New Foundations – Town Planning 1521-1721 in Sweden

This is the winner of a Diploma

The study aims at the broader picture of Swedish town-planning of the period when Sweden was a great power. The thesis covers all Swedish town-planning in the areas under Swedish rule and areas of Swedish interest outside this, including today’s Estonia and parts of Russia, Latvia, Poland, Germany and USA.

175 sites are studied and in total 338 projects and just above 600 town plans. The study is based on a re-assessment of existing knowledge of individual towns, but adding new material and asking new questions. It seeks to assist the conservation and the future planning and design of the urban environment. Major questions raised concern different kinds of planning measures, the design of plans and how they were devised, functional demands and aesthetic considerations, the impact of great fires and the significant figures of the time.

“For a comprehensive analysis of the late 16th and 17th centuries Swedish town-planning that adds a new dimension to our understanding of the historic urban environment in the Baltic region and beyond.”