@misc{9230347,
  abstract     = {{Streets of Recovery explores how urban environments affect stress levels and how streets can be designed to support well-being. While existing research largely emphasises parks and green spaces, this study focuses on streets as everyday environments with the potential to influence stress. If urban environments shape stress levels, they also hold the potential to mitigate them.

The thesis examines Sölvegatan in Lund, a transit corridor connecting the university to the city centre, characterised by high movement intensity and overlapping flows of pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles. The street is heavily used by students, a group that reports higher levels of stress compared to the general population. A mixed-method approach combines a literature review on stress, urban environments, and physical activity with an on-site analysis of spatial conditions and patterns of use.

The findings indicate that everyday stress can be linked to factors such as unclear spatial hierarchy, sensory overload, lack of greenery, and limited opportunities for pause. Based on these insights, a design proposal reconfigures Sölvegatan into a human-centred and green urban corridor. The proposal introduces a clearer street structure prioritising pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport, alongside a sequence of social spaces and small-scale interventions distributed along the street.

The project demonstrates that stress reduction can be addressed through incremental spatial strategies rather than singular interventions, and that such strategies may generate broader social and environmental benefits. It contributes to the understanding of streets as environments that not only facilitate movement, but also influence everyday well-being.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Julia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Streets of recovery - designing for reduced stress in everyday environments}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}