There are many good reasons to ponder about what it is that makes life worth living. To observe and reflect on what it is that gives a person a good quality of life is arguably the essential core of social-work. The aim of this research was to investigate how 15-year old youths interpret quality of life. The key areas that we explored in order to meet the research aims were: what did the youths interpret as a good quality of life for a 15-year old and for an adult, how did they view their own quality of life, and did they think that the regional context (i.e. if one lives in a big city or in a small town) affects how one interpret quality of life. The studywas based on interviews with four boys and four girls. Half of the respondents lived in a suburb of Stockholm and the other half lived in a small country town. A qualitative method was used to interview the respondents individually. The results were analysed by using Brülde´s theories on quality of life. The results show that to a large extent the youths in both areas shared each others values – a loving and supportive family was deemed to be the most important factor for a good quality of life, followed by friendships and recreational-time for young people and job satisfaction for adults. However, the two groups differed in two ways. The suburban youths declared that they experienced a lot of school-stress which the small-town youths did not experience. Also, the Stockholm respondents identified several aspects that could make their lives better. In the contrast none of the small town respondents could identify ways to improve their lives. Explanations for these differing responses are explored in the study.

The concept sharing economy (collaborative economy or collaborative consumption) has recently gained attention in several cities over the world, with its promotion offering a prospective new path to sustainable development. In current research, most scholars cover global initiatives or initiatives in larger cities, but very few to none of them seem to have investigated the situation and potential in smaller cities. This empirical study therefore investigates both existing initiatives and work with collaborative consumption as well as the future potential and possible challenges for further promotion in a small town context, using Norrtälje town in Sweden as a case study for exploring the topic. In this study, a sharing economy is defined as a socio-economic system enabling consumers to gain access to commonly under-utilized physical assets in collaborative practices of sharing, borrowing, bartering, swapping, renting, redistributing, buying second-hand, repairing and rebuilding goods, instead of consuming new goods and/or owning privately, taking place either via online platforms or through physical infrastructure, possibly in exchange for financial compensation. A mixed method approach, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used in this study. The data collection included semi-structured interviews with both sharing economy initiators and the Norrtälje municipality Sustainability strategist, an online survey shared with residents in Norrtälje, as well a qualitative desk-based study. The collected results were then analysed though the lens of a formed theoretical framework, covering the themes of conditions for success and important stakeholders in a sharing economy context, as well as drivers for starting or using these initiatives and possible environmental, social and economic benefits of implementing a sharing economy. The findings showed that 11 initiatives currently exist in Norrtälje, and that the Norrtälje residents generally are very positive towards using sharing economy services. Further, it was found that the municipality is not actively working with collaborative consumption, but has been, and still is, involved in a few sharing economy activities. The findings of this study contribute to discussions on the actual role of the municipality in a sharing economy context, suggesting that the involvement of the municipality indeed is very important in regards to sharing economy initiatives, but that it is unclear from a municipal perspective whether it is actually included in the role of the municipality to promote and work with sharing economy initiatives. The results from this study suggests that the future for sharing economy initiatives in Norrtälje town looks bright. However, some challenges were found in relation to the promotion of a sharing economy in a small town context, including the current political situation not prioritising municipal involvement, the economic situation of the municipality not being able to prioritise municipal involvement, difficulties in understanding the concept among those who work for the municipality, negative mindsets among municipal workers, and lack of funding to existing and possible future initiatives. These challenges might have to be overcome in order for sharing economy initiatives to be able to grow and thrive. Further, this study found that it is believed from a small town municipal perspective it most likely is easier for a larger city to work with sharing economy initiatives, while on the contrary existing scholars suggest that the small town context might indeed be more beneficial for these types of initiatives.

I arbetet besvaras två frågor om vilka designprinciperna är för traditionella trädgårdsstäder från början av 1900-talet samt hur trädgårdsstaden kan anpassas med nutida forskning och praktik till dagens kontext. Ett gestaltningsarbete av ett bostadsområde har utformats med framtagna designprinciper som en del av analysen. Utgångspunkten är en nutida trädgårdsstad i låg och tät bebyggelse. Förslaget utarbetas sig i Kungsmarkens högskaliga miljonprogramsområde som ett alternativ till bebyggelsen som finns på plats idag. Platsens förutsättningar har beaktats gällande; verksamheter, målpunkter, omgiven bebyggelse, trafik, barriärer, utsikter, grönska och topografiska skillnader. Vidare så har målsättningen i det alternativa planförslaget varit att skapa lika många bostäder som idag finns på platsen. Arbetet har undersökt om en nutida låg och tät trädgårdsstad, kan vara ett av alternativen till dagen byggnadsideal.