Mölndal's head of planning Lisa Östman sees that space for movement is often compromised when planning today's cities. They are being built ever more densely and many functions must be combined to make ends meet. She wants movement opportunities that are accessible to everyone to be given a higher status when city maps are redrawn.
Lisa Östman has a long and broad experience in the construction industry. She has worked in the profession since the age of fifteen, moving between different roles, such as city architect and architectural historian, to her current role as head of planning.
She took on her current role in a Mölndal with incredibly expansive and transformative urban development plans: a city center that is being completely transformed, several large business clusters and new residential areas under construction. Lisa Östman described the municipality as a diamond in the rough with huge potential, where future residents can enjoy their lives.
But she is also aware that the values you want to include in the city must be prioritized clearly and early in the planning. Movement is one of them, according to Lisa Östman, who sits on the Make a Move steering group. With her long time perspective, she sees that areas for movement have become less and less important as cities have become denser.
"We have gone from prioritizing spaces for children in urban planning to more and more competition for space. There are many interests in having high, dense development and not so much space for residential courtyards and outdoor environments that are accessible to everyone"
In this video, she explains how Mölndal is now planning new areas in the city center to make movement a natural part of life. "You shouldn't have to ask mom or dad to take the car to a multisport arena somewhere else".
She also sends a thought-provoking reflection: perhaps we need to translate movement values in the city into direct benefits, as has happened with ecological qualities in recent years?
