SBK 2011:1 THE WALKABLE CITY Stockholm City Plan • March 2010 THE WALKABLE CITY Stockholm City Plan Adopted by Stockholm City Council on 15 March 2010 THE CITY PLANNING ADMINISTRATION Fleminggatan 4 Box 8314, 104 20 Stockholm Phone +46 (0)8-508 26 000 www.stockholm.se Foreword Stockholm has fantastic qualities that take it far beyond its status as capital of Sweden. Stockholm combines great expanses of water and greenery with a his- toric city centre and contemporary architecture. People from around the globe converge on the city in search of the metropolitan buzz, excitement and oppor- tunities. Stockholm currently faces the challenge of sensible growth, where more inhabitants than ever in its history can live and enjoy a city with attrac- tive new housing, a dynamic business climate, a knowledge-driven education system, quality care, good sporting facilities, a rich range of experiences and an outstanding environment. This is why Stockholm City Council has adopted Vision 2030: a world-class Stockholm. With its decision on a new City Plan, the City of Stockholm has launched its vision of a walkable city, as a response to how we can meet these challenges and create a structure within which the city can grow. The core idea is for the city of the future to develop in pace with the people of Stockholm themselves, with a focus on the qualities of this human, safe and environmentally friendly city. The strategies for this are to continue strengthening central Stockholm, to invest in attractive strategic nodes, to connect the different parts of the city and to promote an attractive, vibrant and safe urban environment across the whole of Stockholm. Stockholm has constantly grown ever since it was founded back in 1252, taking on its unique look and feel. The city’s fi rst plan was put together by Governor Clas Fleming in 1634 and created Stockholm’s grid layout radiat- ing from the Royal Palace. When the next major plan was produced by lawyer Albert Lindhagen in 1866, it extended the existing structure for a Stockholm in a time of industrialisation. The break with these plans came in the 1930s with the advent of Modernism. Stockholm’s new City Plan takes as its starting point a city that grows on human terms. It does so by not losing sight of the historic assets created throughout the life of the city, while also looking forward and creating condi- tions for healing the wounds that have been left in the fabric of the city. In the future, the walkable city will not stop at the historic tollgates around the centre, but will stretch far beyond and link up the whole of Stockholm. The city’s green spaces are to be developed so that Stockholmers can enjoy them fully, and new parks are to be created and established. Nine strategic nodes have been identifi ed in the outer city, marking where a more concen- trated cityscape would be a valuable addition. The assets in these nodes, in the form of shops, housing, sporting facilities and proximity to nature, can be improved, helping to create greater well-being and a safer, more vibrant living environment across Stockholm. With the City Plan, Stockholm aims to follow the lead of Fleming and Lindhagen in establishing a walkable city of interconnected neighbour- ing districts. The guidelines now being drawn up will determine what the city of our children and grandchildren will look like and how it will work. Stockholm is rapidly on its way to a population of a million. It is on this basis that Stockholm’s City Plan has been drawn up and it is the above perspective and values that will take the city into its next incarnation – for all the people who live and work in the capital. Sten Nordin Regina Kevius Mayor of Stockholm Vice Mayor for City Planning and Sports THE WALKABLE CITY Stockholm City Plan 1 How Stockholm is governed on the way to world class THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS City Council In the council chamber of Stockholm City Hall, the 101 elected members of the City Council make decisions that affect everyone who lives in the City of Stockholm. The members are appointed every four years when elections for Sweden’s parliament, the county councils and municipal councils are held. The party that receives the most votes has the most representatives on the City Council, and therefore a greater chance of influencing the decisions. One rep- resentative on the City Council is the same as one seat. Fifty-one seats are required to obtain a majority in the City Council. The City Council sets goals and guidelines for the City of Stockholm’s operations. The City Council con- venes every third Monday, led by the Presidency, and the meetings are open to Stockholm City Hall. the general public. You are welcome to attend a meeting in the City Hall. You can also listen on the radio or follow the meeting on online TV. Further infor- mation about this can be found on our website, www.stockholm.se City Executive Board As most members of the City Council have other jobs alongside their political roles, they are unable to study all the details of a particular matter. Responsi- bility for this rests with the City Executive Board. Stockholm’s City Executive Board comprises 13 members from both the majority and the opposition par- ties. They make sure that the members receive a compilation of all the facts and proposals before they make a decision. The City Executive Board has overall responsibility for ensuring that decisions are implemented, followed up and evaluated. It is also responsible for the city’s financial administration and long- term development. Meetings of the Board are not open to the general public, but you can read what has been decided on the city’s website. The City Executive Board is assisted by two administrations. One, the Executive Office, is responsible for control, follow-up and development of the city’s operations and for ensuring that all the political decisions are imple- mented. The other, the Secretariat to the Council and City Executive Board, performs secretarial duties for the City Council and City Executive Board. It is also responsible for the City Hall register, where all the documents are reg- istered, and the archive. Divisions and Vice Mayors Twelve politicians in the City of Stockholm are fulltime employees. They are the Mayor and the Vice Mayors who are appointed by the City Council. The majority has a Mayor and seven Vice Mayors, and the opposition has four Vice Mayors. A Vice Mayor in Stockholm can be likened to a Municipal Commis- The City Planning Administration, sioner in other Swedish municipalities. The Mayor and each majority Vice under the City Planning Committee, Mayor is head of a Division – that is a department with responsibility for a is responsible for both comprehensive and detailed planning for the City particular area of operation, such as the Mayor’s Office or the Schools and Edu- of Stockholm. It also issues building cation Division. Together the Mayor and the 11 Vice Mayors form the Council permits, registers property and land, of Mayors, and they prepare matters for the City Executive Board. The Mayor provides maps and administers housing subsidies. The City Plan must be holds a special position among the Vice Mayors, chairing both the Council of approved by the City Council. Mayors and the City Executive Board. The City Planning Administration On the way to a world-class city Fleminggatan 4 Box 8314 The Stockholm of tomorrow is also shaped in the council chamber. What the 104 20 Stockholm city will look like, be like and how it will be perceived in the future has been Sweden agreed on jointly by all the parties in Vision 2030 – A World-Class Stockholm. Phone: +46 (0)8-508 26 000 www.stockholm.se The vision describes how Stockholm will develop into an innovative, growing city that is multi-faceted and rich in experiences, always focusing on what is 2 THE WALKABLE CITY Stockholm City Plan best for its citizens. All city operations will work in harmony with the vision’s general bearing. If the vision defines the direction of the city’s operations, the City Council’s focus goals are the closest steps in the same direction. The focus goals are decided on each year in connection with the budget by the City Council, and apply to all administrations and city-owned companies in the City of Stockholm. THE PLANNING PROCESS Producing Stockholm’s new City Plan is the first step in a rolling and more THE PLANNING PROCESS flexible urban development planning process that also provides clear guidance for future plans. Comprehensive plan (advisory) The planning process Sweden’s Building and Planning Act requires all Swedish municipalities to produce and update a comprehensive plan that serves as guidance for detailed Detailed plan plans and building permits. Swedish municipalities have extensive authority (legally binding) over local land use, sometimes referred to as a ‘planning monopoly’. Land use and building is regulated through legally binding municipal detailed development plans. Building permits are issued in compliance with Building permit detailed plans for new building, renovations and additions. (legally binding) A strategic plan The new City Plan, The Walkable City , will function more as a strategic navi- gation tool than a traditional land use plan. The City Plan shows how Stockholm will meet its Vision 2030 goals and provide clear guidance regarding the city’s intentions and objectives for sustainable development. The plan also serves as policy guidance for the entire city’s areas and functional responsibilities.