When the Lindome activity site in Mölndal takes shape, the joy of movement is at the center. The aim is to create a place that arouses curiosity, stands out and inspires versatile movement. By thinking outside the box, the aim is to attract more people - and encourage movement in creative ways.
Mölndal municipality is creating an urban park in each major district. One of them is a green area along the Lindomeån river, which is being developed with trees, plantings, a dog park and other features to get people out into the fresh air. The municipality identified that Lindome lacks a local sports ground accessible to the public, and turned its attention to a green space next to a popular, newly built skate park.
Örjan Nordlinder is a street engineer in Mölndal municipality and usually handles issues such as lighting, traffic signals and major street projects. Now a more unusual case came to him: the development of the green space where it was decided to think new, and above all to think smoothly.
- We sat and brainstormed from the Make a Move perspective, and came to the conclusion that we should call it an activity place instead. If you think of a sports field, it easily becomes a football pitch and a few basketball goals, and that's it. We wanted to open up for more forms of movement, get something that suits everyone and make a place that stands out, says Örjan Nordlinder.
The facility was to be unlike anything else done in Mölndal: it was decided to opt out of the most common models of playground equipment, buy larger but fewer pieces of equipment and spend more on them. Signs were put up at the green space with a QR code where local residents could leave suggestions for what they wanted. Over a hundred responses were received.
- Then we talked a lot about gender. That girls should also get moving, it's so easy for the boys' ball games to take over. We wanted to make places where young people can hang out together and socialize, so there is a good chance that they will also get moving.
The thought process led to a wide range of activity opportunities such as parkour, climbing frames, a multi-sports field and a barbecue area. Excavated earth left over when the skate park was built was transformed into a so-called hump ball field: a fun and unusual approach inspired by Malmö. It is a ball court with an uneven surface where the ball can roll in any direction. This eliminates rigid rules and allows freer play to take over. The site is due to be completed in 2025.
For Örjan Nordlinder, the new perspective with the joy of movement as a guiding principle has begun to seep into more and more parts of his job as a street engineer.
- I think the approach is a good one and offers many interesting possibilities if you just think about it a bit more. Such as taking extra care to illuminate cycle paths or salting them in case of winter slipperiness. If we're going to repave a street anyway, maybe we can provide better conditions for walking and cycling. Hopefully, Mölndal residents will discover that it is actually possible to move around on their own during most of the year. Once you start thinking like this, it inevitably spreads.
