Stockholm’s landscape has been profoundly shaped by its geography: the location of the city on several islands surrounded by water has affected its growth. Rather than uncontrolled sprawl, as has happened in many cities throughout the world, Stockholm between the 1930s and the 1980s is an example of planned sprawl, with the city’s rapid growth being directed in a way that allowed for green ‘wedges’ and other green areas to preserve inhabitants’ access to natural spaces (Arnstberg, 2003).
The green wedge approach was a success, allowing for radial development along main public transportation lines that preserved natural spaces and associated biodiversity but also created a city with a high quality of life. Since the 1980s, however, Stockholm has managed its growth in emphasising the development of areas within the city’s boundaries rather than allowing growth at the city’s fringe. This new approach has been stimulated by important population growth combined with the realisation that Stockholm’s green and blue spaces needed to be actively preserved from sprawl. Many stakeholders and planners proposed to build on semi-central industrial land and save green space due to environmental concerns and Not-In-My-Backyard effects (Ståhle and Marcus, 2009).
Stockholm is anticipated to keep growing; its population is over 800,000 and anticipated to reach almost a million by 2030. Stockholm’s Regional Plan builds on the idea of sociotopes, which define uses and values of space, and define the ideal distance between inhabitants and different types of open spaces. Stockholm’s land use planning also takes into account climate change and its ambition to be a fossil fuel free city by 2050.
As a result of the city’s densification approach, areas prime for redevelopment have been identified and brownfield sites in the city have been subject to development, as is the case in Hammarby Sjöstad. In addition, planners and stakeholders from the city are seeking to develop a polycentric dense settlement structure in order to link Stockholm to regional town centres at the periphery of the city (Stockholm City Council, 2010).