Feeling at home!

Summary

This master thesis is an independent work within "landscape architecture for sustainable urbanization," focusing on designing new neighborhoods concerning the characteristics appreciated by the inhabitants. As a result, designing an urban landscape in a new neighborhood is outlined and implemented in a project for the south-eastern districts in Uppsala city, Sweden. The study aims to identify design principles for constructing a new neighborhood concerning increasing social interactions among inhabitants, creating delight, which is perceived by all senses, and applying ecological approaches in the face of challenges for humans, flora, and fauna populations. Therefore, the questions raised with this study are: How to create urban landscapes in order to make their residents feel at home with the highest appreciation of the living environment? How can ecological design approaches be applied to make the neighborhood more sustainable in the face of societal and environmental challenges? In order to answer the research questions, several methods and approaches are theoretically and analytically reviewed in the categorization of aesthetical, social, and ecological values. The project illustrates how to consider chosen values in the whole design process: from collecting and analyzing data to their implementation in a design proposal. This study shows green areas as preferred elements by inhabitants that could support the health of natural systems and cope with societal and environmental challenges.