The aim of this inquiry was to investigate the most appropriate measures to reduce noise impacts from road traffic on the Nydala recreational area in Umeå municipality due to the planned re-routing of the E4 motorway to an existing road along this area. The sound environment is an important part in the experience when we are visiting recreational areas. Noise is not only disturbing; the liberty from unwanted sounds also allows us to perceive natural sounds that are a benefit for the cultural experience. Therefore it is important to take actions to protect this well used area from traffic noise. The reasonable options to avoid noise impact in this case are to lower the speed limit, using a noise reducing coating or use noise protection screens and walls.

The aim of this paperisto find out which plants the Cistercian monks might have cultivated in Sweden during the Middle Ages and which types of plants it would have been practical to grow inside or outside of the Cistercian monastery precinct. Archaeologicaland archaeobotanical studies have been consulted to find out which plants were available in Sweden during the Middle Ages. Examples, mainly from Scandinavia, but also from the continent, are used to show that the monasteries were large institutionsthat had to feed a large number of people and that there would not have been enough space to cultivate everything needed within the monastery precinct.Secondary sources have in the main been used to gather this information, except in the case of the Swedish monastery of Nydala where F-Topo, a database developed by the County Museum of Jönköping,has been used to analyse the amount of land and the types of properties owned by the monastery.The conclusion is that for practical reasons the monks would have cultivated plants that needed to be close at hand, that were rare or delicate, that could not be stored for long periods and that were used in small quantities within the monastery precinct. This would include medicinal plants, herbs for cooking and some vegetables like lettuce, spinach,and similar,that do not keep well. Most other items, grains, cabbages, root vegetables, peas and beans could equally well be cultivated outside the walls.

When we, in the turn of the year 07/08 moved to Holma, Malmö,I and my cohabiter immediately joined the self-managementon our tenement yard, partly because we both missed havinga garden since we moved to an apartment, partly becauseof the rent reduction. The aim with this thesis is to examinehow the common outdoor environment in tenement yards isaffected when the tenets themselves are responsible for themaintenance. But also to see what social affects self-managementbrings. The purpose is to increase the understanding of howself-management works in practice and how we as landscapearchitects need to adjust ourselves and our design to create alasting design that works when the tenets are in charge of theirown outdoor environment.I have been studying a number of tenement yards with selfmanagement,both municipal and private tenement houses. I havestudied both their design and their self-management, how it isworking and how it is organized partly trough deep interviewsand also by questionnaires to the tenets of the yards in question.I found three tenement yards with some differences.

The main purpose of this M. Sc. thesis is to increase the knowledge about managing urban forestry for recreational use. The analysis is focusing on differences between visitors? experiences in the north and south of Sweden, represented by Nydalasjön and by Härlanda tjärn.