A socially sustainable and equitable Stockholm Royal Seaport

Stockholm Royal Seaport is being developed as a district where residents, workers and visitors can feel included, safe and engaged. Social sustainability is a central part of the work and influences everything from housing supply to public environments and meeting places. A mix of different housing options makes it possible for more people to live in the area. Green spaces, parks and open squares facilitate encounters between people and strengthen both community and public health, contributing to a more equitable and accessible district.

Inclusive and lively public spaces

Stockholm Royal Seaport is built dense and cohesive, with a mix of housing, workplaces and services. Within a short distance there is a library, school, preschool, sports hall, playgrounds, squares and green corridors. Promenades and piers open the area towards the water. Walking, cycling and public transport are prioritised to make moving around within and to and from the area easy. Local services and public transport are within five minutes’ walk, which strengthens equality in everyday life. The 2023 resident survey shows that 9 out of 10 residents – regardless of gender – feel safe spending time and moving around the public spaces.

Gasverket is being developed as both a destination and a local centre for residents, where the historic buildings have been restored and filled with new activities. The brick gasometers are being converted into a cultural venue and a hotel. In 2027 the Gasometer venue will open, with the Royal Swedish Opera as its first tenant.

In Hjorthagen, the sports ground is used by Djurgårdens IF and Värtans IK. It plays an important role for local clubs and public health while also serving as a meeting place where people of different backgrounds come together. It strengthens the local community, creates encounters across generations, increases inclusion and offers safe environments for young people. The facility will be extended with a sports hall and a new office.

Frihamnen is being opened gradually with temporary activities that create life and meeting places. Here you find, among others, the artist collective Blivande, House of Q and the venue Banankompaniet.

Thanks to the one-per-cent rule, more than 30 public artworks have been added, making art accessible to all.

Sustainability Report 2025: Vibrant city

A walk through the Harbour Quarters

A walk through Gasverket

Housing for different needs and life stages

In Hjorthagen, 3,160 new homes have been built. Just over half are rentals and almost ten per cent are student housing. A third are four-room apartments or larger, which complements Hjorthagen’s existing housing stock, which is largely made up of smaller apartments.

Legislation limits the scope to actively steer towards economic mixing. To create a more inclusive housing supply, requirements are therefore set in land allocations for housing concepts that make it possible for more groups to live in the area.

Sustainability Report 2025: Tenure types, apartment distribution and mixed use

Green areas strengthen health and well-being

Every resident has a park within 200 metres, which particularly benefits children and older people. 50,000 m² of parks and green corridors, combined with 640 newly planted trees, provide shade and cooling on hot summer days. Stormwater solutions create attractive environments and the proximity to the Royal National City Park makes nature easily accessible. Residential courtyards are designed using the Green Space Index, which gives both social and ecological values and reduces the risk of flooding. In the 2023 resident survey, more than 90 per cent said that greenery is what visitors appreciate the most.

Sustainability Report 2025: Let nature do the work

Article: Green infrastructure and stormwater strategy

Citizen engagement shapes the district

Stockholm Royal Seaport is developed together with its residents. Through consultations, neighbourhood walks, youth dialogues, digital tools and spontaneous meeting places, many have contributed ideas and local knowledge. Recurring resident surveys give the city important information about how the area is experienced and how residents want to be involved going forward.

Sustainability Report 2025: Citizen dialogue and local initiatives

Article: Residents thrive in Stockholm Royal Seaport

A labour market that includes more people

To give more people the opportunity to work, requirements are placed on offering employment to people outside the labour market in the projects. So far, 20 people have received temporary employment in the city’s contracts, and several of these have led to permanent jobs – five of them in 2025.

Sustainability Report 2025: Employment of people outside the labour market

A testbed for future solutions

Stockholm Royal Seaport works as a place where new technical systems and social innovations are tested in cooperation with academia, business and civil society. The aim is that successful solutions can be used in other parts of the city, contributing to a fair climate transition. A few examples:

• Innovative planting bed solutions are used in both renovation and new-build projects.
• The Pop-up Reuse developed in Stockholm Royal Seaport travels across the city and has become a meeting place and an opportunity for reuse.
• The Mass Consolidation Centre helps to reduce both costs and the number of transport movements through the city.

Interest in study visits to Stockholm Royal Seaport remains high. Since the start, more than 64,200 people have visited the area for study purposes. During 2025, the district welcomed 260 groups with a total of 5,000 participants.

Sustainability Report 2025: Research, development and innovation

Innovation projects in Stockholm Royal Seaport

Article: From land allocation competition to plus-energy housing

Article: Green Space Index and stormwater strategy

Innovation project: Innovative mass logistics (in Swedish)

Article: Efficient construction logistics

Article: Different methods for soil remediation

Challenges and the way forward

The central location means high land prices and housing costs. It is therefore important to keep working for an inclusive district where more people have the opportunity to live and work.

Going forward, more focus is needed on under-represented groups in dialogues, and continued collaboration between academia, business and civil society.