Values of urban greening – Voices of residents on highly intensive densification (HID) in a Swedish case study

Abstract

Effects of planned Highly Intensive Densification (HID) were investigated in southern Eriksberg, a residential area located four km from the city center, mainly built in the 1950s in western Uppsala, Sweden according to the planning ideal Houses-in-Park. Uppsala municipality has proposed a doubling of the number of apartments in the southern part of the residential area, mostly through situating dwellings in-between existing houses and in some of the existing green places and spaces. This way of densifying by inserting an equally large area is a new approach in larger Swedish cities, which we term HID. The research presented in this paper is based on case study methodology. Method triangulation has been used to elucidate the projected consequences on urban greening of the planned HID-process in southern Eriksberg. We have analysed the development plan of Eriksberg and measurable effects but also inventoried attitudes and experiences among residents. The document study showed that an implementation of the HID plan will transform the original concept Houses-in-Park into a compact design with significant smaller green spaces in between the houses. The main result showed that most of the respondents had in general strong opinions and feelings regarding the planned loss of green structure. The courtyard green, the district green and the entrance green were highly valued by the respondents. Further on it was clear that a majority were concerned about the residential area losing its original character, planned according to the idea, Houses-in-Park.