The theme of this essay is the principle of free access to the Swedish Public Libraries, and its aim is to fmd out the opinion of adult visitors of such libraries as regards the introduction of fees on the borrowing of books, already existing fees such as reservation fees, charges for interlibrary loans and charges for the late return of books.The main part of our survey comprises questionnaires that were handed out to 100 visitors at the Norrkoping City Library and 100 visitors at the Eskilstuna City and Provincial Library. In order to illustrate the fee problem from another angle, interviews with staff people from the two libraries were carried out A large part of the essay consists of material aiming to give a general picture of the subject, e.g. how the "free of charge principle" is tied to the Swedish library system, what arguments have been presented to maintain or reverse this principle, and a comparison of the relative situation in other countries. As the conception of popular education is so basic for the "free of charge principle", we also account for the idea of popular education.The result of our questionnaire shows, among other things, that 60,9% cannot consider paying for any of the free services offer by the libraries today, 21,3% answered that they could possibly consider paying for some of the services and 17,8% answered that they didn't know. 76% would rather pay for a library card than stop borrowing books altogether..

Reading spaceFurniture for reading for the new city library of GöteborgThe main purpose of my project has been to inspire people to read books at the library. I wanted to create something very site specific and chose a room on the second floor of the new city library to work with. To be able to relax, feel inspired and to concentrate on reading, the visitors of the library need to experience a sense of security. My solution to the different conditions or problems in the room and the needs I identified is a seat hanging inside a frame. When sitting down in the seat, the frame is low enough to see over but it is still experienced as a private spatiality.

The ways designers work with craftsmen in other countries can vary alot,but still there are many similarities. In this study we make comparisonsbetween a number of projects involving three different designers and artisansin other countries and parallel that to our own work in South Africa.What we have seen is that there is some common denominators betweenthe different projects that are being taken care of in different ways.Some things that commonly attract the designers seem to be the skills ofthe craftsmen, as well as their colouring, patterns and materials. A furthercommon denominator in the projects is that people?s perception of qualityhas become an important issue. The products that are being developedare often sold in the country of the designer, and therefore a needto insure that the quality of the products is up to the standards expectedin that certain country has occurred.

Northeast Stockholm is a region developing fast. There is already a great need for new transport solutions for the people commuting to the city, since long queues slow down car traffic and the local railway, Roslagsbanan, needs to be upgraded to attract more travelers. The competitive advantage of rail?traffic over the car when it comes to greenhouse gases and air pollutants is another reason to develop Roslagsbanan.This report investigates the differences between car and train to create a basis for a proposed expansion of Roslagsbanan. Once the proposal is presented, costs, emissions reductions and public benefits are analyzed.

This is an essay about gated communities and their impact on society. The key questions of my essay are: why people choose to live in gated communities; how the city is impacted by gated communities and what the difference concerning the reasons and impact of gated communities in Florida and Sweden is, and what this difference might depend on. I am using postmodern urbanism as a starting point, and I look closer on Edward J. Soja?s theories about the postmodern metropolis.

This is a thesis about design of young stands of trees. A big source of inspiration has been Västerskog and Tor Nitzelius Park in Alnarp which both consists of a structure of squares. I wanted to examine if this type of planting could be valuable from an aesthetic and recreational point of view. One problem today is that many people believe that we have to wait for decades for a planting to grow up so that we can enjoy the ?ready result?.

In this literature review the cemetery is studied in its role as a public space in an urban context. To be able to scrutinize the cemetery?s relationship to the public domain in the future, the cemetery?s background and history is studied in the beginning of the essay. The cemetery?s connection to the church, as well as a variety of other factors such as economic, architecture, hygienic aspects and different ideals has influenced the cemetery to be the place it is today.

Vår uppsats undersöker, om hur möjligheterna för utbyte av information samt samarbete mellan Telecom Citymedlemmarna kan förbättras, med ändamålet att stärka deras konkurrenskraft gentemot externa konkurrenter..

Street art can be defined as an artistic expression, often anonymous and illegal, which is constructed in the public environment. The purpose of this essay is to provide a broad and balanced picture of what street art can mean. The aim is to examine street art as a phenomenon. What features has the phenomenon and in what ways is it important for the creators, spectators and place? This paper focuses on graffiti.

This study focuses on the politics around ecological sustainable development in Sweden today, with emphasis on urban development, building and living. The starting-point for this study is the environmental adapted city district of Stockholm, Hammarby Sjöstad. The primary focus of the study is to investigate what means of control the environmental investment in Hammarby Sjöstad is expressing, and to elucidate their ideological, political and social implications. The empirical material is primarily based up on the local Hammarby Sjöstad environmental program along with qualitative in-depth interviews with citizens of this district. The study is based on critical discourse analysis The result of this study is that the ecological investment in Hammarby Sjöstad partly constitutes a hidden exercise of power, taking shape as built-in physical measures in the dwellings and the neighbouring surroundings.

Hällaryd archipelago, consisiting of approx. 50 islands, islets and skerries, is situated east of Karlshamn city in Blekinge province. The archipelago has been shaped into a rift valley by volcanic activity, the inland ice and maritime climate.The archipelago is divided into seven main islands: Bockö, Västra Bokö, Ekö, Hallö, Joggesö, Mjöö and Tärnö. This essay will connect population changes with land use.

The practice of landscape architectural involves forming the space in our cities and suburbs, as well as the landscape surrounding. The need of exploiting green environment leads up to, among other issues, flood problem during heavy rain and overfed water environments. The problem is partially caused by the shortage of knowledge, how the environment is responding of the innovations made by the city- urban planning and how to get sustainability. Research and knowledge how to take care of our environment, in a natural way, is increasing. The object of the thesis is to propose control and balance in urban wetlands, and discuss the difference a plant design can do. The thesis deals with discourses in the field of landscape architecture, biological diversity, dam construction, limnology, planting design and management, pollution of the environment and urban design practice.

Children are said to be the future of our society. Hence, how we take care of our children is a cause of concern. This is evident in much of the social work that is carried out in Sweden. One of the times when we find children to be the most vulnerable is when they, for different reasons, are separated from their biological families and placed in foster care. Based on the fact that Sweden over the last century has experienced an increased immigration intake we wanted to take a closer look on how this change of the population dynamics has influenced foster care in the country.

The way we design our cities today will affect the living conditions for future generations. Planning as a discipline can become crucial to attain a sustainable urban development with an increased quality of life among the urban population and an improved environment. Urban Agriculture in the Sustainable City -a case study in Managua is a Diploma Work that deal with poverty issues, aspects of sustainability and development work. We have had a theoretical starting-point, but our focus has been on the case study i.e. the practical part, that we carried out in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Today about half of the worlds 6,3 billion people live in cities. The demographic growth of the countryside has declined, while the population in the cities is considerably increasing.

A proposal of a new path from the inner town of Gävle to a small cultural area in the seaside. The thesis contains historical background, analysis over town and the area, and a proposal of a new shape for the postindustrial area near the stream called Gavleån. .