Abstract

Urban areas of developed countries are facing problems with limited on-street parking places. The

overconsumption of cars leads to an unfeasible amount of them in urban space. The urban space

is divided unequally between motorist and pedestrians. Consequently, public spaces are being

occupied with cars that block pedestrian’s ability to walk and see the views of the city.

Stockholm’s population is increasing every year which leads to the spread of urban sprawl. Urban

sprawl is the spread of an urban area into what used to be the countryside. Urban sprawl, creates

further distances. This contributes to inner city and suburban populations having increased

motivation to purchasing motor vehicles. There are different facilities for parking cars, however

on-street parking is the most common one. These spaces and the area around them are not only

used by motorists but also by pedestrians. This study has chosen Stockholm’s inner city as its

worksite for research and investigation.

The use of cars is damaging our environment. This can be seen through the loss of habitat and

release of carbon emissions which has an effect on the well-being of people and animals. To

decrease this problem the reduction of private transportation needs to be taken into consideration.

Nevertheless, cars not only damage air quality but also occupy a lot of space that could potentially

be used by pedestrians as well. In this paper, we identify pedestrians as not only those who walk

but also those using non-motorized vehicles (i.e. bikes, skateboards and etc.) and assistance

devices (i.e. wheelchairs). The needs of these types of travelers must be considered as well.

This project proposes a method for making on-street parking accessible and usable by pedestrians.

The aim of the project is to bring a balance in to public space that is heavily dominated by motor

vehicles. It also aims to raise awareness around the subject of motor vehicles, overconsumption

and, public space occupation.

The focus of this independent project is on on-street parking places and how those spaces and the

areas around them are being occupied not only by motorists but also by pedestrians. This papers

focus is on what needs to be done in order to reclaim the public space. Design activism and social

movement practices were analyzed through different examples. Several workshops and interviews

were conducted. This initial research lead to the development of the final design proposition;

pedestrian body parking artifact.