Socially sustainable improvment of a housing enviroment for a million-program area : The million program area Lextorp

Purpose: At the beginning of the 20th century there was a large housing deficiency in Sweden. Over time the housing deficiency developed into a political issue and resulted in the million-program. One million homes would be built during 1965-1974. The million-program constitutes a large part of Sweden’s total housing stock. Many of these areas quickly became segregated and socio-economically weak. Municipalities are now faced with the decision to either phase out or develop the areas. The purpose is to investigate which measures can contribute to a better social sustainability and attractiveness in million-program areas. The aim of the study is to investigate which measures are effective in improving a sustainable housing environment in a millionprogram area. Method: The study has been conducted as a qualitative study in the form of interviews. Document analysis has been implemented where the information has contributed as a support but also as an eye-opener to find different solutions that are relevant in the case study. Observation in the area has been made to give the author a perception of the area. A literature study has been done to support the investigation and to receive information to create a foundation for the study. Findings: The main result of the analysis is that a key factor in achieving a sustainable housing environment is a major focus on social sustainability. The work with the social sustainability should be focused and deliberately with long-term perspectives. There are many ways of working with social sustainability, but a big part is to promote integration into socio-economically weak residential areas. The social issues form a basis for achieving a result and answering the questions set for the study. In order for the residents to have as pleasant living environment as possible, they should be given influence in various decisions made for the area. Implications: Proposed measures must be adapted to the specific conditions of each area. In order to contribute to an increased social sustainability it is important that the environments of the areas are well managed and completely clean. Social sustainability can also be improved through active work on social issues, which also contributes to increased attractiveness. The concept of social sustainability also includes urban design. A city that is well designed, safe and pleasant and has a good and functioning living environment is something desired. Limitations: The study is limited to only one million-program area since there is neither time nor resources available to map the problem on a larger scale. Own proposals are not presented, neither from an economic nor an architectural perspective, which could affect how the questions set for the study are answered. The focus is on whether planned measures are effective and whether these measures are sufficient to make an area attractive again