Planning the Green Walkable City: Conceptualizing Values and Conflicts for Urban Green Space Strategies in Stockholm

Abstract

Urban green spaces are essential elements of cities, contributing to the quality of life in numerous ways. However, densification strategies create a complex relationship between urban development and the quality, as well as the quantity, of urban green space. This paper examines the Green Walkable City Programme in Stockholm, a document developed to supplement the comprehensive plan as a strategic backbone for green urban planning. Based on interviews and content analysis, this paper identifies and discusses concerns raised in the development of the planning programme, and addresses the importance of urban green space for citizens' well-being. The new comprehensive plan has introduced a shift in the attitude towards the urban green space in Stockholm. The need for urban growth is used to justify development of green fields, and a focus on the quality, rather than the quantity, of urban green space is promoted. Despite this progress, the public requests definitions for this quality approach and fears that nature within the city will be "parkified". Therefore, this paper offers a critical reflection on the role of the Green Walkable City Programme, its situation within the context of Swedish green urban planning, and various areas of concern that have been highlighted.

Fourteen local governance initiatives in greenspace in urban areas in the Netherlands. Discourses, success and failure factors, and the perspectives of local authorities

“…Where green provisions are made they are often very similar: municipalities in the Netherlands appear to often develop a type of urban green 1 that is rather uniform in its shape and use: parks (Aalbers et al, 2014). In Sweden, this phenomenon is referred to as the 'parkification' of nature (Littke, 2015). Against the background of urban densification and 'parkification', initiatives of citizens and companies can be understood as expressions of a desire to greener living environments and adapting them to local needs and wishes (Aalbers, 2018).…”

The Impact of Green Open Space on Community Attachment—A Case Study of Three Communities in Beijing

“…Green open space is essential to cities, and are also an important influencing factor of urban livability [18], contributing to the quality of life [19] and benefiting resident health [20] in numerous ways. A well-designed green open space can encourage interaction [21], which has positive effects on emotional health and health perceptions [22].…”

The urgency of new quantitative public open space standards in London

“…This study raises several additional research questions that need to be addressed with a more detailed study in the future. The different policies and technical issues discussed that this paper has in common with other research on OS planning in Australia (Veal 2009(Veal , 2012(Veal , 2013Kellett and Rofe 2009;Koohsari 2015;Rutherford 2010), United States, Canada, Europe are: the necessity to bring back the POS topic in his richness and complexity (green infrastructure (2015), public health, wellbeing, quality of life, sport and play activities) within the planning, landscape and urbanism debate (Arnberger 2012;Brown and Sherrard 1951;Davern et al 2016, Dinand Ekkela et al 2017Duhl and Sanchez 1999;lestan et al 2014;Littke 2015;Lowe et al 2014;Mitchell and Popham 2007;Roe et al 2016;Ståhle 2010;Swanwick 2003;Taylor and Hochulib 2017;Velarde et al 2007) ambiguous OS definitions and typologies, duplication of guidelines, without a clear explanation on how these have to be implemented, unclear concept of local needs and demands, data collection activities lacking a common methodology, different methods to perimeter existing and potential OS, unclear role of the OSS in the local plan process; real protection of existing and potential OS, absence of a unified GIS capable of monitoring the provision and the spatial distribution of existing and potential OS in coherence with the national, metropolitan and local plan; qualitative vs quantitative POS standards; the definition of uses cannot be disregarded but must be guaranteed in all local context.…”