After several years behind construction fencing, parts of Årstafältet in Stockholm are opening to the public in early November. Three of the large stormwater ponds, bridges, jetties, a bird tower, a play and barbecue area and parts of the new park are now accessible to visitors. The park is a central part of a new district in which parks and green spaces make up more than a third of the area.
What opens now
Jesper Skiöld, project manager for Årstafältet at the city’s development office (exploateringskontoret), describes the opened parts as a first taste of the green urban park taking shape on the site. Images released by the city include Märta Helenas bro and a new playground. The opening is celebrated at the ponds on 6 November from 15.00 to 18.00.
Programme for 6 November
- The inauguration takes place at the bird tower, with speeches by Anders Österberg (S), deputy finance commissioner and chair of the development committee, and by Eleonora Fors Szuba, head of Stockholm konst.
- Fors Szuba presents the artwork “A Monument For Bats (Chiroptera)” by the artist Henrik Håkansson.
- 16.00: opera at dusk in one of the ponds, with the soprano Cathrine Ruud.
- 16.30–18.00: open house in the park, with parts of it decorated with lights.
- Visitors can ask questions about the project and the housing.
Green space and next steps
In total, parks and green spaces make up more than a third of the whole new district. Österberg calls the opening an important step in developing a new, child-friendly district where greenery and parks take a large place. Development of the parkland will continue in the coming years.
The development office manages and develops the city’s land to create more housing and business areas, and runs about 700 urban development projects in different phases. Its mission is to deliver the city’s target of 140,000 new homes by 2035 in a sustainable way. Earlier, after eight years of work, the office handed over the new Slussen bus terminal in Katarinaberget to Region Stockholm.