Collaboration in Huddinge – Follow Your Heart!

Partnership for Safer and More Attractive Environments

To create safer and more attractive environments, Huddinge Municipality and several large property owners, including Niam, have initiated a collaboration in the areas of Flemingsberg, Vårby, and Skogås. The project, Collaboration in Huddinge, started in 2018 with the goal of strengthening social sustainability and improving the residential and urban environment through initiatives that engage residents and foster a sense of community. Efforts such as youth activities, homework assistance, and improved outdoor spaces have already made a big difference – for instance, open drug scenes in the municipality have disappeared, and the number of reported incidents causing insecurity in Flemingsberg has more than halved in the past four years.

The Role of Property Owners in Preventive Work

Since 2017, Niam has been established in Flemingsberg, and a range of businesses have been added and developed within our properties, including ICA Maxi, two sports halls, a library, a health and fitness center, and a serviced apartment hotel.

"As a property owner in Flemingsberg, we have an important role to play in preventive social work. By, for example, contributing to the collaboration project, we help finance activities that engage young people and create meaningful employment, as well as create pleasant and attractive areas. These are the kinds of efforts that help reduce crime and increase safety", says Gustav Thörnqvist, Sustainability Manager at Niam.

Safety-enhancing measures, site walks, and dialogues with residents are central parts of the preventive work. This has already led to concrete results, including the disappearance of open drug scenes in Huddinge over the past year.

Focus 2024: More Attractive Areas and Living Environments

For 2024, Collaboration in Huddinge has focused on increasing the attractiveness of the areas and creating a better living environment. Through active place development and collaboration with local associations and civil society, the aim is to create meeting places, recreational activities, and social support for those who live and work in these areas.

One example is the well-attended street festival held in May 2024 – Flemingsberg Block Party. The municipality invited people to enjoy live music, dance battles, fire shows, street art, and food. Community and creativity were celebrated through the creation of a mural by local artists from The Artitects, which now decorates the area beneath one of the bridges. The mural, designed through dialogue with local youth and residents, has helped create a more welcoming environment.

Gustav Thörnqvist summarizes it like this:
“The new mural is not just a beautiful decoration; it serves as a symbol of the area's positive transformation and forward progress: Follow your heart! We are so happy to support the work that Collaboration in Huddinge is doing. This work really makes a difference and helps us together create more attractive and safer areas."