Välfärdssamhällets vardagslandskap under press

Sweden has a large and representative body of 20th century public parks, green areas and playgrounds intended for everyday use. But only a small amount of these representations of the Swedish welfare state are classified as heritage. A majority are taken for granted, other are threatened, even when designed by leading landscape architects. Some are replaced by new building blocks or subway stations despite massive protests from the public or the possibility to build more discretely. Parks and green areas are regarded as space to be refined and given a higher value – and not as places of interest to be protected. Work by once leading women landscape architects disappear because they have become unknown to the general audience. If this trend continues much of the 20th century internationally admired modernist landscape architecture will disappear. The aim of this contribution is to show how municipalities deal with everyday life parks and gardens of the welfare state era and to give some suggestions on how to raise the awareness of them and strengthen the possibilities to protect them