developingacompactcityandanetworkregion（developingacompactcityandanetworkregion）.docVIP

Thematic Committee 6 - 8 June 2001 7. Developing a sustainable compact city in Stockholm, Sweden Developing a sustainable compact city in Stockholm, Sweden. By Mats Pemer Director, Strategic Department, Stockholm City Planning Administration Stockholm is a developing capital city and one of the leading wireless communication cities in the world. Stockholm’s position as a node in the Baltic region is promising for the future regarding the possibilities for development in the eastern parts of that region. Stockholm has a unique character as a city of green and blue – large preserved green areas and blue waters around the islands the city was built on. This unique character is very important as a basis for the future development. It forms a prerequisite for the city, which is, we believe in Stockholm, an important factor when people choose to live and work in our city. But the attractiveness also demands good conditions for business and visitors, for housing and cultural events. Therefore our goal is to continue to develop the city while these unique characters at the same time are preserved and enhanced. A planned city Today’s Stockholm is very much a result of planning efforts and development strategies during the last century. From the 20`s the city took active part in providing people with affordable and decent housing. An important part of the strategy was to buy land for development and also to preserve areas for recreation purposes. The strategy and the planning goals were inspired by modernistic ideals with clear physical separation between dwelling, work and business areas, following the principles of zoning. In the beginning of the 50’s a city-wide comprehensive plan was made that lined out a strategy for the growth of the city. New suburbs were planned along metro lines like pearls on a string. Each suburb was designed as a neighbourhood unit with a social and commercial core, high density housing close to the sta