The Royal National City Park

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Stockholm

Region

Europe

Native title of the NBS intervention

Kungliga nationalstadsparken

Short description of the intervention

“The Royal National City Park, the world’s first national city park, was created in 1995 by the decision of the Swedish Parliament. The Park was established to safeguard and enhance the unique qualities of this area, containing outstanding natural qualities and heritage sites, ecologically important for the metropolitan area, and situated near and easily accessible from the central parts of Stockholm.” (Ref. 1)
One can experience a truly unique historical landscape, intertwined with parks, beautiful buildings, forests, open fields and beaches. In 2020, the park celebrates its 25 the year. (Ref. 12)

Address

Royal Djurgården
11521 Stockholm
Sweden

Location

The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).

Area boundary

POINT (18.00182 59.404551)

POINT (17.97813 59.400707)

POINT (18.036495 59.349813)

POINT (18.073917 59.345787)

POINT (18.107563 59.333882)

POINT (59.340221 59.322396)

POINT (18.147622 59.320535)

POINT (18.158373 59.340221)

POINT (18.093041 59.349076)

POINT (18.084495 59.352729)

POINT (18.102138 59.362283)

POINT (18.031844 59.388683)

NBS area image

Source of NBS area image

http://www.nationalstadsparken.se/default.aspx?id=4190&ptid=0

NBS area

18970000.00m²

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Public Greenspace Area

Website of the intervention

http://www.nationalstadsparken.se/

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

1994

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

1995

End date of the intervention

ongoing

Present stage of the intervention

Completed

Please specify "other" stage of the intervention

The park was created in 1994 by decision of the Swedish Parliament and in 1995, the Royal National Park was named the world's first national park (Ref. 3). The Park was created by means of a paragraph in the Swedish Environmental Act, the legislation and thus the Park came into effect in 1995. (Ref. 1).

The second part of the Action Plan (2006-2009) has largely been implemented. (Ref. 1)

2. Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

The park has several goals, such as increasing awareness of the public regarding the park, in order to increase awareness regarding the value of the area. Increasing the use of the park (accessibility) for recreation and exercise. (Ref. 4)
Other objectives for the park include: Information Efforts, Availability, Special Action for Reduced Noise, Management, Special Activities for the Historic Landscape, Special Measures for Biodiversity and Collaboration.

Quantitative targets

Unknown

Monitoring indicators defined

Unknown

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Green space creation and/or management

Environmental quality

Noise reduction

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Creation of opportunities for recreation

Cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Preservation of natural heritage

Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure

Preservation of historic traditions

Implementation activities

Graphical marking, information entrances, signs and exhibition screens, website, guidebook, plan for walking and cycling traffic, and for biodiversity; it is important to strengthen spreading zones. (Ref. 4)
Measures aimed to reduce noise, goals and guidelines for the management of the park, measures to manage the historical landscape. Furthermore, biodiversity goals are that specific measures must be taken to strengthen the core areas and dispersal zones in and outside of the park. (Ref. 4)

"The park reflects various important phases in Sweden’s history and also reflects the changes over time which had an impact on ideals in art, architecture and landscaping. The personal affection of each monarch to different areas of the park can also be observed, and likewise their interests and hobbies. Last but not least, throughout the centuries the park has always played a part in the lives of the people of Stockholm." (Ref 13)

Type of NBS project

Creation of new green areas

Protection of natural ecosystems

3. NBS domains, ES and scale

NBS domain and interventions

Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented

Parks and urban forests

Large urban parks or forests

Vegetation Type

Please specify how many trees were planted

Unknown

Amenities offered by the NBS

Educational or biodiversity trails

Cultural (museum, concert areas)

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Regulating services

Other

Habitat and supporting services

Habitats for species

Maintenance of genetic diversity

Cultural services

Tourism

Inspiration for culture, art and design

Recreation

Social and community interactions

Please specify "other regulating service"

“The ecological infrastructure provides opportunities for water, nutrients, species, individuals and genes to move in the landscape.” (Ref. 5)

The park houses many museums for adults as well as children. The historical place of the park in the Stockholm citizens' lives have been emphasised by the protection provided to the park. (Ref. 14)

Scale

Spatial scale

Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level

Beneficiaries

Primary Beneficiaries

Local government/Municipality

Non-government organisation/Civil Society

Researchers/University

Citizens or community groups

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Non-government actors

Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches

Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative

“The County Administrative Board (CAB) of Stockholm, the representative of national government on the regional level, was commissioned to coordinate actions. The CAB shall administer a National City Park Council with high representatives of the affected main actors and stakeholders, chaired by the Governor of CAB. The work to improve the Park requires collaboration by a number of actors; these encompass three main categories, namely land owners and land managers, municipalities and NGOs. Municipalities have double roles as planning authorities and land owners (this regards Solna and Stockholm).” Also active in the area (Science City, sv. Vetenskapsstaden) are different research institutions (e.g. The Stockholm University, Royal Swedish Academy of Science and Swedish Museum of Natural History). (Ref. 1)

Key actors - initiating organization

National government

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Other

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

National government

Regional government

Local government/municipality

Non-government organisation/civil society

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Other

Please specify other land owner

Public space owned by neighbouring regions of Ulriksdal–Haga–Djurgården–Brunnsviken area (Ref. 13)

Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used

Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)

Please specify other landowner

Public space owned by neighbouring regions of Ulriksdal–Haga–Djurgården–Brunnsviken area (Ref. 13)

Policy drivers

NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy

Unknown

NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan

Yes

Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan

The Park was created by means of a paragraph in the Swedish Environmental Act. (Ref. 1)

NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan

Yes

Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"

There is a comprehensive plan (sv. Översiktsplan) for the royal national city park conducted by the City of Stockholm. (Ref. 5)

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Mandatory (based on policy)

Intervention is mandatory

Environmental regulation

Enablers

Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section

There is a comprehensive plan (sv. Översiktsplan) for the royal national city park conducted by the City of Stockholm; which aims to preserve and further develop the urban park as a living historical landscape. (Ref. 5)

If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.

Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme

Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify

The Ecopark Association (FFE) (coordination group) founded in 1992 by 21 organisations. (Ref. 11)

Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify

The national city/urban park is part of the UN-sponsored global program The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment' (MA). (Ref. 6, 7)

Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project

Unknown

Co-finance for NBS

Unknown

Co-financing governance arrangements

Unknown

Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?

Unknown

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?

600000 euro

What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?

Unknown

What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?

Unknown

Please specify cost savings

Unknown

Please specify total cost (EUR)

The total cost over 3 years (from 2006) was estimated to around 600 000 euro (6 million SEK) (Ref. 4)

Source(s) of funding

Public regional budget

Public local authority budget

Type of fund(s) used

Earmarked public budget

Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Business models

Green densification model

Green heritage model

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Public actor (e.g. municipality)

5. Innovation

Type of innovation

Social

Policy innovation

Cultural innovation

Novelty level of the innovation

The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)

Please specify novelty level of the innovation

The Royal National City Park, the world’s and Sweden's first national city park, was created by decision of the Swedish Parliament; the Park was created by means of a paragraph in the Swedish Environmental Act. (Ref. 1)

Replicability/Transferability

Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)

Please specify Replicability/Transferability

Nationalstadspark (National city park) is a concept in the legislation that could possibly be used in other areas of Sweden with equivalent values. (Ref. 9)

6. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Environmental quality

Reduced noise exposure

Green space and habitat

Increased green space area

Reduced biodiversity loss

Description of environmental benefits

The parks unique historical landscape is intertwined with parks, forests, open fields and beaches. (Ref.13) Also, besides increasing green space availability, within the Royal National City Park there are several listed buildings, two nature reserves, and a bird sanctuary. (Ref.14)
The development of the park had an effect on the improvement of its accessibility. A number of entry points have been marked with information screens. Furthermore, printed bilingual maps (Swedish/ English) can be obtained in numerous places and on the web.
Regarding noise, a study has been executed to identify locations particularly urgent to protect from noise. Also, long-term regulations are in action in order to protect valuable trees in the park. (Ref. 1)
Additionally, there are no available biodiversity assessments, but measures have been completed to increase biodiversity in the park (e.g. the Upplandsflorainventeringen, and inventory of certain species like Plagionotus detritus). (Ref. 4)

Economic impacts

Unknown

Description of economic benefits

Unknown

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts

Achieved impacts

Indicators

Unknown

Environmental, social and economic impacts

Cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Environmental quality

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Analysis of specific impact categories

Job creation: The NBS created ...

No information available

Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?

No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project

COVID-19 pandemic

The park stayed open with added precautions during Covid-19. (Ref.15)

Methods of impact monitoring

Process of recording NBS impacts

No evidence in public records

Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS

Observation (including virtual surveillance methods)

Evidence for use of assessment

Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports

Yes

Link to monitoring/evaluation reports

http://www.lansstyrelsen.se/stockholm/SiteCollectionDocuments/Sv/publikationer/…

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

Impact assessment mechanism

Name of any specific impact assessment tools

The Swedish Envorionmental Code (Miljöbalken) and the planning and building act (Plan- och bygglagen). Example of output assessment is below (where Tyréns AB has been commissioned by Solna City's Environment and Building Administration, to draw up an impact assessment of a detailed plan proposal in the Startbox district of Järva). (Ref 10)

Link to the output of assessments

https://www.solna.se/Global/Stadsbyggnad%20och%20trafik/Detaljplaner/Ulriksdal/…

Use of GIS in mapping impacts

Yes

Citizen involvement

Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment

Unknown

7. Sources

References

Web links relevant to the intervention

List of references

Ref. 1. Länsstyrelsen Stockholm (2015) The Royal National City Park: Kungliga nationalstadsparken. Stockholm. Information obtained: 2017-06-09. Source: http://www.lansstyrelsen.se/stockholm/SiteCollectionDocuments/Sv/publikationer/2015/the-royal-national-city-park.pdf [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 2. Länsstyrelsen Stockholm (2006) Framtidens Nationalstadspark - handlingsprogram del I: Vision och förutsättningar. Länsstyrelsen i Stockholms län. Source: https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/download/18.840e7ca163033c061f1ae5b/1526068828129/Framtidens%20Nationalstadspark,%20handlingsprogram%20del%201.pdf [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 3. Länsstyrelsen Stockholm (n.d.) Nationalstadsparken. Samhällsplanering & kulturmiljö. Information obtained: 2017-06-09. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 4. Länsstyrelsen Stockholm (2006) Framtidens Nationalstadspark - handlingsprogram del II: Åtgärder och utveckling. Länsstyrelsen i Stockholms län. Source: https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/download/18.840e7ca163033c061f1ae5c/1526068828388/Framtidens%20Nationalstadspark,%20handlingsprogram%20del%202.pdf [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 5. Stockholms Stad (2009) Översiktsplan för Nationalstadsparken Stockholmsdelen. Antagen av kommunfullmäktige. Source: https://vaxer.stockholm/globalassets/tema/oversiktplan-ny_light/oversiktsplan-for-nationalstadsparken_stockholmsdelen.pdf [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 6. Elmqvist, T., Colding, J., Barthel, S., Borgström, S., Duit, A., Lundberg, J., Andersson, E., Ahrné, K., Ernstson, H., Folke, C. & Bengtsson, J. (2004) The dynamics of social-ecological systems in urban landscapes, Stockholm and the National urban park, Sweden. NY Acad. Sci. Source: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Henrik_Ernstson/publication/262936655_The_Dynamics_of_Social-Ecological_Systems_in_Urban_Landscapes/links/57d2a9db08ae5f03b48cb2a9/The-Dynamics-of-Social-Ecological-Systems-in-Urban-Landscapes.pdf [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 7. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Stockholm Urban Assessment (Sweden SU). Sweden. Information obtained: 2017-06-09. Source: https://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/SGA.SwedenStockholm.html [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 8. Länsstyrelsen Stockholm (2012) Vård- och utvecklingsplan för Kungliga nationalstadsparken. Rapport 2012:33. Source: https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/download/18.6ae610001636c9c68e548f57/1530603354021/Rapport%202012-33%20Vård-%20och%20utvecklingsplan%20för%20Kungliga%20nationalstadsparken.pdf [Accessed 24 August 2020]
Ref. 9. Ekoparken (2003) Skötselplan för Nationalstadsparken i Stockholm, Solna och Lidingö kommuner. Information obtained: 2017-06-09. Source: http://www.ekoparken.org/Medlemssidor/kdf/splan%20NSP%203%20nov%20del%20I.pdf [Accesses on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 10. Tyréns AB (2016) Konsekvensbedömning av kulturmiljö, Startboxen 1, Solna. Solna. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 11. Ekoparken (n.d.) The ecopark association (FFE). Information obtained. 2017-06-09. Source: http://www.ekoparken.org/9engelska/association.htm [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 12. Länsstyrelsen Stockholm (2020) Kungliga nationalstadsparken. Source: https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/stockholm/besoksmal/kungliga-nationalstadsparken.html [Accessed on 4 August 2020]
Ref. 13. County Administration Board of Stockholm (n.d.) National Stads Park. Source: http://www.nationalstadsparken.se/default.aspx?id=4193&ptid=0 [Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 14. Kungliga Djurgårdens Intressenter (2019) At Djurgården you will always find interesting activities suited to everyone. Source: https://royaldjurgarden.se/en/do/ [ Accessed on 24 August 2020]
Ref. 15. Kungliga Djurgårdens Intressenter (2020) HOW WE ARE MANAGING COVID-19. Source: https://royaldjurgarden.se/en/how-we-are-managing-covid-19/ [Accessed on 24 August 2020]

Comments and notes

Pictures of the NBS

/sites/default/files/nbs/images/national_urban_park_ref_8.jpg

Public Images