Upplands Väsby

Project type:	Settlement Extension
Location:	Upplands Väsby, Sweden
Client:	Town of Upplands Väsby
Stage:	Masterplan
Programme:	2011

Väsby Sjöstad is a proposed new build development planned as an extension to Upplands Väsby.

Upplands Väsby is located between Stockholm and Arlanda International Airport. The town of 40,000 inhabitants represents an ideal location for hi-tech businesses but lacks high quality residential areas to attract workers.

The picturesque lakeside area of Väsby Sjöstad is one of the few suitable development locations but is in the ‘Green Wedge’ which forms part of the structural landscape of the city of Stockholm.

Many local people wish to preserve the landscape and therefore oppose the development, and even those who appreciate the pressing need for urban expansion recognise that the natural qualities that make it attractive could be lost if it is not designed with the greatest sensitivity.

The Väsby Sjöstad project was therefore a significant issue in terms of the town’s politics.

The local authority decided that a Community Planning approach was the best way of achieving a balanced debate. As the tradition of participatory planning is limited in Sweden, the local authority looked abroad, with the result that a JTP-led international team was commissioned to carry out the project.

Project Delivery

Extensive community participation in the creation of a vision through a Community Planning Weekend.
Proposals for a sustainable development of 3,000 homes.
Creation of a number of contained neighbourhoods located within specific character areas which appropriately reflect their differing landscape contexts.
Development proposals designed to achieve a viable public transport service.
Redevelopment of the lake waterfront as leisure space improving the framework of area as a whole.
A proposed re-designation of land parcels to protect valuable landscape and allow the necessary development in less sensitive locations.
Measures to protect the fragile forest bio-topes from increased human access.