Sweden Lets Its Residents Redesign Their Streets (for the Better!)

Sweden has undertaken an ambitious “one-minute city” plan, a project that aims to transform urban streets across the nation – namely parking spots – into ideal places for the public to engage in more direct ways.

Through workshops and consultations, the Street Moves initiative lets local communities help redesign their neighborhood’s street layouts to improve “the space outside your front door — and that of your neighbors adjacent and opposite,” says Dan Hill, director of strategic design at Vinnova, the national innovation body piloting the plan. “Everyday infrastructures like streets hold the keys to our possible cultures.”

The country plans to have all of its streets “healthy, sustainable, and vibrant by 2030,” according to the Street Moves initiative website. To achieve this goal, the “parklet” model was chosen: urban furniture designed to fit the dimensions of a standard street parking space. Each unit is tailored to the needs of the area, whether that means to include seating planters, bike or scooter racks, children’s play spaces, or electric car charging stations.

So far, there are four experiment sites in Stockholm, and the cities of Gothenburg, Malmö, and Umeå are about to join in.