Water constructions - as a design element in public spaces is the title of this Master thesis, with a focus on waters function and meaning in the urban environment. By way of introduction, mans relationship to places is described and the factors that contribute to the reality that we prefer some places more than others. A good place to stay is open but well defined, gives protection, offers a good view and is varying in topography and vegetation, together with contents of single landscape elements like visible water. This study then continues to discuss mans relationship to water and its means for our wellbeing. Despite the fact that people have a different relations to water due to personality, background and age, it?s an element that raises positive feelings, interest and aesthetic pleasure for most people.

This essays overarching aim is to contribute to the theoretical discussion of transformation processes that are shaping the urban landscapes and further to problematize contemporary planning discourses in Sweden. Drawing on the concept of Foucault?s heterotopia and actor-network theory for spatial analysis, the paper seeks to analyze the complex urban landscape transformation process as an emergent property of human and non-human actor-networks seeking to transform and order space. With the district of Rosenlund in Gothenburg as a starting point, this thesis intends to examine how the cultural infrastructure - used by the residents and visitors of the city - are related to the city's planning and development processes. The case study is based on a boat (Rio Rio) in Rosenlund canal that is defined as a cultural infrastructure.

My final essay is a design proposal for a schoolyard that pertains to the senses. The proposal consists of an illustration plan and this paper. The design proposal takes start in sense stimulation to create a varied environment. The title leads to the concept ?surprisingly predictable?.

This master thesis is made in co-operation with the Department of Forest Management and Products at the Swedish University of Agriculture in Uppsala and the Forestry Association in Stockholm. The purpose of the Master thesis was to describe how pre-schools in Sweden use forests and green areas, and to understand how different factors can affect the use of the nature. The purpose of the interviews was to create a picture of attitudes and routines of the pre-schools, in the matter of visiting the nature. The thesis is built on interviews where fifteen pre-schools in five large cities around Sweden participated. Among these pre-schools, five of them worked with special focus on nature, while the other ten did not have any particular focus connected to their activity.

The objective of this essay is, from the golf perspective including the golf courses' physical attributes, golf club management, members of the golf club and golf course designers, to explore possibilities for making existing golf courses more multifunctional. The purpose of this is to increase the understanding for golf courses' role as part of the landscape and comprehension regarding possible opportunities around them to exploit and develop.The increased pressure of population in peri-urban areas has resulted in a greater need for accessible recreation, particularly in the isolated farmland. As a result, land is sometimes used against landowners' will, which is a deficiency that is the basis for many conflicts between farmers and landowners.In the current situation, there is a negative trend in golf with reduced interest and fewer golfers than in the past. As a result, many of Sweden's golf courses have financial problems and are therefore trying to find new ways to avoid bankruptcy. Sweden's existing golf courses occupy about 30 000 hectares of land, of which a very large percentage are located in peri-urban areas.

Begreppet ekosystemtjänster kan användas för att tydliggöra värdet av landskapets funktioner och därmed underlätta kommunikation mellan markanvändare då olika intressen konkurrerar. Emellertid finns det få studier som inkluderar en kvantitativ eller kvalitativ värdering av ekosystemtjänster på landskapsnivå. I detta arbete har markanvändning och ekosystemtjänster studerats i ett landskapsperspektiv, med Vilhelmina Model Forest (VMF) som studieområde. Den övergripande frågan i VMF är hur rennäring kan kombineras med andra markanvändningsintressen, huvudsakligen skogsbruk. Syftet med studien var att göra en kvantitativ värdering av markanvändningsintressen och ekosystemtjänster.

This is a bachelor thesis about arable land in Varberg, from sustainability and it?s relation to local government and management. Arable land has become more important as a natural resource from a global point of view and in concerns of higher demands of food supply, as a result of population growth, higher consumption worldwide and climate change. But the arable land in Sweden is being exploited an increasingly rapid pace and the arable land in Varberg is not an exception of this development. The issue is most topical and the discussion holds questions about a declining agricultural sector, the formal and administrative protection of arable land and because other interests of land use often is given higher priority in community development and planning.

Ruins and derelict places have since long fascinated and attracted humans. With my starting point in the wild vegetation and the spontaneous activities taking place on derelict land and in industrial ruins, I explore with help from the theoretical sociology, what creates not only this fascination but also fear. The purpose of the thesis is to explore and exemplify how the industrial ruin as a place outside the restrictions and control as well as design intentions of modern society can be used as an inspiration in a landscape architecture context.The modern city consists of areas and places with a well defined purpose. A piece of derelict land or a disused building is instead ambiguous, undefined and open for new purposes. However described in negative terms, these placesare often perceived as places of mystery and magic.

In the centre of Bromma, east of Brommaplan is the part of Bromma named Riksby. Riksby was built in the early 1940:s as a part of the westward expansion of Stockholm. Other places that were built at the same time was for ex. Stora Mossen and Abrahamsberg. This work is about the outdoor environment of the housing co-operative of Brickbandet.

The purpose has been to, by the means of literature studies and conversation, give landscape architects, teachers or other interested people an increased understanding of school gardens as a phenomenon. One episode in the essay describes school garden?s historical background and how its ideology has changed as the society has developed. A conversation with a spokesperson for Södermalmsskolan in Stockholm, depict how a communal public school handles the management of a school garden today. I have also wanted to present the conditions that society and the schools organisation has put on the management of the garden on this particular school. In the year of 2007 Södermalmsskolan got the opportunity to found its school garden thanks to the environmental campaigns that were realized by the city of Stockholm.

An inquiry into the post-war European aesthetic and political landscape should take the international organization Unesco?s colour reproductions and travelling exhibitions of paintings into consideration. In these, the organization implements André Malraux? idea of the ?imaginary museum? as a framework for a future cosmopolitical, aesthetic (and utopian) community. During the late 1940?s, the Swedish government also discusses the need for raising an ?aesthetic awareness? amongst their citizens as a consequence to a poor knowledge in the fine arts.

In recent years many cities have seen an increase in bicycle traffic. This is a development that benefits both the environment and the individual cyclist. When the need for bicycle parking is not met several problems arise such as an increase in bicycle thefts, jammed sidewalks and a decreased interest in using bicycles. My aim with this paper has been to answer the question of how to create parking facilities in an urban environment based on cyclists' needs. Through a literature survey, following the method "Trattmodellen" (the funnel model) the question has been answered and divided under the headings cyclist, bike, bicycle racks, bicycle garage and bicycle operators and hosts.

Humans have inhabited mountainous areas in northern Sweden since the end of the last glacial period, ca 8000 B.P., and their presence has marked the landscape in various ways. Older traces include the remains of hearths and dwelling sites, but there are also remains, such as culturally modified trees (CMT's), resulting from more recent activities in forested areas. This study aimed to document how people, both indigenous Sami's and Swedish settlers, have used an area northwest of Ammarnäs in Västerbotten, during the last 300 years, and what traces their activities have left in the area. I used historical records as well as an inventory of CMT's in the area to address this aim. Historical records of Sami activity are meagre, but it is clear that the people of the Ran and Gran Sami villages utilized the area long before 1500 A.D.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the conditions that prevail when companies put their marketing in social media with the purpose of creating a perception of the risks and opportunities it brings to businesses and ultimately how it may affect the corporate image and identity.Theories: The basis of the problem area are presented through a theoretical framework with the purpose of highlighting the notions of social media, communi- cation, marketing communication, groundswell, corporate identity and image.Methodology: To investigate the research questions this study adopted a qualitative approach in which the authors study the properties of a phenomenon in order to seek a deeper understanding of the problems we have presented. There is an exploratory approach to knowledge and the authors have chosen to conduct qualitative research interviews based upon three themes: driving forces, challenges and impacts.Conclusion: The study revealed that traditional models of communication are no longer applicable in social media. Companies are up for a challenge and must clarify their sole purpose when establishing communication in the social landscape. The general motivation for marketing in social media is making profit, however, building relationships is not a natural motive for most companies. The risks companies expe- rience is the exposure caused by social media and the study also reveals that this fear is firmly attached to their lack of knowledge of these new channels of communicat- ion and their primary areas of use which indicates that skilled employees plays a vi- tal role with their use of social media in their communication process.

Vomb meadows is an area well knows for its rich bird life. During the 19:thcentury until mid 20:th century, the meadows were flooded annually in order toincrease the hay yield. The river Klingavälsån situated along the west side of themeadows, used to be a shallow river, meandering across the landscape. In the1940?s the river was straightened and made deeper.