Culturally adaptable public places for all in all climatic conditions : The study case of Råneå, a small town in North Sweden

• Main Author: Balanzat, Lucile
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Technology; Winter climate; Inclusive design; Culture; Maintenance; Public places; Teknik; North Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-54493

A winter city does not work as a summer one. However few literature include the winter conditions to the design of the cities. The aim of this study was thus to investigate how to design culturally adaptable public places in cold climatic conditions for all users. The public places have been studied with three perspectives: climate, culture, and maintenance. A literature review was first carried out followed by the practical study case of the small and diverse town of Råneå, Sweden. Collection of municipal data, passive field observations, semi-structured interviews of eight inhabitants and of one maintenance department and mental maps were conducted to find and analyse practical examples where public places are not designed for an inclusive use in all climatic conditions. The global potentials and challenges of winter cities have thus been outlined. The results have finally exhibited a lack of communications and cooperation between all the actors involved in the public spaces and a need of further researches on the in-between seasons. Validerat; 20140619 (global_studentproject_submitter)