Projects in the urban station community

The urban station community has a number of projects linked to it. Below are procets which are currently active presented and thereafter completed projects.

The ongoing projects are:

  • Walkable cities
  • Sustainable and attractive station communities
  • Co-creative urban planning for energy-efficient and sustainable urban station communities

The completed projects are:

  • From knowledge creep to transdisciplinary knowledge agents
  • The role of stations in developing small communities and the areas around them
  • Safety and pleasant sound environment in urban station communities

Ongoing projects

Walkable cities

Thomas Höjemo is a PhD student at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil. His research focus on cities from the perspectives of walkers and how the environment around us affects how we choose, or do not choose to walk. In his research, Thomas studies areas in or near Gothenburg and plans to conduct his case study in Varberg in the summer of 2018. In Brazil, Professor Beatriz Fedrizzi is his supervisor and deputy supervisor at Chalmers University of Technology is Professor of the Practice Anna-Johanna Klasander.

Thomas report "The status of walking in policy and planning: Views from different professions (2017)" Mistra Urban Futures Working Paper 2017: 3 is available for download here. For more information, contact Thomas Höjemo at thomas@snt.se
 

Thomas Höjemo, The status of walking in policy and planning: Views from different professions (2017)

Sustainable and attractive station communities (HASS)

The project Sustainable and attractive station communities (HASS) is driven by the idea of finding an alternative to your own car as the easy solution. Efficient parking and smart mobility services linked to bonus systems can make condensation of housing, reduced car ownership and new travel habits both possible and wanted.

The project will contribute to sustainable growth of station communities by developing and demonstrating new products and services linked to efficient land use and sustainable local mobility. Citizens' participation and co-creation in combination witht he development of methodologies and business models will be key elements in the project.

The project works with:

  • Innovations for a more efficient use of valuable land near stations
  • Innovations that create opportunities and incentives for choosing sustainable mobility to and from the station
  • Innovations that supports the service communitity, local business community and social cohesion

The consortium of the project consists of 20 parties in a triple-helix collaboration model:

Public sector:

Private sector:

Academy:

The project was initiated within Mistra Urban Futures and is coordinated by the Göteborg Region Association of Local Authorities (GR).

Co-creative urban planning for energy-efficient and sustainable urban station communities (SamSam)

The project SamSam i funded, among other, the Swedish Energy Agency, it started in 2017 and will continue until 2019. The project investigates the importance of urban structures and planning processes to develop sustainable and energy-efficient accessibility in new and existing station communities. SamSam will also adress aspects such as attractivity and place-identity of the station community. The target groups for this project is planners, decision makers and civil society. The goals of the project is:

  • Increase knowledge about how municipalities and regions in co-creative planning processes can achieve a sustainable urban structure and life-styles for existing and new station communities
  • Introduce, test and evaluate methods and tools related to real planning cases in transdisciplinary collaboration
  • Enhance implementation by stimulating local and regional arenas for the development of transdisciplinary knowledge

The work done within the framework of SamSam is intended to be useful for continued research and education in spatial planning and sustainable development, as well as for practical planning work within institutions and authorities, mainly municipalities. The result will promote energy-efficient and climate-smart physical structures and mobility patterns.

For further information about the project, contact projectleader Tony Svensson tonysve@kth.se or Professor Ulf Ranhagen ulf.ranhagen@sweco.se

Completed projects

From knowledge creep to transdisciplinary knowledge agents

In the preliminary study the project aimed at gaining a better understanding of how the relationship between different actors affects the possibilities for municipalities to develop station communities. The project has gathered empirical knowledge of structures and relationships between actors developing station communities through focus groups in the municipalities of Laholm, Båstad, Stenungsund and Trollhättan. The focus groups consisted of officials, politicians and other actors cooperating in developing the station community.

The project was funded by Mistra Urban Futures, Region Halland, Region Skåne and County Administrative Board in Skåne. Participants in the project were:

  • Båstad Municipality   
  • Högskolan i Halmstad    
  • Laholm municipality    
  • County Administrative Board in Skåne    
  • Malmö University    
  • Radar Architects    
  • Region Halland    
  • Skåne Region    
  • Stenungsund Municipality    
  • Trollhättans City    

The role of stations in developing small communities and the areas around them

The project has produced three papers, a knowledge summary, a survey and a analyses which focused on the role of the station for smaller communities. Some of the questions the project sought to answer are:

  • What is required for a station to have a positive effect on development?
  • How big is the reception area of a station?
  • What effects, besides travels, does a station have in the countryside?

The result of the project can be used as a basis for knowledge such as regional prospects and balances between different public transport priorities. Within the project a series of three reports has been produced:

  • A knowledge review written by Elin Slätmo, Cultural Geography at the University of Gothenburg
  • A report on train stations' ability to contribute to the development of smaller towns written by Ramböll
  • A final report based on interviews with residents in three smaller towns with stations

The project was funded by the Swedish Agency for Growth, Västra Götaland (VGR), Region Halland and participating municipalities. Participants in the project were Gothenburg University (Department of Cultural Geography), Västra Götaland Region and municipalities.

All reports are available to download among files. For more information, contact Björn Johansson, Region Halland Bjorn.k.johansson@regionhalland.se
Security and sound sound environment in the urban station Community

Safety and good sound environment in urban station communities

In 2014, a preliminary study was carried out by the Swedish Transport Administration and Sweden's Technical Research Institute (now RISE), where White Architects were also employed as part of the project management. The project focuses on problems with risks and noise / vibration that prevent barriers to densification with housing and operations in stationary situations. The reasons are, among other things, an unclear division of responsibilities between state and local actors, as there are conflicting central and local guidelines. There are also shortcomings in today's solutions for noise reduction in terms of functionality and aesthetics in urban areas. The work within the framework of this project has focused on how these barriers can be counteracted.

The goal of the project has been to:

  • Invent and demonstrate good examples with existing solutions
  • Develop innovative multifunctional solutions that can be attractive
  • Demonstrate new solutions in some municipalities

The project was funded by the Swedish Transport Administration and SP (now RISE). For more information, contact Krister Larsson krister.larsson@sp.se