This thesis researches into the heritage tourism characteristics on Gotland. Many destinations see a great potential to develop new tourism products around their heritage and thus meet a rising demand for enriching and unique visitor experiences. However, different considerations and stakeholders need to be taken into account to foster a sustainable development. The Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea has a long history as a tourism destination and is rich in heritage resources of diverse origin. A qualitative approach has been taken to study which traits characterise heritage related tourism to Gotland, and which potentials and challenges are seen by major stakeholders in the tourism and heritage development. One protruding result has been the strong connection between natural and cultural elements at the heritage sites as well as in tourism demand. Also the tourism strategy for Gotland strives for a further development of nature and culture as thematic tourism areas. Hence, a closer look has been taken into the relation of these two heritage elements. With help of the concept and methodology of heritagescapes two heritage sites have been analysed in a case study approach. The result shows that the integration of natural and cultural heritage to create cohesive and immersive visitor experiences at one site is challenging. However, taking both heritage elements into account can create synergies and they enhance how the respective other heritage element is experienced. This can broaden which visitor groups are attracted and in which season. Furthermore, the heritagescape approach gives practical management implications for the sites.

The aim of the project is to revise the load flow and dynamic PSS/E models of the Gotland network and validate them against a set of measurements collected during a major disturbance, a three phase short circuit in the 70 kV system. The main task in revising the model is to convert the induction machine models of the wind turbines into user and manufacturer wind turbine models. The validation of the model is divided into two phases. The first is to use the measurements as well as some assumptions on the wind power generation and load distribution from the time of the fault to validate the dynamic behaviour of the system. The second is to use new measurements during a normal operation day. The latter would not be very helpful to illustrate the dynamic behaviour of the system, because of the lack of a major fault that would drastically affect the system, but it would nevertheless be useful to validate the load flow with greater accuracy.

The role of community participation in protected areas has long been debated. Sweden is in the process of establishing two new National Park, of which one is located on the island of Gotland. In order to figure out the best approach to management of the area, it is important to listen to the residents. Through a qualitative study, I have therefore investigated whether residents would like to be included in the Park implementation and management, along with how the National Park could help Gotland reach its sustainability agenda by 2040. The findings show that communities are eager to be included in the National Park project, but also that Region Gotland should revise the way they address regional development.

Fritidshusturismen är ett svårdefinierat begrepp med många olika bostadsformer. Inom tidigare forskning beskrivs hur fritidshusturismen påverkar en plats, men även hur den fysiska planeringen påverkar landskapet samt den rörelse som fritidshusägarna har både fysiskt och digitalt. Det finns en mark- och vattenproblematik på Gotland som främst bygger på de geologiska förutsättningarna. Detta påverkar Gotlands vatten och avloppsnät framför allt när det kommer till sommarperioder och torka. Gotland har en god förutsättning angående den digitala utvecklingen utifrån tillgången på internet. Hur dessa utmaningar och möjligheter kan komma att påverka fritidshusturismen är grundpelarna i syftet med detta arbete. Utifrån två perspektiv: fritidshusägarna och planeringen, syftar denna studie till att förstå vilka utmaningar och möjligheter det finns för vatten, avlopp och internet. Studien syftar även till att undersöka hur dessa utmaningar och möjligheter påverkar framtidens fritidshusturism. Denna kvalitativa fallstudie genomförs med semistrukturerade intervjuer med fritidshusägare i Ronehamn på Gotland och tjänstemän på Region Gotland. Även en dokumentanalys av Region Gotlands översiktsplan och en fördjupad översiktsplan av Ronehamn har gjorts och presenteras i studien. Resultatet i studien visar att fritidshusägare och tjänstemännen anser att vattenproblematiken är en utmaning på Gotland och är en viktig faktor vilket måste hanteras för framtidens hållbara utveckling. Studien visar även utmaningar med reningsverk, något som påverkar utvecklingen negativt för i detta fall Ronehamn. Studien visar även att det finns möjligheter med att avsalta havsvatten för att tillgodose framtidens vattenförsörjning. Den regional utbyggnaden av fiber har bidragit till att tillgången av internet gör det möjligt att arbeta och leva i sina fritidshus mer frekvent. I arbetets slutdiskussion diskuteras utifrån de identifierade utmaningarna och möjligheterna hur detta kan påverka framtidens fritidshusturism. / <p>2021-06-06</p>

På den svenska landsbygden finns ett kulturarv av äldre byggnader och strukturer att förvaltasamtidigt som samhället är mitt i en omställning för att möta klimatmålen. Att nyttja redanbefintliga byggnader och strukturer kan vara ett hållbart nyttjande av resurser och enminimerad miljöpåverkan i samspel med att kulturen vårdas, till skillnad från nybyggnation.Denna studie grundas på en totalrenovering av en ladugård på Gotland från 1880-talet somska förädlas till en restaurang. Studien kommer att redogöra för hur gamla byggnader kanförädlas i syfte att bidra med kunskap för framtida projekt och förmedla de kulturella ochmiljömässiga fördelar som finns med denna sorts renoveringar. Studien kommer även attproblematisera vilka byggtekniska utmaningar som kan uppstå under renoveringsprocessennär byggnaden ändrar syfte och byggnadens standard höjs. I rapporten redogörs både visuelltoch skriftligt för förädlingsprocessen av den nedgångna ladugården i resan mot att blirestaurang. I denna studie har en punktlista sammanställts med de viktigaste punkter att tahänsyn till samt allmänna råd för denna typ av renoveringar. Exempel på punkter i listan äratt göra en noggrann inventering av både juridiska och fysiska förutsättningar, vikten av ennoggrann planering och projektering, studera liknande projekt för att dra lärdomar, ta hjälp avsakkunniga inom ämnet och att korrekta byggtekniker och materialval ska användas.Ingången för projektet var att bygga ekologiskt hållbart med hänsyn till kulturen, men istudien framkommer att andra faktorer såsom arkitektur, utförande och hänsyn till övrigakrav ofta skapar utmaningar vilket medför att vissa avsteg måste tas för att kunna genereraett resultat. Detta projekt är ett exempel på hur man gjort med dessa avvägningar.

A contagious virus appeared in late 2019 and later led to the COVID-19 pandemic being declared in March 2020. The pandemic has since seen detrimental socioeconomic effects worldwide which led to a halt in the global tourism industries. Sweden has used a different and criticized approach to combating the pandemic compared to other countries. The country has relied on the individual responsibility and the civic liability of its population.Meanwhile, the biggest island in the country, Gotland, has recovered itsvisitation figures during the pandemic and has been voted the most popular destination in Sweden in 2021. This recovery was, however, not without consequences. Residents of the island have voiced their opinions on the topic of the pandemic and tourism online and in newspapers. Residents have expressed fear of the virus spreading further, imposing health risks as restrictions on social distancing have not been kept by tourists. Tourismrelated research on Swedish island destinations to this end is scarce in addition to there being limited research on residents’ attitudes during a pandemic and limited qualitative research on residents’ attitudes in general.This is a qualitative case study that studies the islanders’ perceptions of tourism impacts with the help of semi-structured interviews and letters to the editors. The study uses Social Exchange Theory as the conceptual framework,a theory described as the most logical framework to explain residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts. The results from this study show that the residents perceive more negative impacts than positive impacts. Perceptions of positive impacts are mainly related to the contributions to rural areas. Negative impacts related to water scarcity, littering, the disappearance of natural areas, over-crowding, gentrification, seasonality, the economic interest of the tourism industry during the pandemic, and more.

On the island of Gotland in Sweden, “wicked problems” related to socioeconomic inequalities are growing. These are linked to the complex social sustainability issues that are tackled in the Regional Development Strategy “Our Gotland 2040”. With this strategy, Region Gotland aims at governing and coordinating stakeholders through collaborative governance toward a more sustainable future. The purpose of our research is to understand the experiences of participating organisations in this early stage of development of the social sustainability program, through the lens of collaborative governance theory. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews that underwent thematic analysis. Within the interviewed organisations two main themes have emerged: Collaborative Process and Political Influences. Each of them is discussed with additional subthemes. Given the exploratory character of our study, the findings create a basis for further, more conclusive research. Our recommendation for the ongoing collaboration is to pay attention to the political environment and how it impacts the collaboration. Furthermore, setting shared goals should be a priority, since participants encounter both strengths and challenges during this process.

In order to keep global average temperature below 2°C it is necessary to accelerate climate change mitigation actions and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This can be achieved by carbon capture and storage methods such as the production of biochar. Especially its production from municipal sewage sludge could decrease emissions and disposal costs as well as act as a valuable material for different fields of application afterwards. In this quantitative study, the potential for a biochar production system was investigated for the case of the Swedish island, Gotland. Documents and grey literature were reviewed to collect the necessary information and data and experts were asked to fill in information gaps to evaluate the following: Calculate the energy and mass balance of a biochar production system from municipal sewage sludge in 2018, to find possible applications for the produced biochar by investigating the heavy metal content as well as to assess the direct carbon sequestration potential of the produced biochar. The results indicate that in 2018, 540 t of biochar could have been produced with a net heat demand of around 543 MWhth and electricity consumption of 231 MWhel. Heavy metal contents were found to be very high especially for copper and zinc, which means that the produced biochar would only qualify for the EBC-BasicMaterial certification class of the European Biochar Certificate. The annual carbon sequestration potential resulted in 97.2 t of carbon stored in the material or 356.4 t of CO2 emissions saved. Further research needs to be conducted on economic factors of a biochar production system from municipal sewage sludge.

How can contemporary architecture approach an extremely specific and historical context?Grounded in the site and its history, this question is investigated through theprocess of adding a literary theatre and housing in the city centre of Visby, Gotland.

Quarrying of limestone on the Swedish island of Gotland dates all the way back to the 5th century but saw the rise of its modern form during the early 20th century, with the establishment of Cementa AB at Slite, which since then has developed as an industrial town. Cementa has been progressively mining limestone in three large open pit quarries in Slite. Their factory accounts for approximately three quarters of Sweden’s cement production and is considered to be a vital part of the construction industry. However, the ecological and social damages caused by the extractive procedures far exceed the economic incentive and has triggered numerous debates on whether they should be allowed to continue production.   This project henceforth envisions an alternate post-extraction future for Slite’s mine-scape, where the production of cement will shift from extracting limestone to growing limestone using calcareous microalgae. The leftover quarries will be regenerated, the factory will be repurposed, and the contextual industrial land will be developed, improved, and enhanced for the benefit of the surrounding community and visitors. By shifting to a net-zero carbon method of producing cement, alternate industries will develop in place which will also resolve Slite’s socio-economic dependency on limestone and diversify its mono-cultural economy. A 30-year protocol is planned to transform the urban-industrial fabric of Slite into a microalgae farming field and extreme sports destination - creating an anthroposcenic garden in which production, everyday life and leisure are meant to be compatible. While the quarries will undergo a natural rewilding process, this proposal does not intend to artificially restore the quarries entirely to their original landscapes but rather acknowledge our anthropogenic actions as irreversible and consequential; and hence engage with this damaged landscape to find new uses for it.