Planera för integration
med utgångspunkt i projektet Norra Sorgenfri
Integration is a concept that is very topical in today's multicultural-cultural society. Integration means that everyone should have the same rights, opportunities and obligations to society, regardless of extraction. What counteract integration is segregation, which implies a distinction between different groups and where there exist an inequality between them. Segregation is widespread in Sweden today and the exclusion that it creates needs to be broken.
The aim of this paper is to examine if it is possible to promote integra-tion through physical planning. By studying government and municipal reports and publications, as well as other literature, I have tried to high-light the objectives and strategies that can be used to create a more equal society. To get a reality I have chosen to look at the plans for the Malmö area Norra Sorgenfri. Malmö has a large proportion of the population with foreign origin and have problems with segregation, where the division is mainly between the Eastern and Western parts of the city. The project of Norra Sorgenfri is meant to serve as a bridge between these two parts, a place where the entire population of Malmö can meet. By creating a district with a large variety of functions and experiences Malmö hope that North Sorgenfri will give the citizens of Malmö a common identity and pride.
Meetings are a red line through the integration process; by meeting the "other" in everyday life it will create an understanding and a sense of security. The possibilities for meetings across borders must be in-creased, whether in terms of jobs, in public places or in residential ar-eas.
It is important to recognize that integration is not about "we" and "them" but that we are a whole and that it requires efforts by all city residents to overcome segregation problems. Work must be done at multiple levels and over the borders, both horizontally and vertically.