I have studied the suburban
municipality of Botkyrka, south of
Stockholm, from a rural perspective.
Through that I`ve compared how
countryside comes into being with the
planning and building of suburbs.
I have looked for a definition of
Countryside, and found that it is
often explained or defined in negative
terms, as what it is not. In that it
says nothing about what it really is,
or about the qualitiies it has to it.
Botkyrka is a suburb, but it does in
large parts consist of countryside.
Apart from defining countryside and
rural I´ve been searching for a
definition of suburbia, of it´s
structure and the mental picture we
have of it as a cultural phenomena.
In order to understand the role that
suburbs have in planning I describe
their history from Italian
renaissance villas to sprawl.
By opposing urban and rural, modern
urban planning and how rural areas
are created, I´ve come to a
definition of rural planning and the
making of countryside. To make
countryside, planning and building
should come from individual needs and
desires. A relationship to the
surroundings based on continous
interaction between the human beeing
and it´s environment, a constant
process of shaping and reshaping.
To put my thoughts to the ground I
have collected examples of projects
and ideas, that fits into my view of
what rural planning and making
countryside is all about. They are
put in different categories according
to the possibilities of influence and
to what degree it is put into private
hands.
The first category is
“allemansrätten”, every mans right.
That is the rigt to use private land
as long as you don´t disturb or
destroy. A step further is taken in
what I call “nöjesfält”, pleasure
grounds. That is spaces where the
rights are stronger. On theese spots
you are allowed to shape and reshape,
to mess around, without beeing the
owner.
Next level is the colony, “kolonin”.
A plot of land that you rent or own
where you can perform spatial
activities, e.g. cultivation. The
strongest form of privatiziation I
have named “egnahem”, home of ones
own. Here I describe differnt types
of building projects, from the little
parasite to apartment buildings, all
with the individual initiative in
common.
Landscapes alter quickly depending on
what they are used f...
