KTH Architecture and the Built Environment The Good- & Socially Sustainable Street, from a Human Perspective Focusing on the Relationship between Physical Environments and Social Life, With Hornsgatan in Stockholm as a Case Study Erik Thurell Degree Project SoM EX 2012-26 Degree Program in Civil Engineering and Urban Management Stockholm 2012 KTH, Royal Institute of Technology Department of Urban Planning and Environment Division of Urban and Regional Studies Erik Thurell 2012 The Good- & Socially Sustainable Street, from a Human Perspective [email protected] Erik Thurell [email protected] The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm AG210X Degree Project in Regional Planning September 2012 Supervisor: Tigran Haas Examiner: Carl-Johan Engström 2 Erik Thurell 2012 The Good- & Socially Sustainable Street, from a Human Perspective [email protected] Acknowledgement I would like to thank the Ax:son Johnson Foundation and Peter Elmlund for making it possible for me to do this case study about Hornsgatan, and my supervisor Tigran Haas for his awareness and useful tips during the supervised hours. I would also like to thank my assistant Ramme Haag for helping me out with the interviews on Hornsgatan during the spring of 2012. Lastly, I would like to thank my family, friends and the students at the Sustainable Urban Planning and Design program at the Royal Institute of Technology for giving me support and strength along the way. 3 Erik Thurell 2012 The Good- & Socially Sustainable Street, from a Human Perspective [email protected] Abstract With over 300 years serving as a traffic route it is no wonder that Hornsgatan has the role of a major ‘artery’ in today’s Stockholm. This thesis will analyze and investigate how the street environment on Hornsgatan is affecting the people spending time on the street, and how a better street life and street quality can be brought out when it comes to enhance the social aspects for the street and its people. Through methods such as observations of the street and interviews with business owners, the case study of Hornsgatan have been based upon some theories by famous theorists when it comes to improving streets (and urban life) in cities, e.g.; Appleyard (1981), Jacobs (1993) and Gehl (2010). The results from the case study and the interviews show that Hornsgatan have both factors of what a ‘good’ and socially sustainable street should have; mix-use, the presence of people and social activities, active ground floors and different traffic modes, and factors that contribute to a less attractive street life; the heavy traffic, lack of places to sit, lack of greenery and lack of social activities for/between people. To reply the question if Hornsgatan is a ‘good’ and socially sustainable street or not, the answer is both yes and no. As Appleyard (1981) states, “[…] there is no single perfect street […]” (Appleyard 1981, p. 245). Instead each street and its situation are unique. However, with guidelines and aspects for how a street can be improved, at least some help can be brought out for its improvements. Sammanfattning Med över 300 år på nacken som en trafikled, är det inte konstigt att Hornsgatan har rollen som en större "artär" i dagens Stockholm. Denna avhandling kommer att analysera och undersöka hur gatumiljön på Hornsgatan påverkar de människor som vistas på gatan och hur ett bättre gatuliv och gatukvalitet kan framföras när det gäller att förbättra de sociala aspekterna för gatan och dess människor. Genom metoder bestående av observationer av gatan och intervjuer med företagare, har en fallstudie av Hornsgatan grundats på en del teorier från några kända teoretiker när det gäller att förbättra gator (och stadslivet) i städer, t.ex.; Appleyard (1981), Jacobs (1993) och Gehl (2010). Resultaten från fallstudien och intervjuerna visar att Hornsgatan har både faktorer som påvisar vad en ”bra” och socialt hållbar gata bör ha; funktionsblandning, närvaro av människor och sociala aktiviteter, aktiva bottenvåningar och olika transportmedel, och faktorer som bidrar till ett mindre attraktivt gatuliv; tung trafik, brist på platser att sitta, brist på grönska samt brist på sociala aktiviteter för/mellan människor. Ett svar på frågan om Hornsgatan är en ”bra” och socialt hållbar gata eller inte, är både ja och nej. Som Appleyard (1981) påstår, "[...] det finns ingen enskild perfekt gata [...]" (Appleyard 1981, sid. 245). Istället är varje gata och dess situation unik. Emellertid, med riktlinjer och synvinklar för hur en gata skulle kunna förbättras kan åtminstone lite hjälp tillföras för att förbättra den. 4 Erik Thurell 2012 The Good- & Socially Sustainable Street, from a Human Perspective [email protected] Table of Contents Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................. 3 Abstract ................................................................................................................................ 4 Sammanfattning ................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 9 Background ....................................................................................................................... 9 Aim and relevance ............................................................................................................. 9 Research questions ........................................................................................................... 9 Structure ........................................................................................................................... 9 Theory .................................................................................................................................. 11 Changes of streets............................................................................................................ 11 Today ........................................................................................................................... 11 Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 12 Social sustainability and communities .......................................................................... 12 New Urbanism .............................................................................................................. 12 Third places .................................................................................................................. 13 Local economies and small-scale businesses ................................................................ 13 Gentrification ............................................................................................................... 13 The function of a (good) street ......................................................................................... 13 Street patterns ................................................................................................................. 14 Typology ...................................................................................................................... 15 Classification of streets ................................................................................................ 15 Street types .................................................................................................................. 15 Traffic ............................................................................................................................... 16 Modes of movement .................................................................................................... 16 Safety ........................................................................................................................... 16 The impacts of traffic and how to restrain it ................................................................. 17 An example of traffic impacts; San Francisco, US ........................................................ 17 Human dimension and scale ............................................................................................ 19 The ‘life - space - buildings’ –order ............................................................................... 19 5 Erik Thurell 2012 The Good- & Socially Sustainable Street, from a Human Perspective [email protected] Senses and scale .......................................................................................................... 20 Human activities on the street ........................................................................................ 20 Three categories of human activities ........................................................................... 20 Examples of activities and opportunities ...................................................................... 21 The pedestrian-friendly city ............................................................................................. 23 A Swedish example: Helsingborg ................................................................................ 24 Physical- and visual quality .............................................................................................. 24 What constitute a good street and place? ....................................................................... 24 A good urban place.......................................................................................................25