STOCKHOLM'S PANTRY
Master Dissertation
Urban Planning and Design
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
2024
individual work
supervised by Alejandra Navarrete Llopis
Årsta food wholesale market is the site of my master thesis. The food supply is a critical infrastructure in the city and vital for its inhabitants. many processes have to run smoothly so that we consumers can have breakfast every day. in this supply chain, the food wholesale is the link between producers and retailers.
The first wholesale market in Stockholm opened in 1912 next to the central station and moved to Årsta in 1962 when the space in the city centre became too small.
I identified 3 characteristics that influence this site and through which I analysed the context. The three characteristics are urban developments, industrial areas, and food distribution.
Looking at the urban growth of Stockholm from 1200, we see that Stockholm expanded spatially until the end of the 20th century but as stated in "Stockholm the making of a metropolis" Densification process characterizes the beginning of the twenty-first century. One of Stockholm’s goals in urban planning is to connect the existing neighbourhoods with new development and create a coherent and inclusive city.
Looking at the second Lense, the industrial areas, now. The industrial areas inside the city boundaries decreased in number and size and in recent years industrial areas are more and more becoming mixed and part of the densification process.
My third Lense is food distribution. as I already said, the wholesale market Årsta partihallar played a key role for food distribution. but there's an ongoing transition. the distributors for retail built new, modern and gigantic logistics centre in the north. Årsta wholesale market is mainly supplying food for local processors like restaurants and bakeries.
I focus on this part of the food value chain.
From 2020, all EU countries measure and report food waste in a similar way and there is a proposal for an EU-wide binding target for the reduction of food waste. The overarching global goal of Agenda 2030 is to halve food waste by 2030. The Swedish government has set goals for the year 2025; that food waste should be cut by one fifth and that food loss shall decrease.
From Sustainability Assessment of Food Redistribution
Initiatives in Sweden by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences I learned about existing strategies to redistribute surplus food. In the paper the researchers point out the that the connection between food waste prevention and distribution for people in need is a new phenomena. In order to develop a more sustainable approach towards food consumption I was interested in this.
Characteristically for Söder om Söder is the areas industrial history with lots of strategically important infrastructure (red). being the industrial suburb of Södermalm, however the area developed more and more towards a threshold space between the stone city and the outskirts. The existent industrial areas Årsta partihallar and Västberga should be protected as purely industrial.
Looking through the urban development Lense. Heterogenous area with urban housing developments from different times like the garden city movement, narrow housing era, the early steps of the Million Programme, Midsommarkransen the worker settlement.
It consists of many diverse fragments of historical urban planning agendas, that are located next to another but not really communicating with each other.
Söder om Söder today is one of the areas in Stockholm with the biggest urban development’s potential - in line with the municipality’s basic course of growth through densification and connecting neighbourhoods - there are lots of plans and ongoing developments, including a metro line and one of the biggest developments immediately next to my site - Årsta Fältet. Talking about connections of the area, I want to highlight the main commuter bike lanes and pedestrian paths that are planned to weave the two areas - Östberga and Årsta Fältet.
Moving on to my 3rd Lense food distribution, my site comes into focus. arsta wholesale market nowadays is the place where the restaurants, canteens, bakeries – local food business buy their products. I mapped the local food processors which are potential clients of the wholesale. Besides the distribution of food there is also a place of redistribution of surplus food in Söder om Söder. Matmissionen the first social supermarket opened its doors in Hägersten in 2015.
Let’s have a look at my site first.
there’s lots of movements happening at the moment - Årsta wholesale is in transition. Some of the halls are currently empty - or are going to be free since for example Dagab (distributor of Axfood) built a new hall in the north. The amount oriental food wholesalers and increases. Also, a bakery, for high end baking products moved here and opened a small coffee. Tune inn, a music production company moved here.
During my site visit I started understanding that the food wholesaling is not only about the making business and big companies but also a workplace for many people. I interviewed several different workers about the site as a workplace. some of them collecting food every day, others like the long-distance truck driver Leni from Germany spending several days sleeping in parked truck in between the railway tracks and the road. When I asked about their wishes for improvement some workers want space for lunch breaks, to relax and, for long-distance drivers, to shower and socialize.
Conclusion:
The densification process and the aim to connect the neighbourhoods to create a coherent inclusive area.
We have dedicated pure industrial areas that coexist with the densifying residential areas. And there’s a need for rethinking the role of site as a workplace and as an infrastructural place of efficiency. But also, there’s a challenge to rethink our food consumption for a more environmentally friendly and social just future.
In my project, all the different lenses melt together.
Food is the catalyst to connect and bond people, to bridge social and spatial gaps in Söder om Söder.
Årsta partihallar will become a cultural magnet for the surrounding neighbourhoods. The goal is a socially and environmentally sustainable approach through and to food.
In my proposal, Årsta partihallar is the core of a network of redistribution of surplus food.
The network will be a cooperation of the retailer, the local food processors, the redistribution units and the individuals. Surplus goes from the retailers and the local businesses to a storage, and from the storage, local businesses and retailer can collect surplus food to offer it in their locations. The redistribution units will be located on site.
The site will be transformed in 4 phases:
Phase one: developing the core, organizing streets
Phase two: connecting the neighbourhoods and expanding the core
Phase three: a highline for the north south connection of the neighbourhoods
Phase 4: the site will grow together, depending on future changes, expanding research, storage, and market
To provide efficient infrastructure I propose the reorganization of the one ways streets in loops with separation of delivery and collection. All the existing businesses will remain in their place and can continue their business.
On closed railway tracks there will be small wagons with worker facilities to sleep shower and play cards.
the surplus food storage will be in this building, that is currently empty. The biggest building of wholesale market is soon to be empty when Dagab moves out. This will be the core of Stockholm’s pantry. Oriented on the redistribution units analysed in the research paper, the core will include a food bag centre, a surplus food supermarket (like Matmissionen) which will also provide space for new alternative contributions for sustainable food reprocessing. In addition to that, a research centre for environmentally and social sustainable food supply will be located here to enable an exchange of knowledge of theory and practice.
A communal kitchen as the social gathering place for eating meeting relaxing and partying.
To embed the site with the surroundings and to make it a connecting element of the area, pedestrian paths and bike lanes from the station all directions will lead through the site.
The music production “tune in” will be cooperating with a Kulturhuset and the core - hosting culture festivals here.
The fruit garden with fruit trees and vegetable patches together with the greenhouses on the rooftops are used for food education, research and as a kitchen garden for the communal kitchen.
