A greener and more beautiful Gåsebäck
Client
Helsingborg is one of the fastest growing cities in Sweden. By 2035, the city is expected to have grown by approximately 40,000 new residents. The city must therefore be densified, and more districts must be made attractive into areas to work and live in. This is where the H+ Urban Renewal Project comes into play, which is the largest urban renewal project in Helsingborg in modern times. The name H+ comes from the fact that Helsingborg will add more residents, more companies and also more meeting spots. The H+ area is comprised of the new and existing districts of Oceanhamnen, the University District, the Husar District and Gåsebäck. These will be linked to the city center and the surrounding districts.
An important part of H+ is the old industrial district of Gåsebäck. Previously, there has not been much here other than industries and car repair shops, but by 2035 Gåsebäck will be transformed from an industrial area into a mixed district with housing, businesses and green areas. While much lies in the future, the city has made efforts to increase the well-being of Gåsebäck, including organizing festivals with a street art theme. During the festivals, dull and dark public spaces have been brightened up by graffiti artists' nature-inspired artwork, and Gåsebäck now has one of Sweden's longest graffiti walls.
However, much remains to be done to achieve the city's goal with Gåsebäck: the area should be both greened and beautified so that more people want to and and are able to be there at all hours of the day. How this will be achieved is still uncertain, not least since the city only owns a fraction of the land in the area. But the city has the citizens of Helsingborg to gain help from. An important part of the urban development project in Gåsebäck has since the beginning been to look after those who move and work in the area. By listening to their ideas and needs, the city is assisted in finding the way forward.
Task
Gåsebäck is strongly influenced by old industry and can be experienced as boring, grey and impersonal, with almost no vegetation. The question is if greenery can be incorporated into Gåsebäck's cityscape in a way that increases safety and well-being, and that is also creative and innovative. In this project, you get to use your imagination and knowledge of plants to find ways to make Gåsebäck more green and beautiful. Suggestively, you will in this project select some focus areas and put forward proposals (through sketches and descriptions) on how greenery could be incorporated into these sites. Would it perhaps be possible to introduce vegetation at the graffiti walls? Perhaps certain places would be suitable for introducing "temporary greenery" - i.e. green areas that are created temporarily while an area awaits planned development. Large parts of Gåsebäck have paved surfaces, which can be a challenge in this project. But on the other hand, this provides an opportunity to think innovatively and use vertical surfaces!
After a dialogue with the city about their possibilities in terms of construction, and perhaps also with people who live and operate in the area about what they would wish for, you can use your imagination to find unconventional and innovative green solutions. Maybe you can come up with a use for something that would otherwise have been thrown away? Here you have an excellent opportunity to think “outside the box”.
Related SDGs
