Mänskligare städer : Framtagande av en ny bedömningsmetod för social hållbarhet och bedömning av Kronoparkens centrum i Karlstad

Sammanfattning: The concept of sustainability includes three dimensions: ecological-, economical- and social sustainability. Of these dimensions, social sustainability is the hardest to measure and define. Consequently, the social dimension is often ignored in urban development. Lack of social sustainability over time increases the risk of antisocial behaviour and crime. Socially ”failed” communities often show increased segregation and crime. These symptoms can today be traced in many Swedish places.  There are several methods for assessing the social sustainability of built environment. Two of these methods are Jan Gehl's twelve quality criteria and Social Life's building blocks. This study intends to combine Gehl's twelve quality criteria with Social Life's building blocks and then adapt the results to Swedish conditions.  The aim of this study is to highlight important factors for social sustainability through the development and implementation of an easy-to-use assessment method and investigate how these factors affect social sustainability. The assessment method strives for an increased understanding of social sustainability. The objective of the study is to develop an assessment matrix for social sustainability adapted to the Swedish context through previous theories and research. The assessment matrix shall be an easy-to-use tool for an on-site assessment of factors that affect social sustainability. The developed assessment matrix will then be used to highlight potential for improvement regarding social sustainability in central Kronoparken, Karlstad.  The study was conducted in three parts. The first part focuses on creating new assessment categories based on Jan Gehl's twelve quality criteria and Social Life's building blocks. Part 1 results in eight new assessment categories: Architecture & aesthetics, Places to meet, Social Infrastructure, Accessibility, Traffic, Security, Senses & experience and Development. The results in part 1 are then adapted to Swedish conditions in part 2. Part 2 results in a new assessment matrix for social sustainability uniquely adapted to Swedish conditions. The matrix contains a total of 40 questions evenly distributed over the assessment categories developed in Part 1. The adaptation of the assessment matrix to Swedish conditions makes it suitable for use in Swedish site assessments.  In part 3 the new assessment matrix for social sustainability is used to evaluate central Kronoparken. The results of the evaluation show that central Kronoparken is a place with great potential for improvement in terms of social sustainability. The categories with the largest potential for improvement are Architecture & aesthetics, Security and Senses & experience. Strengths of the site include the categories of accessibility and traffic.