an association for voluntary co-operation of four county councils and 41 municipalities, is promoting the development of the area as a region in an integrated Europe. Urban planning and design categories Different annual growth rings and urban planning and design categories can be distinguished in Stockholms plan-patterns and ways of building. The characteristics of these different characters are summarized into twelve urban planning and design categories. Guidelines are given for each category. Four of the urban planning and design categories are illustrated here.

The Central, Grid-pattern City, 1880-1930, is given its main character by closed blocks with unified heights with buildings from different periods in time.

The narrow-block housing areas, 1930-1950, with both parallel and open plan-patterns as neighbourhood units, as well as with multi-family housing block groups in more closed forms of lay-outs.

The metro system suburbs, 1950-1975, with the Work-Housing-Centre suburbs, group-housing areas with terrace housing, semi-detached housing, and point block areas from the 1960s.There are also the more large-scale areas from the 1960s and 1970s with tall, slab blocks, 3-storey slab blocks and single-family houses built in groups.

The garden city developments, 1910-1945, contain both the classic garden city areas and the later, small-cottage areas.

15 1

Urban Design Guidelines

To be aware of Stockholms distinguishing features is especially important when discussing changes within the already existing urban landscape. The Urban Design Guidelines presents the character of the urban landscape and the built environments, with the objective of contributing to an overall approach to protect and enhance Stockholms beauty and character for the future. The Design Guidelines transform general regulations of the Planning and Building Act concerning care and respect for the urban and natural landscape etc, to the local level to be implemented in the City of Stockholm. Guidelines The Urban Design Guidelines indicate a number of approaches for preservation and change as guidelines when the City is to be modified, renewed and developed. The guidelines also have the intention of promoting the new creation of quality city planning and architecture with the following general guidelines as a basis: Stockholm will be developed into a city with long-term sustainability. Stockholm will develop in an interplay between preservation and new building. The clarity and character of the natural landscape will be protected. New environments should have architectural and artistic quality. Character-creating urban areas and buildings will be preserved and renewed with care. The attractiveness of public spaces and open areas will be strengthened. The character of the urban landscape The Urban Design Guidelines deal with the natural landscape together with the water areas and how these leave their mark on the City today. Stockholms silhouette is formed by the topography, the vegetation and the buildings. Also included in the urban landscape are the green spaces in the parks and areas of unspoilt nature, and the public spaces in the form of streets and squares. The Citys light and the colour-scale of the buildings also play a part in the shaping of the unity of the urban landscape. Guidelines are given for these characters.

The growth of inner Stockholm Region

1900

300 000 inhabitants

1930

600 000 inhabitants

1950

1 000 000 inhabitants

2000

1 500 000 inhabitants

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A Liveable Place
Stockholm has good qualifications to function well for daily living, for work and leisure, as a home town and a good environment for children to grow up in. There is also a large and varied labour market, extensive public transport and a large number of attractive housing areas containing flats as well as one-family dwellings and a wide access to green areas and unspoilt nature. As a capital city, Stockholm can offer a rich cultural life especially within the arts, music and theatre. The environmental standards are high. Social integration Problems which are characteristic of many large cities throughout the world also exist in Stockholm, although on a considerably smaller scale. Social differences and housing segregation between different parts of the city exist. The economic boom during the 1970s made it possible for some households to move out to own houses, draining some of the large-scale suburban housing areas, and leading to empty flats. In most housing districts, however, there is a social mixture. The Outer City Programme To meet social and ethnic problems in the outer suburb districts, the Stockholm City Council manages a special program, the Outer City Program, in co-operation with the tenants, supporting them in improving their situation. Focus has also been put on education and jobmatching in co-operation with companies to improve the inhabitants situation with some good results. One result is that the built environment and the design and standards of the buildings have been largely improved following tenants initiatives. In some suburbs and neighbouring cities, a development of their own identity and a new culture can be seen.

Green Structure Guidelines

Unlike many other metropolitan regions, Stockholm has retained a great deal of its natural and cultural landscape. The waterways, Lake Mlaren and the inner archipelago of the Baltic Sea, contribute to the citys character as do the green open land areas and greenery present all over the city and integrated into the built-up environments. The green structure is important for the health and recreation of people living in Stockholm; it allows us to experience natural qualities and scenic beauty in the city, caters for a rich flora and fauna, creates a good urban climate and provides a basis for a sustainable city. The indication of the City Plan is to retain the overall green structure areas with guidelines for continued planning and preservation of the overall green structure. The overall green structure consists of the following areas: Larger nature and outdoor activity areas Nature and park shorelines Nature and parks between and adjacent to different parts of the City Built environment areas where the greenery is important for the City character and/or bio-diversity. Stockholms green structure is a part of the unified regional structure. Green areas in the neighbouring municipalities are also important for Stockholm. Local green structures The overall green structure is supplemented locally by a network of smaller parks, park stretches, nature areas and open areas close to housing and workplaces. The qualities that these give to their districts are important to retain, and also to create new qualities where needed. Bio-diversity Nature in a large city is particularly vulnerable to changes. A sustainable use of land and water resources demands attention to important functions and processes in the ecological system. Large sections of landscape in the peripheries of the City are of vital importance for the Citys bio-diversity since they contribute to the spreading of plants and animals between the green areas in Stockholm and those in the adjacent municipalities. The Green Map a new planning basis for green qualities Based on the guidelines of Stockholm City Plan, the Green Map goes further and defines the green qualities as a basis for forward development planning in the districts of the City. The Green Map defines the values of parks and green areas from a bio-diversity as well as a social perspective. New methods have been used in the work. Results from research on biotopes as a basis for planning for bio-diversity in urban areas have been implemented. The social aspect has been focused upon with a sociotope approach.

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Strategic Development Areas

Just about all land within Stockholm City is today planned for urban use and, with the exception for parks and green areas, is made up of built-up areas. In order not to hamper the citys development as new needs continue to arise with time, space for new construction for new activities must be found. Semi-central work areas transformed into mixed and varied urban building developments The de-industrialization of the City has implied that the production of goods has largely decreased with fewer disturbing activities. The activities have more of an office character requiring less space. In the City Plan, twelve strategic development areas have been identified, many of them in a circle around and close to the inner city. In these areas, the city is planning mixed-use areas with attractive housing and business facilities. The idea is to re-use and redevelop old, partly abandoned industrial and harbour areas and to also take advantage of existing investments in infrastructure. Many of the areas are directly linked to the planned ring-road and the new fast tram system surrounding the inner city. It will open new possibilities to develop urban nuclei in the nodes where the tram connects to the radial lines. These areas have major location qualities, such as being close to water and public transport, which render them interesting for more intensive land-use. Together, the strategic development areas are calculated to house some 40,000 70,000 apartments, at the same time as the existing floor-areas for workplaces can increase without a higher level of development than around 50% of the level in the inner-city. Developing attractive focal points with qualified activities One way in which to achieve greater balance between the Central Business District and other parts of Stockholm is to attempt a long-term development of the basic structure of the traffic system and the living and working patterns. Good public transport locations offer special possibilities. New cores or focal points in the outer-city with a high level of accessibility can emerge with qualified activities such as education, research, cultural institutions and futureorientated branches.

Todays Trends and Endeavours

From a general decline in the financial situation in the early1990s, Sweden has regained economic strength. Stockholm is currently facing a situation of increasing development demand. There is an upward trend in employment in Stockholm, thanks to operations where the region is considered to have special prerequisites: research, education particularly within the branches of biotechnology and information technology, financial operations, and consulting, as well as visiting industry and media. Meeting new housing demands During the new 1990s an average of 20,000 people moved to the Stockholm region anually. Residential building now taking place in Stockholm is mainly concentrated to exclusive central locations with good communications and a waterfront view. Simultaneously, there has been a redistribution of households within the existing housing stock during recent years, which has led to growing segregation in certain older neighbourhoods that in turn are increasingly dominated by economically weak households. The integration of immigrants is a focus of the municipal policy. Mixed and varied urban development The city planning strategy has been formulated on the main principle to build the City inwards. The objective is to abandon the existing ideal of mono-functional structures and to create a living and varying urban environment with workplaces, housing, parks, culture and service. The transformation of old work areas into areas with more mixed uses can take place via successive changes that can proceed handin-hand with business and industrys own development. The traffic issue The regional traffic system the metro, commuter trains and the road network are in principle radial, with the Citys central business district as their hub. These networks are being expanded outwards. But the limited rail and road capacity across the water where the Baltic Sea meets Mlaren tend to separate the region into two sub-regions, which can inhibit the regions economic development. A new fast tram line has recently been constructed in the form of a semi-circle. The system connects districts within the semi-central zone as well as the radial metro and commuter train lines. The line is to be extended to the east as well as to the north. To increase the capacity of the double-track railroad right through Stockholms central core alternatives are under intensive study, either on the surface or as a new tunnel for commuter trains. As for roads, the foremost discussion is about whether to complete the motorway ring around the inner city and to construct a new bypass road to the west of the city. Major parts of these motorways will be built in tunnels. Development in IT and biomedical industry Sweden is a leading country in the use of advanced Information Technology. The City of Stockholm has installed an extensive fibreoptic cable network to enable all IT-players to offer their services to the business sector, the public sector and homes. The net will soon cover the entire region. Kista, located in northwestern Stockholm, is one of the worlds most important clusters in the mobile IT sector and is expanding very rapidly. Research in the biomedical industry is strong in the Stockholm region and is thought to have a brilliant future. Changing commercial service structure in the region New development can be seen outside Stockholm, especially in the surrounding municipalities close to the city border, i.e. shopping malls, draining nearby smaller centres of customers, and large working areas that are badly provided with public transport and that depend on private car traffic. This calls for new ways of planning co-operation between the City of Stockholm and these municipalities. A new land policy In coming years, new development will take place on land not owned by the municipality. The City Council will therefore have a different role than previously, when the City was developed entirely on City Council owned land. The planning monopoly remains as the main instrument for the municipal influence.

12

A strategy for the future: Build the city inwards

The new Stockholm City Plan1999
The Stockholm City Plan is a comprehensive plan for land and water uses and for development. It covers the whole of the municipality and is mandatory according to the Planning and Building Act. The plan functions as a guideline for further planning and decision-making, and is the basic plan for future land use and development in the Swedish planning system. The new City Plan was adopted by Stockholm City Council in October 1999. The plan is the answer to the planning strategy for the future: To promote sustainable development by building the city inwards. The strategy will be realized by: re-using already developed land (brown-fields); respecting and enhancing the character of the City, e.g. the city-scape, the built environments and the green structures; redeveloping semi central areas, transforming older industrial areas into urban areas of mixed uses and variation; establishing focal points in the suburbs; concentrating new development to areas with good access to public transport; meeting local demands. The main part of the plan consists of the Guidelines for Planning and Building, while sections like Urban Design Guidelines and Green Structure Guidelines highlight certain aspects of the strategy. Guidelines for Planning and Building The plan prepares for growth and change, while highlighting the qualities of the already existing city. The land use is based on the present distribution of development and open land. The plan concentrates on issues that are of interest to the whole of the City, such as strategic development areas that will be considered for major changes in the future (see page 12), the overall green structure with areas that will begiven longterm protection, and the overall traffic system. Main roads and tracks are presented as reservations for future extensions of the traffic system including alternatives, as a basis for decisions on future traffic investments. The map indicates twelve categories of areas, each category with a written planning indication. The strategy and the planning indications provide a base for forward planning schemes at district levels in connection with the granting of building permissions.

5 km

10