Fostering human connection and community
In 2050 Southern Sweden, feelings of loneliness that became especially visible during the COVID-19 restrictions continued to rise from 2020 onwards. Increased social media use, more self-reliance as a result of technology, and a decrease in community and close connections contributed to feelings of loneliness that persisted for many. 1 Seeing these trends, urban planners have made efforts to help people feel more connected again and have more opportunities to naturally interact with others in their daily lives.
In many cities around the world in 2050, cars are no longer allowed to enter without a permit (e.g. for deliveries), giving people more walkable public spaces. Malmö began trialling the “sommargata” (summer street) concept in 2017 with a street called Friisgatan, which was closed off to cars during the summer months to encourage foot traffic and added public spaces along the street for people to enjoy. Since then, more streets and squares have adopted the same concept. In 2050, we are at the stage where a large number of streets in Southern Sweden operate in a similar way during summer or, in some instances, during the whole year.
Wise cities in Southern Sweden have focused on building out better bicycle and walking paths to make getting around without vehicles more attractive. This meant designing paths in a way that could handle a lot of bicycle traffic, such as: more bicycle paths; bicycle path traffic being on the right side when possible (meaning you will never encounter oncoming bicycles in your lane); bicycle paths on both sides of wider roads; minimal obstacles between bicycle paths and the sidewalk.
To make walking more attractive and safer for groups like children, the elderly, and the blind, more “Copenhagen Crossings” were implemented. These are crossings which run across a road but look the same as pavements with the goal of reinforcing pedestrian priority and calming traffic, as cars are always meant to give way to pedestrians on these crossings. These gradual infrastructural updates have encouraged more people to move around the Southern Swedish urban environment without private vehicles, allowing for more interaction and connection amongst citizens.
A more playful environment
In the year 2050, Southern Sweden implements elements which invite playful interactions and creative thinking into public spaces. For people of all ages, play is recognised as an important factor to design for. Playful spaces stimulate creativity and imagination, contributing to cognitive and emotional development of citizens across demographics.
Experiencing COVID-19 restrictions shifted the importance of encouraging playfulness and togetherness outside strict routines. During phases of restrictions and isolation, societies longed for togetherness, play, and small fun moments in daily life. Alongside this, many people greatly increased the amount of time they were spending in front of screens. Since 2020, municipal governments and planners have created more playful physical environments to encourage people to spend time outdoors and experience more joy and connection with others.
A signal for projects moving in this direction included a playful take on structures designed by rotative studio to make the main town square in Aigle, Switzerland become more of a place for encounters. They designed three temporary pavilions with a combination of functions which were installed on the square:
- Public library and reading space
- Observatory which people can climb to the top of to see the nearby Alps
- Space with seating to view theatre performances or host community events
Locals began using these pavilions in different ways including organising concerts, wine tasting events, theatre plays, and workshops. Children used the spaces most creatively, often arriving after school and playing with the structures in different ways for many hours.
The Ministry of Nonhuman Affairs
Welcome to the Ministry of Nonhuman Affairs, a ministry responsible for nonhumans that is a fully integrated part of society and decision-making processes in Southern Sweden by 2050. After a gradual redistribution of power across municipal departments, this department is in charge of developing mutually beneficial outcomes for humans and nonhumans, as well as more strongly representing nonhuman considerations in planning processes. This perspective shift greatly impacts how all humans consider nonhumans and gradually permeates all parts of society to think more holistically about the role that all beings play within ecosystems.
Berlin-based organisation Club Real’s project Organismendemokratie (Parliament of Organisms) 2 was founded in 2019, and is experimenting with models of how humans could take on the role of researching and representing the needs of different nonhumans to better include these perspectives in the future spaces we create. Each year, 15 species, 2-3 per category are selected to be part of the parliament using a lottery system. A human is chosen to represent each of these species in the parliament. The representatives come together on a few dates during each year in a woodland area in Berlin to decide about how to best make use of that land collectively. During these decision-making processes, each human argues the conditions which will be best for the species they are representing. Examples of topics discussed in recent years include: Should humans be allowed to forage on the site? The group decided this should be allowed if foragers follow the principles of the Honourable Harvest developed by Robin Wall Kimmerer including: “Use everything that you take. Take only that which is given to you. Share it, as the Earth has shared with you. Be grateful.”
The manager of a supermarket behind the area of land governed over by the Parliament of Organisms group requested to use their land as a route for his trucks. The parliament discussed if it could be swapped for a more open piece of land behind the supermarket. The representative of a plant that needs a lot of light supported this idea but the other representatives voted against it.
Community stewardship of public spaces
Cities in 2050 Southern Sweden are being designed so that everyone feels welcome and connected to city spaces based on a stewardship model. Programming and stewardship of a space is managed by a certain group for a specific period of time before a new group steps up to take on this role. By 2050, this has shifted cities to a point where people feel much more like co-creators and guardians of the environments they inhabit rather than just passively dwelling in them.
This stewardship model has been trialled and implemented in locations such as San Francisco, where a mix of the following was trialled 3
- Event-based models where public spaces are activated in a specific way for a defined period of time.
- Grassroots partnership models where small organisations which are primarily volunteer-led take leadership in public space management, improvement, and stewardship.
- Public/private partnership models which rely on a government entity and one or mode private companies or small businesses partnering to create a space or activation.
The wise city of Southern Sweden practises a “grassroots partnership” model where different groups such as residents, business owners, or other parties come together to steward a public space for a specific time or on an ongoing basis. These types of groups generally tend to operate on low budgets but could be supported through grants. They can also be supported by dedicated people who can help the group develop and maintain organisational systems and step in to handle bigger maintenance and facility issues.
In 2050 Malmö, these different groups have created activations and pop-ups or seasonal offerings in a public space like Möllevångstorget, a large public square. These include events organised by the youth for the youth in Malmö, a pop-up garden educating people passing by on how to grow plants, or a playful array of objects designed by children for children to play on.
This narrative is based on a scenario collectively conceived and developed by core group participants in a Collaborative Foresight cycle. The group's voice was captured and creatively expanded by the writer.
