Centrumplanering i den svenska småstaden Fallstudien Tranås

Abstract

The subject of this essay is to explore city centre planning in a typical Swedish smalltown. The case study is the city of Tranås in the county of Jönköping, Sweden. The purpose is to find out the influences on Tranås first city plan which dates back to the 19th century, and the city planning influences from today and tomorrow. Comparisons between the past and the present are also made. The main focus is Storgatan, the main street of Tranås and also the commercial center. The background part of the essay is based on detailed literature and historical map studies. The material concerns both city planning in general and Tranås specific. A short resume is made over the roots of city centre planning, from the grid city plan of ancient Rome to mid-1800’s Sweden. Tranås’ roots as a young city close to the new railway is also investigated. Elements like barriers, communication, external shopping, sprawl and visions of the future appear frequently throughout the thesis. The present and future part of the essay is based on public documents from the municipality and interviews with the city architect and the local councilor among others. The urban design movement of new urbanism is also included here, since it is the base from whom the modern analysis is made. A resume over new urbanism thoughts and ideas is done in this context. The analysis aim to characterize the 19th century ideal that Tranås was built on. It also traces the historical planning in the city today. One main ambition for the essay has been to show the complexity of city centre planning and historical writing yesterday and today