Kungsstens Industriområde En kvalitativ studie om ett industriområde i förvandling

Abstract

This bachelor essay aims to analyze which role Kungsstens Industrial site plays in Gothenburg and illuminate and vitalize different ideas and images of the area. The industrial site is situated in the western part of Gothenburg in an area called Sandarna and was originally planned by the city of Gothenburg in the mid 1940s. The area is currently under transformation due to closures of old workshops and factories. New businesses with a different nature, such as nightclubs and art studios, are replacing the old ones and shaping the area into something new and exciting. Meanwhile, the remaining workshops and factories are still booming which creates an eclectic city environment day and night. By mapping Kungsstens Industrial site with the help of archives, literature, and, above all, based on Henri Lefebvres views on the production of space, qualitative interviews with both active operators in the Kungssten area and with a representant from the planning office in Gothenburg, this essay shows a place with several meanings. Furthermore, this essay shows that the industrial site in Kungssten has completed major changes from the 1940s to 2016. The place has gone from an area strictly limited to workshops and factories to a place where creative and alternative businesses thrives. The area can be seen as a fertile soil for such movements and plays therefore an important role in the city of Gothenburg. The area is important as a small businesses cluster where companies cooperate and expands as a unit. As such, it is a vital part of the term ”blandstad” that the city strives to achieve.