Transforming yellow houses and launching blue ideas
Shaping Tranemo's future
Urban and more compact housing, connecting waterfront to the town center, connecting industry with culture, stimulating innovations and engaging citizens within the community. This is how Tranemo is going to turn the trend, to move from minus to plus. The vision is to grow with 1000 inhabitants the next decade.
Tranemo+results+27+April+2010.pdf
Staffan Arvegård pointed out that the town development workshop last week was a part of the transnational aspect of the Transinform project. That’s why town planners from Norway were there to assist. “We are now creating the new Tranemo, he continued.” About 20 people from the municipality, businesses and others took actively part in the group discussions.
The main facilitator Michael Fuller-Gee introduced some principles about new urbanism and showed many examples. He stated: “We are not here to solve all problems in Tranemo. We are going to narrow down the scope and focus on the very center. To move from an estimated 1000 inhabitants decline towards a 1000 inhabitants growth is a dramatic change. It will not happen if there’s not going to be serious improvements in the town. Only the very center of the municipality can carry the growth and facilitate the change needed which will consist of many small things within an overall plan. This is not a game. It’s very serious stuff. For many smaller places it’s a question of winning or losing.”
He continued showing some examples of towns who had transformed town centers and added: “800 of the 1000 new inhabitants should probably settle within the 400 meters town center, if possible also at the water front. When land owners want to add a house or flat at their property then politicians should say “Yes” to the intiative.” Then Michael asked if anyone disagreed to this principle. Nobody did. On the contrary many participants stated that “this is precisely what Tranemo needs”.
And some added that these principles also should be applied at smaller settlements like e.g. Uddebo, Limmared and Ambjørnarp .
And some added that these principles also should be applied at smaller settlements like e.g. Uddebo, Limmared and Ambjørnarp .
During the group work many suggestions came up. All groups managed to find enough space at the town map for 300-400 houses/flats within the very center, close to the main street “Storgatan”. Another big issue was how to cross the road and get to the waterfront. In the middle of the path there is the old industrial building which is going to be reconstructed. The library should be moved in and flats should even be added. Then the big discussion focuses towards the axis, where to walk from the “Storgatan” to the new library and to the waterfront ? Where to establish the “caffe latte” environment , the meeting places ?
At the final public meeting Tuesday evening there was a summary of the findings. The conclusions moved into the direction that a new “pedestrian street” should be established between the existing car based axis so people can walk straight from “Storgatan” to the bus station and further to the library, gymnasium and down to the waterfront. There is even a possibility to extend the axis into the little island in the Tranemo lake and connect it to the church via 2 new pedestrian bridges. All this may have consequences for how the library should be constructed and where and how the public space between library and gymnasium should be formed.
The next step is to make drawings and illustrations of the new ideas and then for the council to settle some principles about the town structure. Staffan Arvegård the coordinator of TiF in Tranemo also reminded about the planned extention stage where TiF project investments will be carried out. It will be interesting to follow Tranemo during the next months.
