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Shifting shorelines : reflection on visulization of sea level rise
Get PDFSea level rise is predicted to radically transform coastal landscapes in the coming centuries. Caused by climate change, the impact is already felt in low-lying communities around the world. Although the consequences of rising sea levels will be severe and irreversible, the slow pace of change and high level of uncertainty regarding its future trajectory make the issue challenging to plan for. However, adaptation to changing coastlines is necessary, especially in densely built urban areas. Climate adaptation initiatives are unlikely to be successful without public support. Yet research shows that people are likely to dismiss or underestimate the personal impact of climate change due to perceived psychological and temporal distance. Research on new approaches to climate communication have found that visualizing the impact of climate change, including sea level rise, has yielded promising results in both raising awareness as well as increasing engagement in local climate adaptation.
The aim of this study is to look at how sea level rise and possible adaptation measures can be visually communicated to facilitate dialogue between planning experts and lay audiences. This report describes the process and considerations involved in the production of sea level rise visualizations of a chosen site in Kalmar, Sweden. The produced imagery was presented to the public during an exhibition where participants were invited to engage in a discussion on sea level rise and give their feedback on the visualizations. These responses were analyzed and discussed to assess the effectiveness of the produced visuals in facilitating dialogue.
The result of this study shows how illustrating climate change impact on local level, tailored to the community, is a powerful tool for facilitating communication.The project also revealed the challenges in illustrating climate futures from accommodating uncertainty to visualizing potential solutions.This study supports previous findings on the power of imagery in reshaping collective imaginations and evoking emotions. Thus visualization justifiably has an important role in visioning possible futures for transforming coastal communities
Modellering av ekologiska jordbrukssystem : behövs djur för en fungeranede kvävecykel och mat produktion?
Get PDFLivestock has always been an integral part of nutrient management on organic farms. Environmental, economic and idieological trends are leading to an increasing specialization of agriculture away from mixed farms with livestock. The viability of stockless organic farms has mostly been researched from a nutrient/nitrogen management perspective, with conflicting results on nutrient supply, leading to the question of whether or not livestock is needed.
This work is therefore among the first to address this question from a food system perspective. First the nitrogen cycle of two farms (stocked and stockless) was modelled based on real farm data (Hülsbergen 2022), and optimized for a maximum nitrogen output for human consumption (crop and livestock products), while maintaining a balanced nitrogen budget for fair comparability. To answer what role livestock has in sustaining the nitrogen cycle on organic farms, the two farming systems were compared based on nitrogen flows, nitrogen use efficiency, nitrogen recycling rate, total emissions and net food production. In a second step, each farming model was optimised in three scenarios to achieve maximum crude protein, energy and fat output, to see how efficient stockless farming systems are at providing macronutrients compared to stocked farming systems. To make these figures more concrete, the supported human population per farm was calculated on the basis of nutritional requirements of an adult.
The stockless farm had a more efficient nitrogen utilization in terms of food production than the stocked, but this could be reversed if nitrogen emissions were better mitigated during storage and application of livestock manure. The optimal livestock density was rather extensive at 0.46 LU ha-1, but organic fertilizer, whether from livestock or biogas plant, was of rather minor importance for the nutrient supply of the soil compared to biological nitrogen fixation. In terms of nutritional energy supply outperformed the stockless system the stocked, which was the opposite for fat. Protein supply was close in both systems with a tendency to a higher supply in the stocked system when including the sensitivity analysis. Overall, fat was the limiting factor when considering a full diet, as it supported in all scenarios the least number of individuals. The stocked system supported eight individuals per ha and year, while the stockless system supported seven individuals, which makes both system quite similar in terms of food provision.
This work should be seen as a fragment of a holistic approach to the question whether livestock is needed for organic agriculture or not, as it does not take into account all important nutrients. Nitrogen, however, is the limiting nutrient for growth, and thus forms a valuable starting point to this holistic apporach. The work has shown that livestock production is not redundant, but that stockless systems nevertheless have their advantages from a nitrogen management perspective. It is particularly important to which stockless recycling pathway livestock production is compared to, as com-posting might be less efficient than a biogas plant and livestock as nitrogen recycler. From a food provision perspective has the stockless system on first sight a more efficient and therefore higher macronutrient production. When fat is considered as a limiting factor in the overall diet, livestock can be seen beneficial to a farming system as a net producer of fat
Weather you like it or not : pre-season yield forecasting of malting barley with climate markers.
Get PDFDifferent means of yield forecasting have been investigated in many publications, although very few with a focus on pre-season forecasting. Climate change and the increasing risk of extreme weather events is a threat to food production, and early yield predictions could therefore be beneficial for farmer’s planning and management as a way towards more resilient food production. This thesis aims to explore if yield forecasting of malting barley in Southern Sweden can be done using climate markers of weather occurring during the 60 days before the beginning of the cropping season. Data from field trials, conducted between 1999 and 2018 and acquired from NTFS and SLU Fältforsk, were used as experimental data to calibrate and evaluate the CERES-Barley crop model. Three cultivars were used: Astoria, Irina and Propino. The model input additionally consisted of weather data from AgERA5 and soil profiles from ISRIC that were connected to the field trial sites. The climate markers and the simulated mean yields were tested with a linear mixed model analysis and a Pearson chi-square test in RStudio. The crop model was successfully calibrated, with Astoria being the best cultivar to mirror observed yields from different years and locations in Sweden. The results indicated, however, that none of the analysed climate markers during the 60 days prior to the beginning of the cropping season was able to explain malting barley yields, highlighting the difficulty in making early yield forecasts. One hypothesis for this lack of explanatory power from the climate markers on the yield of spring malting barley is that the effect of precipitation in the 60 days before the beginning of the cropping season is buffered by winter and early spring, when soils are usually at or close to field capacity
Hair traps for wolverine : a study in alternative inventory methods
Get PDFJärv är ett mytomspunnet djur som vi vet relativt lite om i jämförelse med andra stora rovdjur. Järven tillhör mårddjuren och har en cirkumpolär utbredning i Europa, Asien och Nordamerika. i Skandinavien förekommer den främst kring fjällkedjan men utbredningsområdet ökar. Årligen genomförs det inventering av järvstammen för att kunna följa populationsutvecklingen och förändringar i utbredningsområdet. Inventeringsresultaten ligger till grund för förvaltning av järvstammen och även för den ersättning som samebyar kan få för rovdjursförekomst. Idag sker inventeringen företrädelsevis på snö och är då beroende av fördelaktiga snö och väderförhållanden. Järvstammen har också ökat och spridit sig österut och söderut från fjällkedjan till områden där snötillgången är begränsad och det finns därmed ett behov av inventeringsmetoder som inte är beroende av snö. Under den här studien testades hårfällor på järvar i hägn. Tre modeller av hårfällor; dörrmatta, gevärsborste och stålborste, fästes i träd med åtelkött ovanför. Den hårfälla som kallas gevärsborste stod ut som den variant som i flest fall hade hårstrån på fällan och var även den variant som fångade flest hårstrån per fälla. Bland de fällor som fångat hårstrån stod gevärsborsten för 69%. Av den här typen av borste var det hårfångster på 28% av alla enskilda borstar och då flera borstar sitter runt ett träd innebär den här metoden goda möjligheter att lyckas samla in hår då järven lockats till åteln. Hårfällor kan användas av fältpersonal som jobbar med järvinventering men ytterligare utveckling av metoden krävs för att säkerställa fångst av hår från endast en individ och för att minska risken för isbildning på fällorna.The wolverine is a mythical animal about which we know relatively little compared to the other large carnivores. The wolverine belongs to the mustelid family and it has a circumpolar distribution in Europe, Asia, and North America. In Scandinavia, it is primarily found around the mountain range, but its range is expanding. Annual inventories of the wolverine population are conducted to monitor population trends and changes in distribution. The inventory results form the basis for wolverine population management and for the compensation that a sami village can receive for the presence of predators. Today, the inventory is primarily conducted on snow and is dependent on favorable snow and weather conditions. The wolverine population has also increased and spread eastward and southward from the mountain range to areas where snow availability is limited, necessitating inventory methods that are not dependent on snow. This study tested hair traps on wolverines in enclosures. Three models of hair traps - doormat, gun brush, and steel brush - were attached to trees baited with meat above the trap. The hair trap known as the gun brush stood out as the variant that had hair strands on the trap in the most cases, and it also captured the largest number of hair strands per trap. Among the traps that captured hair strands, the gun brush accounted for 69%. Within this type of brush, there were hair captures in 28% of the individual brushes and since several brushes are placed around a tree, the likelihood of hair captures is high when using this method. Hair traps can be used by field personnel conducting wolverine surveys, but further development of the method is needed to ensure capture of hair from only one individual and to reduce the risk of ice formation on the traps
Profit over subsistence? – The role of private corporations, the state and academia in embracing an ecofeminist forest concept as part of an agroecological transformation : a case study of Sweden
Get PDFIn recent times which require systemic change, agroecology demands a conceptual transformation of the food system. Its counter-hegemonic approach aligns with radical theories like ecofeminism and envisions an alternative future: a new socio-ecological paradigm which rethinks different landscape structures as one interconnected ecosystem. An ecofeminist forest concept, which this study elaborates, is one visionary idea which can facilitate an agroecological future.
In Sweden forests build the backbone of an intensive bioeconomy that is established by the main actors of private corporations, the state and academia alike. Forests cover most of Sweden’s land and hence assume an important role for agroecology. Yet, forest concepts, which shape how humans perceive the forest, influence decision-making and change within the forest and beyond and therefore affect agroecological transformations, often remain untouched. Their power is seldomly assessed. To identify the conceptual possibilities of an agroecological shift in the case of Sweden, this critical, interview-based study uncovers how some corporate, governmental, and academic actors conceptualize the forest. The study analyses whether these particular concepts or considered alternatives might lay the conceptual groundwork for an agroecological future which builds on ecofeminist ideas.
The analysis shows that the analyzed corporate, governmental, and academic actors share a powerful forest concept which does not align with an ecofeminist forest concept for agroecological change. Critical, indigenous and historically developed, caring perspectives on the forest describe alternative ways of seeing the forest. Even though these perspectives are marginalized, they can enhance an agroecological transformation because they already now show resistance to socio-ecological conditions that work against agroecological change
Behaviours in lame horses when trotted in hand
Get PDFDet finns många bakomliggande orsaker till smärta hos hästar. Det finns också skillnader i hur olika individer upplever och uttrycker smärta, vilket gör det svårt att bedöma smärtgrad utan att kombinera flera metoder. Idag använder svenska veterinärer vanligast smärtskalor som utvärderar olika typer av beteenden som är väl etablerade i sin koppling till smärtuttryck. Hur bedömningen sker har visat sig påverka bedömningen då olika möjligheter för hästen att uttrycka smärta finns i olika situationer. Problemet är att de beteenden som finns beskrivna endast uppträder vid grav smärta, vilket gör att mildare smärta kan gå oupptäckt då det inte finns något likvärdigt sätt att upptäcka och bedöma den. Därför finns det ett intresse av att utveckla smärtetogram som istället registrerar beteenden som inte är lika tydligt kopplade till smärta. Ett sådant etogram är Ridden horse Pain Ethogram som kom år 2021, vilket är det första applicerbara smärtetogrammet för hästar med ortopedisk smärta i rörelse. För att undersöka om det finns beteenden som kan kopplas till mild smärta har detta arbete analyserat filmer av hästar innan och efter hältinducering. Resultatet gav inga definitiva svar trots att skillnader kunde noteras mellan halta och ohalta hästar, och mer studier på detta område behövs för att utveckla smärtetogram för hästar med mild smärta.There are various underlying causes for pain in horses. There is also differences in how individuals experience and express pain, which can make it difficult to assess the level of pain without combining several methods. Swedish veterinarians today use pain scales that evaluate behaviours that are well established in their connection to pain expression. The pain evaluation is affected by the situation in which it is done, as the horses’ ability to perform behaviours can be limited. This is why there is an interest in developing pain ethograms that record behaviours that are not as clearly caused by pain. The first and only applicable pain ethogram was the Ridden horse Pain Ethogram which came in 2021, and evaluated orthopedic pain in horses. To examine if there are behaviours that can be connected to low-level pain this thesis analyzed clips of horses before and after paininduction. The result did not give any definitive answers despite showing noticeable differences between lame and non-lame horses, and more studies are needed to develop a pain ethogram for horses with low-level pain
Contributions of Cooperatives in Agricultural Marketin : a Case study of the Cashew nut product in the Mtwara Region
Get PDFTanzania's Government Cooperative Act 2008 presents a promising step in the right direction toward agricultural growth in Tanzania by promoting the development of a cooperative sector. Agriculture in Tanzania plays a significant role in the economy, particularly cash crops. This thesis investigates the Newala district cooperative in the Mtwara region to understand how a cooperative can support cashew nut production and international marketing.
This study gives an introductory account of cooperatives in agriculture, including cooperatives' meaning, history, and role, with a particular focus on the Tanzanian context. The researcher has collected primary data through a questionnaire sent to respondents at the Tandahimba Newala district cooperative. The research also used secondary data, such as government and company documents, the internet, and articles, to form a background of organisations in the Tanzania cashew nut market. The primary and secondary data present the basis for the report's findings, discussion, and conclusions.
The findings and conclusions suggest that cooperative marketing may be vital for bringing small farmers together to gain market power for collective benefits. The studied evidence shows how unions can be involved in the actual farming process to the marketing of produced goods by providing agricultural extension training and working as a bridge between different stakeholders, such as the farmers, banks, government, training institutions, and the market (buyers). At the same time, the continued development of the studied cooperative's market position is facing significant challenges from the government, which is intervening in the cooperative's decision-making in pursuit of political strategies and interests. Findings show that cooperative members would like the government to respect the instructional structures for the collective to be an independent entity to work accordingly to serve its purpose towards agricultural growth
Hållbarhetscertifiering
Get PDFEn av vår tids stora utmaningar handlar om att möta klimatkrisen och ökade krav på levnadsstandard hos en växande global befolkning. Allt fler flyttar från rurala till urbana områden, vilket pressar bostadsmarknader världen över. Globalt står byggbranschen för 30–40 procent av den primära energiförbrukningen och utsläpp av växthusgaser. Förväntningarna är höga från intressenter att företag ska ta ansvar för hållbar utveckling. Företag som på ett pålitligt sätt kommunicerar hållbarhetsåtaganden till marknaden genererar konkurrensfördelar. För byggbranschen finns det en rad alternativa tredjepartscertifieringar som fyller den funktionen.
Syftet med studien var att förklara förutsättningar för certifiering som grund för hållbar utveckling. I studien lades fokus på byggbranschens perspektiv och krav på hållbarhetcertifiering vid nyproduktion och certifieringarnas effekt på värdekedjan. Studien koncentrerades till värdekedjan för träbaserat byggmaterial och omfattar sågverk, vidareförädling av träråvaran, återförsäljare, marknaden och auktoriserare. Studien utfördes på uppdrag av AB Karl Hedin Sågverk och Bygghandel. För att besvara studiens syfte tillämpades en induktiv ansats. Studien hade en flexibel forskningsdesign och strukturerades som en kvalitativ fallstudie. Studiens primärempiri utgörs av skriftliga underlag och intervjuer. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade och genomfördes under hösten/ vintern 2022. Respondenterna valdes ut subjektivt utifrån profession, expertis, kunskap och erfarenhet om byggbranschen och hållbarhetscertifieringar. Respondenterna delades in i intressentgrupperna Affärspartners, Företag, Kunder, Externa influerare och Auktoriserare. Det empiriska materialet analyserades via en induktiv innehållsanalys. Intervjuerna transkriberades till fullo och kategoriseras via öppen kodning.
De främsta hållbarhetscertifieringarna på svenska fastighetsmarknaden är Svanen, Miljöbyggnad, BREEAM och LEED. Organisationen SGBC ansvarar för och utvecklar den svenskutvecklade certifieringen Miljöbyggnad och de internationella certifieringarna BREEAM och LEED. Svanen ansvarar för och utvecklar certifieringen Svanen. Struktur, kriterier och poängsystem skiljer sig mellan certifieringarna. Svanen tenderar användas för byggnader som uppförs till privata konsumenter. Miljöbyggnad tillämpas för byggnader uppförda både till privata, kommersiella och offentliga konsumenter. BREEAM och LEED tillämpas i huvudsak för byggnader som uppförs till kommersiella konsumenter, samt då internationella intressenter finns med i projekt. Certifieringssystemen omfattar materialkrav samt att det material som byggs in i byggnaden sparas i en loggbok. För svenska byggbranschen är det främst BASTA, Byggvarubedömningen, SundaHus och Husproduktportalen som bedömer byggmaterial och erbjuder loggbokstjänst.
Två i huvudsak drivande faktorer till ökad certifieringsgrad identifierades; EU och konsumenternas förväntan på hållbart företagande. EU styr kapitalflöden inom privata sektorn. EU policy influerar kreditgivare som utvecklar gröna ramverk för hållbara investeringar. Kreditgivarna säljer gröna obligationer på kapitalmarknaden till investerare som vill investera hållbart. Från de gröna obligationerna finansieras hållbara projekt via gröna lån. Ett grönt lån är mer fördelaktigt för låntagaren. För att låntagaren/beställaren av en byggnad ska bli berättigad ett grönt lån ställs krav på hållbarhet i hela värdekedjan. Kraven resulterar ofta i ett certifierings- och byggmaterialbedömningssystem. Valet av system påverkar sågverk och vidareförädling av trämaterialet angående krav på certifierad råvara samt registrering av produkter.
De viktigaste incitamenten till att certifiera nyproducerade byggnader är marknadsförings- och kommunikationsmässiga fördelar samt gröna lån. Respondenterna vittnade om att det idag även är vedertaget att nyproducerade byggnader innehar någon typ av certifiering. De främsta fördelarna med hållbarhetscertifieringarna är underlättande av kommunikationen mellan intressenter, att de utgör verifikat på kvalité, att de utgör en marknadsföringsmässig fördel samt är pådrivande i branschens hållbarhetsarbete. De främsta nackdelarna med hållbarhetscertifieringarna är det stora antalet av system, vilket bidrar till omfattande administrativ belastning och ökade kostnader. En del respondenter ansåg att i och med certifieringarna har certifieringsprocessen utvecklats till en typ av poängjakt där funktion åsidosätts. De främsta kvalitéerna hos en optimal certifiering omfattar färre certifieringssystem, är gemensamma för hela branschen, fokuserar på byggnadens holistiska hållbarhetsprestanda och större fokus på cirkularitet. Angående certifieringarnas framtid menar respondenterna att innehållet i befintliga system kommer öka, det kommer att bli fler certifieringssystem och intresset att redovisa hållbarhetsåtaganden kommer vara fortsatt starkt. För sågverk är kraven på certifierat virke centralt för strategin angående anskaffning av råvara. Respondenterna tror på ökad efterfrågan av certifierat virke. En stor andel av respondenterna har redan krav på att virket i projekt ska vara certifierat.
One of the greatest challenges of our time involves meeting the climate crisis and increased demand on living standards from a growing global population. There is a global movement of people from rural to urban areas, which is putting pressure on housing markets worldwide. Globally, the construction sector accounts for 30–40 percent of the primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Expectations are high from stakeholders for companies to take responsibility for sustainable development. Companies that communicate sustainability commitments to the market in a reliable way generate competitive advantages. For the construction industry, there are several alternative third-party certifications for this purpose.
The study aims to explain the conditions for certification as a source for sustainable development. The study focuses on the construction industry's perspective and requirements for sustainability certification for newly produced buildings and the certification's effects on the value chain. The study focuses on the value chain of wood-based building materials and includes sawmills, further processing of the wood, retailers, the market and authorises. The study is carried out on behalf of AB Karl Hedin Sawmill and Building supplier. To reach the aim of the study, an inductive approach is applied. The study has a flexible research design and is structured according to a qualitative case study. The study's primary empirical data consists of written documentation and interviews. The interviews are semi-structured and were conducted in the autumn/winter of the year 2022. The respondents are selected subjectively based on profession, expertise, knowledge and experience in the construction industry and sustainability certifications. The respondents are divided into the stakeholder groups Business partners, Companies, Customers, External influencers and Authorisers. The empirical material is analysed via inductive content analysis. The interviews are transcribed and categorised through open coding.
The main sustainability certifications in the Swedish real estate market are Svanen, Miljöbyggnad, BREEAM and LEED. The organisation SGBC is responsible for and develope the Swedish-developed certification Miljöbyggnad and the international certifications BREEAM and LEED. Svanen is responsible for and develope the certification Svanen. Structure, criteria and credit systems vary between the certification systems. Svanen tends to be applied for buildings developed for private consumers. Miljöbyggnad is applied to buildings developed for private, commercial and public consumers. BREEAM and LEED are mainly applied to buildings developed for commercial consumers and when international stakeholders are involved in projects. The certification systems include material requirements and that material used in the building is noted and saved in a logbook. The Swedish construction industry primarily uses BASTA, Byggvarubedömningen, SundaHus and Husproduktportalen to assess building materials and offer that logbook service.
Two main factors for increased certification rate are identified; The EU and consumers' expectations of sustainable businesses. The EU controls capital flows in the private sector. EU regulations influence lenders who develop green frameworks for sustainable investments. The lender sells green bonds on the capital market to investors who want to invest sustainably. From green bonds, sustainable projects are financed via green loans. A green loan is more advantageous for the borrower. For the borrower/customer of a building to be eligible for a green loan, sustainability is required throughout the value chain. The requirements often result in a certification and building material assessment system. The choice of the system affects sawmills and further processing of the wood regarding requirements for certified raw materials and registration of products.
The most important incentives to certify newly produced buildings are marketing and communication benefits and green loans. The respondents testified that it is expected that newly produced buildings possess some kind of certification. The main advantages of sustainability certifications are that they facilitate communication between stakeholders, provide evidence of quality, generate marketing advantages and pursue the sustainability work of the construction sector. The main disadvantages of sustainability certifications are the quantity, comprehensive administration and increased costs. Some respondents experience that the certification process has developed to a chase of scores where the function of the building is omitted. The main qualities of an optimal certification include fewer certification systems, more focus on the holistic sustainability performance of a building and a greater focus on circularity. Regarding the future of the certification systems, the respondents thought that the content of the existing systems will increase, there will be more certification systems and the interest in reporting sustainability commitments will remain strong. For sawmills, the requirements for certified wood are central to the strategy regarding raw material procurement. The respondents believe in increased demand for certified wood. A large proportion of the respondents already require that the wood in projects is certified
Equine welfare assessment
Get PDFThis thesis examines positive parameters for assessing horse welfare. The purpose of the study was to examine what positive welfare parameters there are, and if they are valid or not. Data has been collected through a literature review. Findings suggest that behavioural indicators like yawning, vacuum chewing and play are not valid. In addition, physiological parameters also lack validation.
The thesis also examined valid positive welfare parameters. Horses living under natural conditions display behaviour related to good welfare. Relationships are also important, i.e. the social bonds with conspecifics but also the human-animal bond. Further, cognition and learning are closely related to emotions. Time budget studies and social bond analyses are suitable methods for assessing horse welfare with positive parameters
Att formge Norbergs platsidentitet
Get PDFDetta arbete handlar om att tolka en plats och som utomstående betraktare förstå dess identitet. Att tolka en plats handlar om att förstå vad som gör platsen speciell, därav syftar arbetet till att undersöka en platsidentitet, vad som kännetecknar den och hur den kan ta sig uttryck i en gestaltning. Norbergs samhälle uppstod i anslutning till järnfyndigheter som gav upphov till bergsbruk och är en plats med anor från medeltiden som idag förvaltar ett kulturarv. I Norberg sammanstrålar malmen, skogen och vattnet – element som definierar Norberg som ort. Centrala Norberg är strategiskt beläget utmed Norbergsån som rinner från sjön Noren och förbinder platsen med omvärlden. Utmed ån i centrala Norberg sträcker sig ett parkstråk som Norbergs kommun ämnar göra mer attraktivt och tillgängligt. Detta arbete besvarar frågan “vad kännetecknar Norbergs platsidentitet och hur kan den uttryckas i en omgestaltning av en del av det centrala parkstråket utmed Norbergsån?” genom att utgå ifrån teorier om platsidentitet och hur den identifieras. För att identifiera platsidentiteten genomfördes platsbesök och intervjuer i Norberg, litteraturstudier, platsanalys utifrån valda teorier samt referensbesök till andra platser.
Som utgångspunkt för vår gestaltning utifrån en platsidentitet använde vi oss av Norbergs förråd av strukturer, element och rumsligheter av symbolisk mening och omvandlade dessa till fysiska element som representerar platsen. Arbetets frågeställning besvaras med ett gestaltningsförslag för parkstråket som går i Norbergs mänskliga skala med strukturer, material och färger som återfinns i byn. Stråket förses med nya tillgängliga stråk, entréer och funktioner, i linje med det som uppskattas av invånare och besökare. Sociala och historiska värden får utrymme i gestaltningsförslaget utifrån vad undersökningen visade att Norbergs platsidentitet domineras av. En platsidentitet fastställdes i arbetet som en sammanvägning av helheten - vad som format platsen till det den är idag, hur den använts tidigare och hur den används nu, samt vilka sociala strukturer som råder på platsen. Framtiden får utvisa om gestaltningsförslaget blir en representativ plats för Norbergs platsidentitet, då det till stor del handlar om människorna som använder och har använt platsen.The central subject of this thesis is the interpretation of a place as an outside observer, for the purpose of capturing its identity. Interpreting a place is a matter of identifying that which defines that place in particular. Hence, our work consists in exploring the identity of a place, its defining features and how these features can be represented in spatial design. The town of Norberg, in Västmanland County, Sweden, was established in close proximity to ore deposits, giving rise to an iron mining industry dating back to medieval times, which today constitutes a defining cultural heritage. The town centre of Norberg is strategically located on the river Norbergsån, flowing from lake Noren and connecting the town to the world. In Norberg, the iron ore, the surrounding forests, and the water of the traversing river, converge to form the backdrop as well as the central elements of the town’s place identity. Along the river in central Norberg, the municipality is looking to reshape the riverside parks into a more attractive and accessible public space. This thesis, using theory on place identity and how to capture it as a starting point, aims to address the following question: ‘What defines the place identity of Norberg and how may it be represented in the refashioning of a segment of Norberg’s central riverside parks?’ To this end, we conducted field work and interviews in Norberg, as well as reference excursions to other relevant sites. Field work, interviews and excursions were analysed with reference to the theoretical literature.
We used Norberg’s existing plethora of symbolic structures, elements, and spatial features as a point of departure for our design, reinterpreting these in physical elements representing the place. A design proposal for a chosen segment of the riverside parks, in which Norberg’s humane scale and familiar structures, materials and colour schemes are reproduced, is presented as an answer to the research question set out above. The park area is furnished with accessible pathways, entrances, and functions, in line with the preferences of local inhabitants and visitors. Social and historical values are bought to the fore, drawing on the analysis of the place identity of Norberg. In this thesis, a place identity is described as the totality of historical influences, uses to which the place has been put in the past as well as the present, and social structures shaping the local community’s outlook on the place. Time will tell whether our design proposal successfully captures the place identity of Norberg, for which the adoption and use of the inhabitants and visitors is the ultimate litmus test