Trädgårdsgatan, Skellefteå
From strategy to social street
How can social sustainability become something more than a heavy policy document? In Skellefteå, Tengbom is working together with the municipality and local stakeholders to explore how social values can become a concrete part of everyday urban life. On Trädgårdsgatan, a full-scale prototype is now being developed where ideas around safety, community, and inclusion are tested directly in the real environment.
The project is part of Society Expo 2026 and builds on a longer process involving workshops, urban walks, and pilot projects where residents, property owners, municipal officials, and community organizations have jointly explored the city’s social needs. The goal has been to develop methods and tools that can be integrated into the municipality’s long-term urban development processes.
On Trädgårdsgatan, we are translating this work into a temporary and vibrant urban environment with greenhouses, a stage, pergolas, play environments, seating areas, and green meeting spaces. Here, social sustainability takes physical form through places that encourage people to stay longer, meet one another, and use the city in new ways.
” The project has given us new insights into how social values can be integrated early in urban planning. Through the pilot projects, we have been able to test ideas in real environments and gain a better understanding of how public spaces are used and experienced,” says Harriet Wistemar, Municipal Architect at the Municipality of Skellefteå.
Social sustainability in practice
Skellefteå is a rapidly growing city where new housing, workplaces, and public environments are reshaping the urban landscape at a fast pace. At the same time, questions regarding safety, participation, and access to shared meeting places are becoming increasingly important.
At Tengbom, we led the development of a methodology for socially sustainable living environments, where social values are analyzed and connected to concrete spatial qualities. Focus areas included health, equality, safety, inclusion, and community.
“Social sustainability must become something tangible that can be actively integrated into everyday work and actual urban planning. It is about understanding how people use and experience their environments – and then developing concrete solutions that respond to those needs,” explains Ulrika Signal, Lead Planning Architect at Tengbom.
The work is based on Socially Sustainable Living Environments – Tengbom’s methodology for value-driven urban development. Here, analysis, dialogue, and physical design are interwoven. Through workshops and site analyses, the project team identified which social values already exist in different places and which need to be strengthened.
” We need to build cities where people not only live and work, but also feel a sense of belonging and participation. That is where social sustainability begins.”
Ulrika Signal
A street for many
The prototype on Trädgårdsgatan is organized around different “gardens” with varying functions and target groups. There is a cultural garden with a stage and space for events, an activity garden with playful installations and greenhouses, as well as calmer environments with communal tables, pergolas, and sunlit seating areas.
Many of the functions are free of charge and designed to be used by people of different backgrounds and ages. The ambition is to create a street that feels open and welcoming to many, rather than programmed for one specific target group.
” What makes temporary prototypes so interesting is that they allow us to test ideas in reality. We can observe how people use the spaces, what works well, and what needs to be further developed,” continues Ulrika Signal.
The installations become a shared platform for dialogue about how the city’s public environments can be improved in the long term.
Tools for future urban development
For the Municipality of Skellefteå, the project is not only about Trädgårdsgatan itself, but also about implementing strategic methods for social sustainability in future urban development processes. The experiences gained can be applied to everything from detailed planning to the development of residential neighborhoods, schools, and public spaces.
” The experiences from the pilot projects will become an important foundation for our continued urban development work in Skellefteå. The lessons learned will be carried forward into future work with public environments and meeting places,” says Harriet Wistemar.
During Society Expo 2026, Trädgårdsgatan will serve both as an exhibition and as a testbed for Skellefteå’s urban environments. Here, research, urban development, and everyday life come together at full scale.
