Sweden is turning parking bays into places to play, meet, relax and more

An example of a module by Lundberg Design installed in Stockholm. — AFP

More and more major cities are opting to encourage cycling, to the detriment of car use, helping to improve air quality and cut CO2 emissions. But what about all those unused parking bays? In Sweden, former car parking bays are being transformed into urban spaces that are practical, ecological and convivial.

Fewer cars and more bikes in cities means more parking bays to recycle. Many global cities are rethinking the layouts of their centres as they adapt to new urban mobility policies, as seen in Portland (the United States), Barcelona (Spain) and Paris (France). In Sweden, where tens of thousands of parking bays are set to be removed, cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Helsingborg are actively participating in a large-scale government plan to improve public spaces.