TÄLJÖ-GOTSUNDA The Urban Village
Autors: Damien Duchene, Maria Henriksen, Melanie Hierl, Jirapatr Jitwattanasilp, Katarina Rylander
Content 1 Introduction
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2 Vision
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3 Preconditions
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3.1
Land use and land ownership
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3.3
Current and planned transport infrastructure
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3.2 3.4
Green structure
Current urban and housing strucutre
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Planning Strategies
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4.2
Urban structure
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4.1 Transport 4.3
Green Structure
4.4 Housing 4.4.1 Variety of Choices 4.4.2 Bringing generations together 4.4.3 Bringing Communities together 4.4.2 Development Key
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4.5
Public space
4.6
Community-organized shopping and amenities
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Design Proposals
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5.2
Shared Space
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4.5.1 Loose spaces 4.5.2 Community planning 4.5.3 Placemaking
5.1 5.3 5.4 5.5
The proposed masterplan Universal design
The exentable Plaza
Weather Resilient Design
5.6 Zoning 5.7
Building Hight and Visuality
10 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 15 16 18
6 Implementation
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6.1
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6.1.1 6.1.2
Responsibility and finance allocation
Ă–sterĂĽker Municipalities responsibility in the planning and implementation process
Collaborations and responsibilities in implementation process
6.2 Timeline
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References 21
1 Introduction During the last decades, globalization has been drastically increasing both globally but also within the national borders of Sweden. With a de facto globalization index of 86,33 (Savina, Haelg & Sturm, 2018) in 2015, Sweden is facing continuing urbanization and a run for cities raising various challenges. Stockholm, Sweden’s capital city, is expected to grow by 17% in its population between 2014 and 2024 from 2.198.044 to 2.581.569 people, equating to an increase of 383.525 people (RUFS, n.d.). This increases the demand for housing development, densification, and and will lead to urban sprawl to the outskirts of Stockholm mixed with the challenges of the physical landscape and land ownership. Currently, rural areas in the north of the Stockholm, such as Österåker Municipality, are now of interest, due to their possibilities of expansion and connections. Formed by glaciers, the landscape of the municipality has varying but characteristic elevations sometimes changing abruptly. Large forest and lakeside areas are also typical for Österåker with its smaller villages and summer housing areas. Currently, the municipality has a bigger center (Åkersbergar) providing smaller and middle amenities. Mainly, smaller housing areas such as Täljö-Gottsunda are providing housing only. The lack of public transport, as well as bike and pedestrian connections in Österåker creates car dependency in the municipality, and makes the car the dominant transport mode. Improved public transport connections to Stockholm Centrum, through the planned extension of Roslagsbana, will create better conditions for the use of public transportation in Österåker and will also facilitate the market for densification through new housing development. Resistance towards new development is expected as the political attitude in Österåker is conservative with election results of the 2014 Riksdag’s election of 37.39% Moderaterna, 20.39% Socialdemokraterna, 9.75% Sverigedemokraterna, and 7.76% Miljöpartiet (Valmyndigheten 2014). These political characteristics of the area, as well as the physical and social factors, are important preconditions that have guided the creation process of this development project, which focuses on the development of the Täljö-Gottsunda area.
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2 Vision From its current character as a small rural area with dispersed housing, Täljö-Gottsunda will by 2035 become a small village with a strong local identity, well developed connections to Stockholm and Åkersberga, while also offering new divires homes opportunities for around 2800 people.
Image 1 Vision for the central area of Täljö-Gottsunda
Along Roslagsbanan, the main public transportation mode, the new developments will be aligned with the current comprehensive plan, with a main focus on social sustainability. The physical terrain with its ecological corridors and recreational function, as well as the local identity and character will be preserved while the area around the proposed station Täljö Gård will slowly and gently grow in episodes. Täljö-Gottsunda is considered to be an area with a quite high local and cultural identity shaped by its rural character and agricultural function, as well as by the presence of a number of summer houses. This rural character of the area, as well as the areas cultural and social character, will be preserved due to the soft growth and small-scale community planning at eye level that will be proposed within this project. Through engagement and participation, Täljö-Gottsunda will be a modern village rather than a typical urban center. Its core will be a strong sense of community and integrity. Therefore, the integration of new residents as a part of the existing local community will be prioritized and strengthened. In order to reach this, common activities, shared responsibilities and spaces, as well as community planning are proposed. Social sustainability will be implemented through common activities, shared responsibilities, provided services for the community, public spaces and by inscribing meaning into the places of the area themselves.
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3 Precondition 3.1 Land use and landownership Today the area of Täljö-Gottsunda consists mainly of large proportions of undeveloped land, forest areas, open agricultural land, and some smaller residential areas in the west part of Täljö and in the north part of Gottsunda (Österåkers municipality, 2006). The area contains several landowners that own fairly large properties in the area. The main proportion of the undeveloped land is owned by JM, LO, and Riksbyggen, as well as the municipality, while in the residential areas, as well as in parts of the agricultural land, there are plots of land owned by private landowners (see Image 2). In regards to municipal planning in Österåker, on issue is this that a large portion of the land is not owned by the municipality, making it more difficult for the municipality to implement development strategies.
Image 2 Land-ownership within the area of Täljö-Gottsunda
3.2 Green Structure Österåker is situated in an area with varied natural values such as forest areas, natural pastures, marshlands and wetlands (Österåker municipality, 2016). These natural values are an important feature to take into consideration when planning a development of the Täljö-Gottsunda area. The municipality has identified certain areas in Täljö-Gottsunda that are evaluated as valuable natural areas; Täljöviken, Träskmossen and Vitmossen, and Storträsket and Lillträsket (Österåker municipality, 2006). The biological diversity in these areas has also been evaluated, and wetland ecological corridor map has been developed (see Image 3). According to the municipalities evaluations of the natural values in Täljöviken, the area is considered to be of national interest (ibid). The natural values of Träskmossen and Vitmossen are of regional interest, and the natural values in Storstäsket and Lillträsket are of local interest.
Image 3 Ecological Structure
3.3 The current and planned transportation infrastructure There are two main infrastructures for transportation in the area of Täljö-Gottsunda, the commuter train track Roslagsbanan, as well as the road Svinningevägen, that is mainly used for car and bus traffic (see Image 4). Svinningevägen connects Täljö-Gottsunda with Åkersberga to the north and Svinninge to the south, while Roslagsbanan connects the area to Stockholm as well as Åkersberga (Österåker municipality, 2006). The proposed development area is situated between the stations of Täljö and Åkers Runö. Roslagsbanan is the main public transportation in Österåker and is a part of the Swedish negotiations, ‘Sveri-
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geförhandlingen’, that has had the task to increase the housing construction through an expansion of new infrastructure (Swedish negotiation, 2017). The ongoing reconstruction and expansion of Roslagsbanan aims to strengthen the capacity of the commuter train by building double-track, which will generate the opportunity to increase the frequency of the train trips, and extend the current connection to the city center via Odenplan (ibid.).
Image 4 Transportation Infrastructure
3.4 Current urban and housing structure Österråker is a relatively small municipality, and the physical structure in Täljö-Gottsunda is characterized by small-scale sprawled residential areas and farming landscape. The residential areas are mainly composed of small detached houses, either in more dense settlements such as in Gottsunda, or more spread out as in Täljö and the area in between them. There are also several farms in the rather peripheral area, giving the area its rural character. Around the train stations along Roslagsbanan, the municipalities suggest dense settlements with a mix of building sizes and housing types such as apartment blocks, townhouses, semi-detached and detached houses (Österåker översiktsplan, 2016). Furthermore, the municipality suggests building denser and higher near focal points, with apartment blocks of 4-5 stories and commercial facilities on the ground floor along main streets or hubs. Too, in areas such as Gottsunda with mainly small detached houses, the municipality suggests a semi-dense building structure, with different types of small-scale housing such as townhouses, terraced houses, semi-detached and detached houses, with plot sizes of 240-400 m2 (2-3 stories) for the townhouses and terraced houses, as well as 800-1500 m2 (1-2 stories) for the semi-detached and detached houses (Österråker översiktsplan, 2016).
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Planning Proposals
4.1 Transport
Image 5 Location of Täljö Gård Station
The existing train station, Täljö station, is located in the western edge of the residential area in Täljö. The current location of the station is not optimal for the area that it is supposed to serve/cover, due to the low accessibility of the station and the low population density in the area (SL, n.d.). There are plans, within the comprehensive plan, on developing the currently undeveloped areas by the existing station (Österåker municipality, 2017). However, due to the landownership in that area will make it difficult for the municipality to develop the land, as they are no the landowners within this area. Although the municipal plan monopoly gives the municipality right to say no to plans, it does not give them the right to “force” developers to build on their land, and thus land owned by developers can be difficult to develop. Thus, for the future development of the Täljö-Gottsunda area we are, in this proposal, suggesting to establish a new station, to the east of Täljö station, closer to the center of the area (see image 5). The already existing station would then be closed down for the near future so that the travel time for the commuters will not be affected. The current station will be reopened when the demand for it exists, as the undeveloped area by the station will likely be developed as the demand for housing increases in the future. The suggested development of a new station, Täljö Gård, will generate a better accessibility for the already existing residential areas, in both Täljö and Gottsunda, but also create opportunities to develop new residential areas on the municipalities land. A better accessibility to public transportation will have an effect on the usage of the public transportation service (Saghapour et al., 2016) and on car usage respectively. Today, the municipality is quite car dependent and many of the inhabitant chose to take their private cars over using the public transportation (Österåker municipality, 2017). It is necessary for the municipality to change this behavioral patterns among the residents to be able to reach their goal of an effective and sustainable transportation system by 2040. Studies show that “for every additional 500m from a station, the probability that an individual will walk to transit decreases by 50%” (Garcia-Palomanes et al., 2013, pp 3). By following the principles of ‘Transit-oriented development’ (TOD), for the development of the new station, will give guidelines on how to optimize the stations placement (TOD, nd.). The given guidelines will help to make decisions on densities, details, and design of the station with regards to several factors such as location, context, availability of redevelopment property, and surrounding development. This will hopefully create a higher accessibility for the residents in the area to the public transportation. This will also generate a more equal accessibility among the residents in the area, creating better and easier possibilities to use the public transportation. The suggested development of a new station of Roslagsbanan is also strategically located, regarding land use in order to enable the municipality to develop new residential areas on their own land.
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4.2 Urban Structure Arguably, to achieve the type of neighborhood we envision, a village character should be aimed at, rather than an urban character. In its purest form, the village concept is developed to create a village feeling in an area within a larger city and is often focused on redeveloping/rendering the already built environment (Scanlin et al., 2016). Although Täljö-Gottsunda area does not fit this description, it is still situated in an area close to a suburban city center, as well as being just 30 minutes from Stockholm. Furthermore, the village concept has several features that are well suited and compatible with our vision for the area and the character preservation strategy we aim at. Based on the recommendations and conceptual framework presented by Scandon et al. (2016), and our vision for the area, a unique conceptual framework for the spatial community structure in Täljö-Gottsunda has been developed. The key feature of this framework is that it aims to combine elements of the traditional “village” life which can be found in the area today, with modern urban requirements. First, the physical structure and spatial character should be modest and intimate. By this, we mean that the area easily should be covered by foot or bike, and that the scale of the buildings and public spaces should be at eye-level: contextual and comfortable, and thus not too tall (no more than 3-4 stories) and not too “wide” (Gehl 2010 ; Klassenberg 2016) . The height will also be adapted to where in the area the building is located, as it will be higher close to the station and main square area, and then built in a stair-like structure towards the more peripheral areas of the neighborhood. However, they will not exceed 3-4 stories, as we want to preserve the small-scale character of the area to the greatest extent possible, while still meeting the increased housing demands. The second aspect of the area regarding the spatial structure, is that it will feature the unique characters within the context of the built environment and the natural landscape. The spatial identity will be characterized by defined boundaries and an identifiable center area by the train station. Furthermore, the area will be characterized by an individual atmosphere and sense of place. The village feeling will too be enhanced through community landmarks such as an extendable plaza, and designated places where the inhabitants can create collective memories through community events (see further in this proposal). Thirdly, the spatial scale will be designed for social interaction, with open and accessible green and public spaces, designed to facilitate everyday activities as well as community events. The central hub aims at generating social interaction through its design and network of walkable routes. And finally, the area should emerge physically over time rather than being built and finished “instantly”, thus, it should rather grow with the community. We, therefore, suggest building in phases, starting with the area close to the train station.
4.3 Green Structure Equal accessibility to green spaces is an important part of social sustainability (Fan et al, 2017). Furthermore, an accessible and functional green space will contribute to several different types of values for the area, such as recreational values, stormwater management, and climate mitigation. Thus, it is important to consider the effects and influences that spatial planning can have on the ecological-biotope structure (Löfvenheft et al., 2002). This to be able to “maintain a characteristic flora and fauna as well as the functionality of ecosystems” (ibid, pp. 223). The identified natural values in the Täljö-Gottsunda area are important to take into account when developing this specific area. According to Ignatieva et al. (2011), a strategy that can be used to protect the already existing green spaces and structures, create new spatial forms, and restore and maintain the connectivity of the green spaces, is ‘Green space networks’ (Ignatieva et al., 2011). It is important for planners, and other involved stakeholders, to identify the best habitats and potential corridors within the area to be able to maintain the connectivity of the network. According to Ignatieva et al. (2011, pp. 17) “planners generally consider only distances between habitat patches, not the spatially heterogeneous impedance of the landscape matrix”. It is thereby important to include and identify the different natural values to be able to develop a functional Green structure network.
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4.4 Housing Generally, and historically, the focus when developing housing is largely on numbers and targets for how many new developments and how fast they can be built (Scandon et al., 2016). In Österåker, the aim is to build 7000 new dwellings before the year 2035, and 1300 in Täljö-Gottsunda alone. History has shown that an urgent need for new housing can make planners and developers lose focus on creating homes and neighborhoods, and thus the result is shelter, but no lively communities and neighborhoods. In a Swedish context, the result of the so-called ‘million program’ is an example of this (Haasmark, 2015). As explained by Scandon et al. (2016, p. 6), the challenge is not to establish housing, but to “develop homes in a way that promotes community development and attachment between residents and the places they live”.
Image 6 Housing for everyone
As previously mentioned, current housing in Taljö-Gottsunda is mainly constituted of detached houses, mainly occupied by high-income families. In other words, the area is rather homogenic in terms of household composition and socioeconomic status. Thus, as the aim is to develop a socially sustainable area, it is necessary to bring much more variety in the area, in terms of age, income, origin and household composition (see Image 6).
4.4.1 Variety of choices To allow for people with different income and different household compositions to populate the neighborhood, the accommodations form should be of varied sizes. The variations should not be random but be progressive in density; small apartment buildings in the center, then townhouses, semi-detached (twin) houses, and finally individual, detached, houses in the more peripherial part of the development area.
4.4.2 Bringing generations together With Sweden’s aging population, the need for elderly care is constantly growing. At the same time, Stockholm also lacks housing for the student population (STHLM6000+, n.d.). The quietness of the countryside makes the area Taljö-Gottsunda a suitable location for the elderly, while the fast connection to the universities with the Roslagsbanan would make the location convenient for students. To promote good connections to the different universities in Stockholm, student housing units are proposed to be built close to the station. Furthermore, we argue that having student housing close to the station will create animation in the center. However, to create a real sense of community and belonging, students should have the opportunity to remain in the community when finishing their studies. To ensure this, housing reserved for people below 30 will be constructed. Those housing will have to be affordable, and their occupants would be required to leave when they turn 30 to make space for others (Brf Viva, 2017). The development would also include a number of housing for seniors, who are in good health and not in need of the assistance given at a nursing home, but who would have issues staying in their homes alone, such as social isolation or mobility limitations. This kind of housing would thus not be medicalized, but rather designed for convenience and accessibility, to provide meeting places, social interactions, and activities. Affordability should be
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a focus, to encourage people moving from their big empty houses, thus freeing up space for new inhabitants. Furthermore, in terms of implementation, financing can be provided for this type of development (Boverket, 2016), keeping the construction costs down. To manage these special housing units, the municipality would create, in cooperation with the developers, a special queuing system for renting housing. Moreover, to encourage people to stay in the community as they move from student accommodation, to youth housing, to regular housing and finally to senior housing, residents would earn more points when in the queue. Consequently, TaljĂś-Gottsunda would be a place where people settle, and the community would be reinforced. However, providing housing for people of different generations is not enough to create intergenerational social interaction, as spatial proximity does not prevent people from living separate lives. Our main proposal to try and address this issue is to in the center of the new development build a multi-generational nursing home. The multi-generational aspect would be twofold: In addition to normal student units, student rooms or studios would be integrated among the elders housing. Students would be offered subsidized or free accommodation in exchange for a certain number of volunteering hours with the elders, including help with groceries or fixing things, or just spending time discussing or playing games (Jansen, 2015). The benefits of this measure would be numerous. More than just getting help in their day to day life, the elders are brought joy and life by the students, with proven physical and mental health benefits. The students can also be of invaluable help in case of emergencies. For the students, the benefit of getting free accommodation is tremendous, especially with the prices usually in effect around Stockholm. Those who need a quieter environment to study in comparison with traditional student housing will find it there, while medicine or nursing students might find it a valuable experience (CapRetraite, 2008). At the same time, the local kindergarten would be integrated with the nursing home through common activities and shared space (Atlantic, 2016). Little children would then be in close contact and interaction with elders. The intergenerational social contacts and activities would bring many benefits for all involved. Finally, the facilities would be mostly open to everyone, with incentives to provide services that could be attractive to everyone. For example, a cafĂŠ or restaurant inside the building could be a good meeting place for residents and visitors outside of the medicalized context (Evans, 2008). The nursing home would not be a place hidden away where people go to die, which has unfortunately become the case in many places, but would be an intergenerational interaction place for everyone, where social links would be created and maintained. A continuity would be created for locals who reach the age when they need to leave their homes.
4.4.3 Bringing communities together As Sweden is faced with a massive influx of refugees, there is an urgent need to provide housing for them. Bringing refugees to TaljĂś is a way to create ethnic and cultural heterogeneity, and could facilitate integration for them while reducing prejudice for the locals. The municipality should require a certain percentage of housing developed on its land to be for refugees, and strike deals with developers on private land to reach the same goal. Too, it should be a priority that those housings are not clustered in one single site, but rather spread as much as possible.
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4.4.4 Development Key On average, Stockholm County population consists of 15% people from 20 to 30, and 15% people above 65 (SCB, 2017). Based on this, we decided to build 10% of student housing, 7.5% of housing for non-student below 30, and 15% of housing for seniors above 65. The total number of housing will be 1300 units at the end of the process (see Table 1). Based on this and on statistics of housing composition (SCB, 2017), as well as statistics of average building surface per user (D-Statis, 2014)(see Table 2), we calculated the number of housing for the different categories, as well as the needed building surface (see Table 3).
Table 1
Table 2
Housing Distribution
Surface per person
Table 3 Surface and population
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4.5 Public Spaces Täljö-Gottsunda is considered to be an area with a quite high local and cultural identity shaped by its rural character and agricultural function. In order to preserve the area’s rural character, as well as its existing cultural and social character, we suggest gentle and community sense strengthening approaches. It is aimed at establishing a village, rather than an urban, character with a strong sense of community and integrity. As this arises through social interaction, common activities, shared responsibilities and a social identity, small-scale community planning at eye level and placemaking are suggested in loose spaces in order to achieve this. We suggest creating public spaces that enable and encourage social interactions between the residents in Täljö-Gottsunda, inviting them to actively engage with the places themselves by making sense of the place. The newly created public and common spaces should be adjustable at any time and serve the present needs of the community, provide a local identity and foster integrity. Specifically, they should not be devoted to commercial uses but mainly to the public. The underlying premise is to create public spaces that are inclusive, accessible for everyone, uncommercial, that engage and encourage social interaction and enable the inscription of social and local identity. The size of public spaces should be adequate for the size of the population so that being in the place always is adjusted to the human scale (Gehl, 2010) and at eye-level (Krassenberg et al., 2016, pp. 26), meaning to locals’ view on their physical, everyday life environment, and not the planners bird-view. This creates the need for the ability of places to grow according to population growth. Therefore, modularity and multi-usage should be aimed at. This will be partly addressed through universal or integrative design respectively but needs to the bigger extent the participation of residents themselves.
4.5.1 Loose spaces When designing places, an intended use is inscribed by the planner, forgetting about transformation processes by unintentional use, by annexation and occupations through certain social groups, its scale, identity, and character and the feeling of belonging. Public spaces have their own atmospheres – they are loaded with meanings, with inscribed codes of different social identities and social cultures. They are taken over and diverted from their intended use by the users for their own purposes. In order to create public spaces that enable and encourage social interaction between the residents in Täljö-Gottsunda, loose spaces are suggested. We suggest to not design and construct essential public spaces fully ab initio. Rather, we suggest leaving blank spots in order for residents to become active and participative, to communaly create their everyday surroundings. The intention is to leave “blank spots” on the comprehensive plan, which are not being designed and devoted to a specific use in advance, rather, posterior community planning and placemaking will give the space its appearance and inscribed meaning that the residents of the area can identify themselves with. The aim in leaving those so-called “loose spaces” is to establish a “space apart from the aesthetically and behaviourally controlled and homogeneous ‘themed’ environments of leisure and consumption where nothing unpredictable must occur” (Franck & Stevens, 2006, pp. 3) but where the residents are making sense of and creating their public spaces and a spatial and social belonging. Loose spaces are to be taken over, to be created, to be occupied, to be used for any leisure or political purpose, to be loaded with meanings, to just be in that place. We believe that in “possess[ing] particular physical features that invite people to appropriate them for their own uses” (Frank & Stevens, 2006, pp. 4), local and social identities can be created as well as a sense for community and responsibility. This character of the unfinished, of the not-yet-done, will foster creativity, a capturing of the place and the creation of the sense of belonging to the place. Loose spaces are important to preserve and create a local identity, a feeling of spatial belonging and social affiliation. Beyond being important for community creation, loose spaces are enabling the locals to inscribe their individual meanings into the place as well.
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4.5.2 Community planning „If you want to know how the shoe fits, ask the person who is wearing it, not the one who made it.“ (CommunityPlanning.Net, n.d.) The method of community planning is seen as a tool to engage the local community in planning and management of their everyday surroundings. As the built environment influences people’s everyday life patterns and limits it to certain forms of interaction due to its intended use, it is crucial to adapt the surroundings to the users’ needs in order to make these spaces functional, used and lively. We assume that no one else than the residents themselves knows what they want and need in order to master their everyday life. Therefore, community-based and organized planning as a bottom-up approach is suggested in order to create a socially sustainable community and environment for its members. We suggest that a neighborhood planning office is installed and run by elected members of the community. Platforms and other communities such as Communityplanning.net (n.d.) will help them finding suitable methods and tools to organize themselves, and to find inspiration and ideational exchange. Regarding planning and design, the elected members will be supported and guided by external experts with their knowledge in planning, design but also social sustainability and community planning. These experts will be working on site in the neighborhood together with the neighborhood’s planning office and the whole community of Täljö-Gottsunda. This will ensure a bottom-up approach that minimizes individual or political tendencies and detains neoliberal, commercial outcomes. Community planning should always aim at the greater good for everyone in the community with special emphasis on disadvantaged social groups, fostering “local involvement in the planning and management of the environment” (Wates, 2000, pp.2). Too, community planning will ensure that “people will get the surroundings they want” (Wates, 2000, pp.2) and prevent the spatial implementation of intentional use by other authorities or mainly commercial use. Thus, the residents of Täljö-Gottsunda are enabled and encouraged to actively participate in creating, planning and shaping the physical appearance of their surrounding areas and neighborhoods. Furthermore, community planning as a consecutive tool will create social sustainability in a two-fold way, as it creates a sense for the community through common activities and responsibilities, and through this ensures that “communities become safer, stronger, wealthier and more sustainable.” (Wates, 2000, pp.2). Hence, community planning should be applied throughout the whole area of Täljö-Gottsunda and with a special focus on loose spaces that have been left blank and unplanned in order for residents to make sense of those places themselves.
4.5.3 Placemaking In combination with the community planning and loose spaces approach, we are recommending placemaking. This way of engaging the community to ensure engagement and identity with the place and foster social interaction will increase social sustainability in Täljö-Gottsunda. By definition, placemaking is done “by the people, for the people” (Krassenberg et al., 2016, pp.98) and comprises “everything we experience at eye-level” (ibid, pp.26), on the ground floor. Thus, through placemaking, the resident’s everyday life both in terms of patterns and physical environment will be created and shaped, using their scale as humans and the residents’ bodily perception of the space. Furthermore, planning at eye-level means that the designers view from above is replaced by the locals view on their physical, everyday life environment, by actively engaging them. Placemaking is a bottom-up approach and a continuously dynamic process, “turning physical public spaces into places that support human interaction, economic exchange and well-being” (Krassenberg et al., 2016, p.26), involving different actors and authorities. Thus it can include local designers, placemaking is not design-based (ibid, pp. 28). Rather than visual experience, the bodily perception and the creation of emotional experience is the most important (ibid, pp.27). By empowering “everyone including residents, businesses and local government as co-creators and modifiers of place” (Krassenberg et al., 2016, pp.26), placemaking will create an attachment to the place, a sense of place and spatial identity. It will foster social interaction by enabling people to meet and connect with other
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people, and it will increase the participation and engagement with the place. As we aim at strengthening the community character while preserving the local identity at the same time, placemaking is another consecutive tool to create places inherent of the residents as “something that people own; it’s their progress and their outcomes” (Krassenberg et al., 2016, pp.28). Although applying placemaking in all forms of public spaces such as plazas and streets can transform them into lively public spaces, we mainly suggest it in the area of and around the adaptive plaza in Täljö-Gottsunda (see Chapter 5. Design Proposals). The reason is that we want to create a sense of community in the early stages of development, and ensure that the new area will be built by the people, for the people. Later, it should be encouraged to spread placemaking out into the housing areas in order to create lively neighborhoods and streets.
4.6 Community-organized shopping and amenities One of the challenges of smaller rural communities is the provision of amenities. Indeed, small-scale grocery stores are often expensive, pushing inhabitants to take their cars to go to shopping centers outside of the community. Inspired by projects in the USA (ParkSlopeFoodCoop, 2018) and France (Alpar, 2018), we suggest the creation of a Food Coop, managed by the inhabitants, for the inhabitants. This organization would grow as the community grows. First, it would take the form of a grocery delivery pick-up point, then of a small grocery shop, and eventually of a small supermarket. This slow growth would allow the people to self-organize, and to involve new people as they move in the new developments. Partnerships would be made with local producers to provide the food. Users would be required to volunteer some of their time to act as vendors. This would create opportunities for social interactions between the locals. Following the same principle, other amenities could be organized according to the needs and desires of the inhabitants, for example for cultural activities.
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5
Design Proposals
5.1 The proposed masterplan The proposal to the new urban development of the Täljö-Gottsunda is centered around the proposed station, Täljö Gård, on Roslagsbanan. The road ‘Täppans väg’ is proposed to be developed as the main urban corridor in the area by widening the road as well as extending it to the municipalities land (see Image 7 and Image 8). The design is topography oriented to avoid change of natural existing as much as possible, and the urban structure is influenced by these factors generated the organic urban fabric of Täljö-Gottsunda urban development.
Image 7 Masterplan
Image 8 Section
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5.2 Shared Space To apply the community planning and placemaking strategy into the urban design of Taljö-Gottsunda, and promote active transportation in the area, we reconstruct the street profile to prioritize pedestrian over the motorized vehicles. The scale and safety of the Taljö-Gottsunda street environment designed to accommodate pedestrians, to promote active transportation, and encourage pedestrian of any condition interaction to the city (walkable, handicapped, hearing/visually impaired, aged people, and child). Regarding the universal safety issue which we have taken into consideration, Middleton (2016) mentions Imrie’s (2012) argument that although shared space increases the contact between pedestrians and vehicles, it rather reduced the pedestrians vulnerability. Thus, the proposed reconstruction of the streetscape will promote the universal safety in the new development of Täljö-Gottsunda. Furthermore, the design of the street and shared space considers the proportion of the building height to the street width. In the new development area of Täljö-Gottsunda, we propose this ratio to be about 1:1.5 to 1:2 (lte.org, n.d) (see Image 9). The shared space will consist of smooth surfaces that allow everyone to travel through the area regards of the universal design approach. The street will also consist of the elements to accommodate pedestrians such as tree shades and seating. The traffic lane will no longer be defined, but the standard width for the motorized vehicle is preserved for logistics and emergency purpose. The street acts as a space in between two facade/environment on each side, which encourages pedestrians to interact with elements and to create a living urban environment. The public space design will be oriented by the different elevation of the geography and modified to provide different function. The differences of surface elevation create a more loose impression of space and divides one big space into several different spaces. The different surface adjustment generate better perception of the urban space for the users. Image 9 Street width to building height ratio (lte.org, n.d.)
5.3 Universal Design Our proposal for Täljö-Gottsunda adopts the idea of Universal design, a strategy „to make design and composition of different environments, products, communication, information technology and services accessible, usable and understandable to as many as possible.“ (Björk, 2013). In other words, the public space in the area will be accessible to every resident, especially the elderly, families, and disabled, with regards to the area’s topography. According to Björk (2013), limited mobility in public space is „a public health issue as it includes all people, without exceptions and it is based on democracy”. To reach universal design, the design elements in daily life need to offer alternatives which cater to the differences in ability of the individuals. For instance, a ramp at 1:20 or a lift to offer alternative way of travelling between different levels, instead of staircase. Furthermore, for the visually impaired, different design elements will be implemented, such as surface text warnings, different handrail dimensions, doors, and windows. In general, the design of the public place will support and protect the disabled, elderly, and children, as well as the rest of the inhabitants. To include a holistic perspective, the universal design approach will also also include the zoning criteria (see 5.6 Zoning p.16).
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5.4 The Extendable Plaza As previously mentioned, the area around Täljö district will have a growing population due to the planned development and densification process in Österåker municipality. However, the current population is small, and hence lacks amenities. Thus, the residents of Täljö-Gottsunda rely on the public space and amenities of the neighboring area. Arguably, in our proposed development, there is a need of open space for the community to serve the increasing population. Nonetheless, providing a open, public, space large enough for the expected population of 2800 people while the community is still growing could possibly result in a large empty space, causing a negative image of the public space. Arguably, the proposed public space in the central area close to the station is most likely to be confronted with this issue, and thus, we argue that this space should be able to adapt to the growing population. Hence, we propose an extendable plaza, with the idea that it will allow the plaza to grow along with the population size. This approach allows the possibility to control the ratio between population and plaza. Here, the key factors are the structures, such as buildings, that defines the space. Thus, if the structures can be moved, the size of the plaza can be adjusted (see Image 10). The idea of extendable plaza adopts the technique of modular prefabricated and reassemble structure which is widely used in architecture and construction field. Some well known reassemble structures are the temporary Future Arena for 2016 Olympics (Poon, 2016) and the World Cup 2022 Stadium in Qatar (Block, 2017). This reassembling technique leaves the possibility to the space which defines the structure to be adjustable in a shorter period with less wasted resources. The location of the extendable plaza can be found in the zoning section (see 5.6 Zoning p.16). Image 10 Extendable Plaza
5.5 Weather Resilient Design The seasonal changes in weather in Sweden are also taken into account in the urban design of our proposal. To keep public space functioning and vibrant throughout the year in all weather conditions, there is a need to understand the context of the public space, and to create possibilities for year-around use (see Image 11 and Image 12). The adaptation of the concept of weather-resilient design in the Täljö-Gottsunda area will utilize the topographic variability in the natural environment, as well as the site elevations created through our design proposal (see 5.2 Shared space p.14), such as sunken space, elevated space and slopes. For example, the different elevations in the urban and natural
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landscape provides depth which can be filled in with water in the summer, or ice in the winter, to adjust different functions through different periods, such as an ice rink, sledding hill, or igloo park in the winter, and park, pond or garden in the spring and summer.
Image 11 Vision of public place in the summertime
Image 12 Vision of public place in the wintertime
5.6 Zoning In our development plan we propose to densify around the station area, which will be located in the lowest elevation point of the area, which allows the building height to reach the maximum limits we decided on (see Image 13). Detachable buildings form the core area where the extendable plaza concept is adapted, to enable the public space around the town center to be adjusted through time of development. Townhouses are proposed to be built east of the town center, as well as along ‘Täppans väg’. In both the central area by the station, as well as the townhouse area, mixed housing will be implemented for families, students, young adults and elder (without the need of medical support), as well as the nursing home. South of the central part of the development area is designated to host the senior living area, where apartments and single houses will be mixed. This area is the most suitable for
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elderly people of any condition as the design of this area makes it easy to access both by motorized vehicle and active transportation mode (bike, walk etc.) with the shortest path to the town center. Furthermore, this area has a flat topography, which facilitates easy and convenient transportation for the elderly residents. East of the central part of the development area, across the field, are planned to facilitate student and youth housing. The idea is to locate the student and youth area away from the more central area, to ensure that for example noise from the student community will not affect the other housing areas. However, the distance between the station and the student housing is still only 400 metres, making it easily reachable by foot within a few minutes. The single housing will be located in several places within the area, mainly in the more elevated parts of the area, which allows the lower height building of 1 to 2 storey rise according to the height guideline (see 5.7 Building Height & Visuality). The table below (see Table 4) presents the calculations that were made in order to decide the number and the mix of new buildings, as well as their geometries, needed to satisfy the requirements of housing number and area calculated earlier (see Table 3). Image 13 Zoning Plan
Table 4 Building Calculation table
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5.7 Building Height and Visuality The site of Taljรถ-Gottsunda is located amongst hills and valleys, with a height difference of 12.5 meters from the lowest to the highest point, while the proposed building heights vary from 5 to 12.5 meters. We designated the area for the maximum height of the building according to the land elevation and building type (see Image 14). The height guidelines is aimed at preserving and promoting the existing natural environment to the planned urban environment in Taljรถ-Gottsunda. The surrounding nature will perform as a background of the area, and all residents will have visuality towards trees and sky at any location (see Image 15).
Image 14 Height Diagram
Image 15 Building Hight Map
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6 Implementation 6.1 Responsibility and finance allocation As the strategy and design proposal involves housing for 2683 new inhabitants in an area that is today relatively undeveloped, there are many steps, involving many different actors, that need to be taken before Täljö-Gottsunda can become the vibrant village we envision.
6.1.1 Österåker Municipalities responsibility in the planning and implementati- on process The municipal planning monopoly is one of the most important conditions for the municipal self-government in Sweden (Boverket, 2014), which means that the municipality has the administrative power to decide upon how land is to be used and built within the municipality. A part of the municipal self-government is to create plans for development, which can be comprehensive plans or detailed plans. The procedures for establishing these plans are detailed in the Planning and Building Act (PBL), to ensure that the property owners and residents concerned are guaranteed citizenship and legal certainty, as well as to ensure a sound decision-making basis (Boverket, 2014). Thus, the first step of implementing the strategies we propose would be for Österåker municipality to create a detail plan for the development area in Täljö-Gottsunda, as a detailed plan shall be established, for example, in the case of single new buildings with significant impact on the surrounding area or in areas of strong urban constraints, in coherent new buildings and existing buildings to be preserved (Österåker, 2018). According to the law (PBL), a detailed plan is a legally binding document indicating what, where and how to build, as well as how the property can be used (Österåker, 2018). In Österåker municipality, it is ‘Samhällsbyggnadsförvaltningen’ who are responsible for planning, building and maintaining the physical structures within the municipality, such as roads, parks, and other green structures, as well as the establishment of new housing areas (Österåker, 2018). Thus, they will be responsible for forming exploitation agreements with developers and contractors through for example land allocation processes. This means that the municipality sells allocated land to developers, who then will start the building process. When this is done, Samhällsbyggnadsförvaltningen will have a consulting role throughout the process, but the responsibilities shifts towards being more in the hands of the developers. As in the case for the area of Täljö-Gottsunda, Samhällsbyggnadsförvaltningen will help, for example, the construction company JM, who owns land in the western part of the area, with detailed regulations regarding new developments.
6.1.2 Collaborations and responsibilities in implementation process Different developers will take the responsibility of the development and management, as well as the financing of the planned residential and premises areas. Although the responsibility shifts more towards the developers, the exploitation agreement formed in the earlier step will include guidelines and goals that are set by the municipality, as well as regulations on the developer’s responsibility and how the development will be financed. The exploitation agreement will also include regulations on special apartments, such as student housing, elderly housing, refuge housing, and youth housing, actions for dayto-day management, and protection of land and vegetation. Furthermore, land can be allocated for municipal companies such as Armada, a municipal housing agency, could be involved in this process to ensure that the mixed housing goals we propose are met. The new station, Täljö Gård, will be developed and financed by SL. Negotiations and agreements between the municipality and SL will have to be made for the proposed temporary closing of Täljö station and the development of the new station, Täljö Gård. To be able to develop the proposed plan of an open station integrated with the adaptive plaza, the municipality can propose to sell a part of the municipal-owned land to SL in order to simplify the task of developing the proposed station. This can generate a better and closer cooperation between SL and the municipality, and then also simplify the integration of the station and the plaza.
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6.2 Timeline As presented earlier, we propose that the development of the area Täljö-Gottsunda will be done in phases, allowing the community to grow and develop slowly to create a socially sustainable community, and to minimise the resistance from the inhabitants already living in the area. In order to implement the proposed development strategies, different development actions will be taken out and applied in these different phases (see Image 16). The first step, on the timeline towards our vision for Täljö-Gottsunda 2035, is to establish a detailed plans for the area through municipal planning. Thereafter, land allocations, municipal procurements with companies for construction, piping and similar must be made. The second step will be initiating the first building phase (see Image 17). In the first building phase, the new station will be established in collaboration with SL, and the plaza and first housing areas close to the station will be built. When a community is starting to emerge in the area, the community planning council will be formed and involved in the planning of the second building phase, which will be the third step of the timeline. Furthermore, the beginning of the community organized shops will see the light of day. The fourth step will be the second building phase, with a continued expansion of the area towards the already existing residential areas of Täljö and Gottsunda. Finally, our vision for Täljö-Gottsunda 2035 will be met, and the area is now a vibrant and socially sustainable community.
Image 16 Proposed timeline for the development of Täljö-Gottsunda
Image 17 Phase one
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