Luleås Norra hamnfjärd och stränder : Förutsättningar, potential och förslag

During the 16th century the town of Luleå moved from its first location Gammelstad to the Northern harbour “Norra hamn” because of the need of a harbour. “Norra hamn” was the centre for trading for a long time as the harbour kept on growing in importance. With the plans for expansions of the iron industry, by a new steelworks in the late 1970s the roads demanded a larger capacity to get all the new people to work. Many of the roads in and around the city was therefore broadened, among these were the roads around the Northern harbour. The new steelworks was never built and there was no increase in traffic either, but the roads are still to this day very largely dimensioned. Due to this, the activity around the Northern harbour is now limited to function as one of Luleå´s biggest routes for vehicle transportation. Today the area around the Northern harbour mainly consists of roads, with “Bodenvägen” in the north with 4 lanes and 20 meters in width. Along the shoreline runs a walking path which is only separated from the traffic by an elevated curb. “Bodenvägen” ends at the roundabout near “Kulturens hus” where the traffic is lead west along the shoreline on to “Skeppsbrogatan”, also with 4 lanes and 20 meters in width. This traffic situation creates great barrier effects which separate the Northern harbour from the rest of the city centre. This further leads to cars and vehicles being prioritised over pedestrians in regards of the space closest to the shorelines of the Northern harbour. This master thesis will, with the methods for analysing smaller urban spaces by Jan Gehl, Kevin Lynch´s methods for visual analysis and the method of Space syntax for analysing the integration between the urban spaces in the city, investigate the existing conditions of the Northern harbour and it´s future potential to once again function as a public place in the city. The purpose of this master thesis is to show that if we can create better spaces and conditions for city life, then the situation of today offers, we can also make a better use of the qualities of a public place that this area possesses. The paper begins with a study of literature based on the public space and its place in the city as a forum for the city as a theatre with different types of activities, interactions and pleasures. Further more the study describes the different methods of analysis used in the paper and finishes by concluding the criteria within the three categories of protection, comfort and delight that every successful public space should fulfil. With the studied literature as a base, an inventory of the place was made on several occasions, by different means of transportation, and was documented by taking notes and pictures. These actions are presented at the end of every chapter in the analysis and are concluded as suggestions in the chapter of “Development” under the following headlines. Strengthen the connections to the city Enhance and densify the points of interest along the paths to unify the area and make it more interesting to use. Flexible and efficient use of the existing spaces trough integration of the traffic by traffic calming actions along Bodenvägen and implementing “Shared space” for Trekanten and Skeppsbrogatan Functions More possibilities for water contact by prolonging Hamnpromenaden along Bodenvägen with multifunctional points of interest throughout the whole area to use for both summer and winter activities Development on the street level More activities on ground level and lower speed limits lead to more eyes on the streets and a safer public space. Vegetation and lower buildings keep the wind speed on a moderate level. More places for seating in the area, high quality paths and shorter distances between the different points of interest give a higher level of comfort. Enlarge the possibilities for water contact and make the bay available in the summertime as well as in the wintertime.Validerat; 20130212 (global_studentproject_submitter