Research

In times of urbanisation and densification, rules and tools are used to design residential areas that preserve and develop health-promoting outdoor environments. But how do rules safeguard the quality of the outdoor environment? In this project, two rules are studied, WHO’s 300 meters to the nearest green space and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s 25% tree canopy coverage in urban areas and a tool, the green space factor. How the tools and rules are operationalised and applied in practice varies between municipalities. This project will test, evaluate and critically discuss whether and how existing green space rules and tools can help municipalities design health-promoting residential areas. Different methods will be applied:1) Literature study as knowledge base,2) Interviews with practitioners to understand how rules and tools are used in Swedish municipalities,3) Co-creation workshops and scenario setup where the operationalisation of the rules and the tool, and how they affect the design of residential areas, are tested,4) Interviews with residents to understand aspects that promote health and well-being for different users. In close cooperation with national authorities and municipalities, the study will problematise, discuss and spread knowledge about how the rules and tools can be used and developed. In doing so, it will contribute to a debate about planning practice and how it can create living environments that promote human health and well-being.

For many years now, access to building land has been a topic of discussion in most European countries. In these discussions competing interests and affordability are often core themes. Various solutions, for example the effectiveness of individual land policy instruments or the acceleration of planning procedures, are evaluated. However, the provision of building land is not only an administrative question, but above all a political one. In many European countries there is a lively discussion and on-going innovation related to land policy. The ARL working group Land Policies in Europe focuses on building land as a scarce good. Experts on land policy from twelve countries regularly come together to learn from each other and fundamentally reflect on land policy approaches, often in a dialogue with policy makers. Core issues to discuss are how instruments of land policy are used and can be used strategically to govern the scarce resource of land effectively, efficiently, just, and in a legitimized way to address the planning challenges of our time. Currently, a book on the role of land policy in affordable housing provision is being prepared with examples from all the involved countries. Participants in the project come from Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. Project output is now published: Land Policies in Europe: Land-Use Planning, Property Rights, and Spatial Development | SpringerLink

The aim of this project is to explore current Nordic planning practices and strategies to enhance small town attractiveness. Urban attractiveness is a highly subjective value. As Hidman (2018) points out: “[Attractiveness?] What is the term intended to mean? How is the term understood in local contexts? How is the term transformed into buildings, parks, squares, streets, homes and other built environments?” In this project, we examine smaller Nordic towns that are considered attractive places to live and work in by the many. However, attractiveness has been studied from many angles in the Nordic countries over the years. In smaller town studies, employment opportunities are often in focus. Here, we explore a different emphasis, focusing on town characteristics that attract and retain population outside of work hours, which can be influenced through urban planning. More precisely, we explore the nexus Public space – Housing – Connectivity. Public space concerns the outline of urban space and architecture, services and living town centers, leisure and culture as well as blue-green infrastructure. When it comes to housing, a diverse and qualitative housing supply that fits present and future populations and its strategic localization is in focus. Digital and physical connectivity is important both within the town and with other towns and rural areas. Tying it all together, the connections between housing, public space and workplaces/schools​ that makes the urban structure are important. The project will explore current discussions on attractivity in the five Nordic countries and illustrate these with case studies of five towns.

On increasingly strained housing markets, affordable housing development has become a key concern in housing policy in the Nordic countries. Public policy explicitly states that new housing should be provided in many price and rent segments with the aim of reaching wider shares of the population, as well as contributing to socially mixed neighborhoods. In the project Strategic Housing, we wish to generate new knowledge on measuring housing market inclusiveness and use this to understand local housing market dynamics and to stimulate cities to develop a more active and comprehensive housing policy. The larger part of the project focus on Norwegian cities and towns, but Nordregio’s share in the project is an outlook on neighboring countries and how they plan for a more inclusive housing supply. One subproject investigates cities’ involvement with the housing needs of mid-income groups. Mid-income households are often depicted as the real losers when it comes to finding new housing as they can neither afford housing on market terms nor are entitled to public support. Here, we take a look at if, how and why the cities of Copenhagen, Hamburg, Oslo and Stockholm plan to expand housing supply attainable to mid-income groups. In a second subproject, municipal requirements to include affordable housing in otherwise market-rate housing developments are investigated. The very different forms such requirements take in Denmark, Norway and Sweden are described and analyzed in relation to housing and planning systems. In the third sub-project, we analyse two shared ownership and two cooperative rental models from legal and economic perspectives to see to what extent, and subject to what risks, these intermediary tenures add to housing opportunities of lower and mid-income groups. External articles published in the project: Full article: Contrasting inclusionary housing initiatives in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway: how the past shapes the present…

This research project asks the question ‘What would be needed for collaborative housing to gain momentum and reach wider layers of the population?’ To answer the question a research overview of legal, economic, and social conditions of importance for developing collaborative housing is made to pinpoint obstacles and potential solutions. Collaborative housing is an umbrella term for a wide variety of housing models based on collectivity and self-organization, such as co-housing, housing co-operatives, self-build initiatives, and some community land trusts. In recent years, these types of initiatives have once again been highlighted as an opportunity to create sustainable housing and residential areas, as well as reduce housing costs. Due to the complexity and legal uncertainty that arises in connection with the start-up of collaborative housing communities, however, today the form is primarily an alternative for the middle class, that is people who generally already have access to the housing market. As a result of this, collaborative housing is often not considered a potential partial solution to housing market problems. The research overview will include a systematic mapping and analysis of the existing international literature on collaborative housing. The study will focus on three themes: 1) potential initiators, 2) key partners, and 3) legal institutional settings and thus relate to the current problems in developing this form of housing. The project is a cooperation between Nordregio and Stockholm University. Research results are continuously made public at FBS Forum för Bostadsforskning Stockholm (FBS Forum for Housing Research Stockholm).