Now central Älvsbyn will be developed: "Think long-term and dig where you stand"

How can the center of Älvsbyn become more attractive and pleasant? How can we make the functions of the city center connect in a good way and get rid of “dead” areas? These are questions that are now being explored in a site development project that Arctic Design Center is running. They have, among others, 17 students at Luleå University of Technology to help them. “I hope to get many creative but still feasible suggestions,” says Sofia Lundberg, community planner at Älvsbyn Municipality.

It was a sunny September morning when Älvsbyn was visited by a busload of curious students. They took their seats in the beautiful council chamber together with the other actors within Site development projects of existing environments in Norrbotten municipalitiesFor the vast majority of students it was their first time in Älvsbyn. None of them are from Norrbotten, and two of them are from other countries in Europe.

– It feels a bit surreal to be here now because we started talking about this in February. Then we started talking about the place, the municipal center, developing its attractiveness and making it more welcoming to new people, said Carolina Lundmark Weinz, who is project manager for Arctic Design Center in Norrbotten.

– How can we get to the location, work with the municipality, the university and the Co-Creation Agency and really make a change?

The students from Luleå University of Technology first saw a presentation of the city's problematic places, and then saw them in reality, took photographs and made notes.

“Unfinished puzzle”

Arctic Design Center is a project that aims to strengthen the work with the policy area for designed living environments – that is, the living environments created by humans. All over Norrbotten there are places that are in great need of development. They can be run-down, unpleasant or just have bad flows. And Älvsbyn has several problems to deal with. The community planners from the municipality described the city center as an unfinished puzzle.

The bus station moved to the train station a few years ago, which was good in many ways, but now the city center is spread out in a way that doesn't really work. Another problem is discovering the city center at all if you are not familiar with Älvsbyn before. There are two critical roundabouts: one where you can turn off towards Storforsen or the mountains without going into the city, and one just before the city center where you turn off towards Arvidsjaur and Arjeplog.

The LTU students will now try to find the missing pieces of the puzzle. They are participating as part of the courses Sustainable urban development and Urban environmentThey were now allowed to go on a guided city walk to visit the problem areas, get a first impression, and take photographs and notes.

You should go that way to eventually find the main street in Älvsbyn - but it's not so easy to know.

If a traveler nevertheless turns towards the city, perhaps to continue towards Arvidsjaur and Arjeplog, there is another critical roundabout. The students stood in the middle of it to look in all directions. The community planners were able to show how easy it is to see the two gas stations and the ICA store next to the roundabout and think that you have seen Älvsbyn.

The ICA store moved to a new building a few hundred meters away, and the old one has been empty and closed for ten years – right in the city center. Now a new property owner has taken over and is updating the building, so maybe things are changing.

– Now they are making a mall or an office landscape there. Right now they are updating the appearance of the facade. It will be really interesting to see what happens, said Sofia Lundberg.

Opposite the old ICA store, and next to the new one, there is just a large gravel lot. There used to be a school there that burned down in 2009. The municipality wanted to build an apartment building there, but no investor has taken the plunge. Instead, the gravel lot has become a parking lot and a place for dumping snow.

What should the municipality of Älvsbyn do about the huge gravel field that has appeared in the middle of town? This is a question that the students will explore within the framework of the courses. 

– This saves snow from the streets, when it melts it gets really ugly. This is also a tricky intersection, it's not 90 degrees so you can't see very well, says Sofia.

The municipality's urban planner describes this location as the most problematic. No one walks here. All there is is a huge parking lot and a "dead building" that has been there for ten years. In other words, there is a lot of potential for improvement.

“Imagine a lighted skating rink”

The city walk took us further towards a small park with a small pond, a new pump track and a café in the summer. It's nice there, but there is no connection between the place and the main street. The houses on Storgatan have their backs to the park, with loading docks and parking lots. It's almost like a wall separating the park from the center.

– This is a nice place but everything is closed this way. They would have liked to open it up. Imagine a square here. Imagine a lighted skating rink here in the winter. Then the place is not used for anything, said Carolina.

Carolina Lundmark Weinz, project manager for Arctic Design Center, sees potential in the park area a block from the main street. Couldn't the small pond become an ice skating rink?

Storgatan has had a facelift in recent years, with new pavements and nice lampposts. But there is also development potential here. Sofia Lundberg immediately picked up an idea from one of the students.

– Something as simple as which side you place the parking spaces on. It would have a big effect to move them to the shady side.

“Solving real problems”

It is precisely these kinds of encounters with reality, where theories can become practice, that course leader and assistant university lecturer Jing Ma is looking for.

“We want students to learn the theories of urban planning and concepts of urban design. But we want them to really work practically to be able to apply the theories they learn. That is why it is important that we collaborate with local municipalities to solve real problems, and the students work harder and deliver more ideas based on this type of collaboration,” she said.

Course leader Jing Ma wants students to be creative at the beginning and not be limited by budget and practical problems. She believes it is all the more important not to be guided by one's own preferences, but by what benefits the local population. Here with Cora Karlsson from Medskapandebyrån.

While the students zoom in from the general to the specific context and develop their proposals, the Co-Creation Agency will work with the residents of Älvsbyn to identify their needs and wishes. Behind the Co-Creation Agency are Petra Åhl and Cora Karlsson, Gällivare. They have the role of project manager in the pilot project in Älvsbyn.

“The company is not focused on profit for ourselves, but on values ​​for society. Our hearts are in small places. We really love village dens, making the most pleasant village dens,” said Cora.

“Building on the power of social networks”

The role of the co-creation agency is to mobilize: resources, people, associations, companies. To find out who needs to work together and create visions together. To bring people together in workshops and build partnerships that extend beyond the project.

– There will also be social development. You build on the power of social networks, make people feel needed. If you want to keep people in a place, they need to feel a sense of community. The place is important, but the community is more important, said Petra.

The Medskapandebyrån philosophy includes considering the history and culture of the place, creating pride and making the place feel special.

– What is important when we work is to always try to look far ahead but also dig where you stand, said Petra Åhl.

Cora Karlsson and Petra Åhl from Medskapandebyrån talk about their company, their work process and previous place development projects. Now they look forward to developing Älvsbyn together with the residents of Älvsbyn.

The lessons learned from the pilot project in Älvsbyn are intended to be used in other municipalities later. The collaboration between Region Norrbotten, the municipality, the university and the Co-Creation Agency will contribute to improving the places where the people of Norrbotten live their lives.

– Together we can make a difference for the people in a specific place. All this work is really important for our county, said Carolina Lundgren Weinz at Arctic Design Center.

Text and image: Sara Stylbäck Vesa

Curious? Read the article Arctic Design Center puts people at the center of community planning

FACTS: Continued process

During October 8-9, the working group for the pilot project had two dialogues with stakeholders from the business community and the municipality to better understand the development opportunities for the municipal center. This, together with a survey, forms the basis for the four work packages with development points that are currently being formulated.

The idea behind these development points is to find owners and managers at the same time as the working group wants to clarify financing options for implementation.