Our societies are changing towards more privatization and exclusion; issues of social life in public spaces and the relation of urban form vis-à-vis social life has not been given too much attention in urban planning and design, especially including issues of environmental psychology. However, the importance of public life is not deniable. High qualified public spaces are prerequisite for cities to become further inviting and more sustainable. This thesis raises the questions of if our public places are created by their physical setting or by social relation. It addresses the socio-physical characteristics of public spaces (squares) from human perspective. The aim of the work is to understand how it might be possible to improve social life and behavior in public spaces, where not only the center of attraction are the people but also the urban form that surrounds it. The study investigates sociability of the two squares in Stockholm, Norrmalmstorg and Nytorget, and analysis the contribution of physical and social attributes in creating sense of place and enriching social behavior. It draws from theories about environmental psychology, place identity and sense of place, likewise socio-physical elements of public spaces. Qualitative approach has been applied for data collection of case studies through combination of empirical methods such as observation, interviews and conceptual mapping. Through analysis of results, it is argued that strong sense of community at Nytorget is the consequence of people’s involvement in urban environment; whereas the lack of people’s engagement in urban setting at Norrmalmstorg, which is the result of place identity, affects the sense of attachment and social interaction in the square accordingly. The thesis debates that it is crucial to evaluate sociability of an urban environment by initiating human perspective and revealing the relationship between physical attributes and social activities. / Urban Form and Social Behaviour Research Project

The construction industry is one of the least digitized industries in the world which results in projectdelays, poor quality, uninformed decision-making, and unnecessary spending. Initiatives from the governmentthat promotes digitalization will therefore play an important role. In Sweden, Smart Built Environment is suchan initiative, that through a bottom-up process where public and private actors from the built environment sectorcooperate in projects together to develop products and services in sustainable perspectives. However, there arechallenges when it comes to transferring and reaping benefits from knowledge developed in projects. The aimof the paper is to investigate how project outcomes from Smart Built Environment projects are handled andhow projects are linked to the program’s intended short-term effects. Through a case study and document analysison two projects, nine different semi-structured interviews with representatives of the organizations involvedin the projects were identified. As the Smart Built Environment's short-term effects were embeddedwith the project goals, it was concluded that the project results were linked to the program's intended shorttermeffects in theory, but that it becomes tangible when implemented in practice. Furthermore, the projectresults spread individually where it was implemented on future projects, internally within the organization inthe form of presentations, and finally through interest groups (BIM alliance) where it was presented to actorsin the entire built environment sector.

In a context of increasingly ambitious climate objectives after the Paris Agreement in 2015, this thesis investigates a scenario for sustainable development in Sweden in 2050 in terms of greenhouse gases emissions. The scenario is built around the idea of a development of collaborative economy in a context of low growth or degrowth. The concept of “collaborative economy” encompasses the sharing of services and underused and unwanted goods between individuals, a focus on the access to services rather than the ownership of products, and new ways of sharing space and time (cohousing, time banks, etc). The present study focuses on the implications of the Collaborative Economy scenario for transports and the built environment at a municipal scale, and aims at modeling the corresponding greenhouse gases emissions. A literature review was carried out to identify the main aspects of the scenario and exemplify the changes it entails. Two spreadsheet models were then developed for transports and the built environment, estimating greenhouse gases emission levels based on a range of assumptions elaborated from the literature review. The municipality of Malmö was used as a case study. Overall, the results of the models and the sensitivity analysis indicate a rather weak influence of collaborative economy strategies on greenhouse gases emissions. Strategies related to changes in the energy mix for heating, materials used in construction, fuels, etc seem to be much more impactful. However, such strategies only impact greenhouse gases emissions, whereas collaborative economy strategies can have other benefits. In particular, cohousing can increase social capital and foster sharing, which in turn could decrease energy and material use for the production of goods. Ridesharing, remote working among others, can decrease congestion and the daily distance traveled. Most of these strategies also provide energy savings, improving the resilience of the system and freeing the energy supply for other purposes. / Bortom BNP-tillväxt

Between 1965 and 1975 a major housing project was carried out in Sweden to resolve a major housing crisis, the so-called one million housing program (Swedish: miljonprogrammet). To raise the standards and create a more attractive housing in these areas is currently a very relevant topic in Sweden.Evidence-based design is the process of basing decisions of the built environment on credible research and studies to achieve the best possible outcome. This method is primarily used in the healthcare sector to improve quality of care and reduce costs by creating healthy environments.The possibility of refurbish apartment buildings from miljonprogrammet using evidence-based design has been studied by means of an extensive literature review and a closer examination of the residential area, Husby in Stockholm, which has been chosen to represent the miljonprogrammet in its entirety. Furthermore, the evidence-based research has been limited to seven fields; nature, noise, color, wayfinding, safe environment, daylight and thermal comfort which has been assessed to be applicable on housing. In order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the different fields, four different subjects were chosen to investigate further within each field; research and studies, laws and regulations, constructional aspect and Husby. The analysis has shown that the seven fields to varying degrees can be applicable to miljonprogrammet. The thesis concludes that an evidence-based method can be used for refurbishment of miljonprogrammet. Some of the fields investigated in the thesis may need further development, in particular; nature, color and wayfinding. Some of the benefits of the evidence-based design process may be to give architects an instrument to justify their design decisions which were earlier based on experience and intuition rather than credible research.

Based‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌idea‌ ‌that‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌reflects‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌values‌ ‌and‌ ‌is‌ ‌meant,‌ ‌not‌ ‌as‌ ‌many‌ ‌have‌ ‌argued‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌means‌ ‌of‌ ‌teaching‌ ‌history,‌ ‌but‌ ‌rather‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌means‌ ‌of‌ ‌promoting‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌ideals,‌ ‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌serves‌ ‌a‌ ‌role‌ ‌in‌ ‌lauding‌ ‌people‌ ‌and‌ ‌behaviors‌ ‌and‌ ‌reflects‌ ‌a‌n important facet in the ‌creation‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌national‌ ‌identity‌ ‌and‌ ‌ethos. Further,‌ ‌that‌ ‌in‌ ‌this‌ ‌function‌ ‌of‌ ‌promoting‌ ‌societal‌ ‌norms,‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌serves‌ ‌as‌ an‌ iconography ‌of‌‌ a “civil ‌religion”‌ ‌which‌ ‌tell‌s ‌a‌ ‌story‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌citizenry‌ ‌about‌ ‌what‌ ‌a‌ ‌given‌ ‌country‌ ‌admires,‌ ‌reveres‌ ‌and‌ ‌aspires‌ ‌to‌ ‌and‌ ‌promotes‌ ‌a‌ ‌specific‌ ‌moral‌ ‌narrative‌ ‌regarding‌ ‌a‌ ‌country‌ ‌and‌ ‌its‌ ‌people.‌ ‌Thus,‌ ‌public‌ ‌art‌ ‌forms‌ ‌an‌ ‌iconography‌ ‌reflecting‌ ‌the‌ ‌norms‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌“civil ‌religion”‌ ‌and‌ ‌its‌ ‌related‌ ‌mores,‌ ‌morals‌ ‌and‌ ‌ethical‌ ‌values.‌ ‌

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En “God bebyggd miljö” är ett svenskt miljömål och det är myndigheter som Boverket som har det yttersta ansvaret för uppföljningen av arbetet kring detta. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka hinder respektive möjligheter det finns för att en god bebyggd miljö skall kunna bli verklighet i Sverige. Utöver detta undersöks vilka incitament det finns för en fastighetsägare att investera tid och pengar i arbetet som rör en god bebyggd miljö.    Metoden som valts för studien är en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. För intervjuerna kontaktades flera olika personer med olika synvinklar på arbetet med en god bebyggd miljö. Intervjuerna utgör det empiriska materialet i studien och detta tillsammans med det teoretiska ramverket som grundar sig i de preciseringar som regeringen utvecklat för att förtydliga vad som innefattas i en god bebyggd miljö. Arbetet har avgränsats till de delarna av en god bebyggd miljö som en fastighetsägare skulle kunna påverka.   Studien resulterade i att utmaningar och möjligheterna identifierades samt att incitamenten som finns för en fastighetsägare diskuterades och utvärderades. De incitament som målades upp som de vanligaste var främst ekonomiska.

This thesis paper explores some of the cultural phenomena that influence my conceptual framework and describes the logic behind the formal decision-making that defines my work. Beginning with a description of the nature of the materials and environments I appropriate, this thesis aims to deconstruct the layered system of binaries that build the logic behind my work. The concerns in my work circulate around domestic consumption and the objects detritus, a term coined in the paper, that are produced as a result. However, rather than allow the objects detritus to remain cast-aways of a culture of excess, my work reincorporates these objects as materials in conglomerate sculptures. This thesis depicts the complex of ideas that help delegate how these conglomerate works come into being.