SE26 project
Housing for all
Building housing that is accessible, functional, and socially sustainable is challenging in many ways. With many people living with disabilities and an aging population, we need to ask ourselves whether we are really building for everyone's needs. Through higher ambitions, universal design, and an inclusive approach, more people can stay in their homes longer – and Skellefteå can take steps toward a more socially sustainable society.
Skellefteå Municipality wants to highlight that accessibility does not have to be a special solution. Through universal design, i.e. building homes that work for as many people as possible right from the start, more people can continue to live in their own homes for longer. This involves smart floor plans, generous spaces, and homes that are flexible when needs change. In the long term, this can also reduce the need for special types of housing.
Approximately 20 percent of Sweden's population lives with a disability that affects their everyday life. As the population ages, the need for housing that works throughout all phases of life increases. Despite international conventions on the right to independent living and one's own home, many homes are still designed according to standards that do not include everyone.
– Social sustainability means that no one should be left out. Many people who do not fit into the 'normal' housing ideal otherwise risk having fewer choices. By involving construction companies, researchers, and civil society, we want to create broad cooperation for more inclusive housing construction, says Christina Nyberg, accessibility advisor at Skellefteå Municipality.
Accessibility Day on June 9
During Society Expo 2026, an Accessibility Day will be held at the Campus in Skellefteå. The aim is to highlight issues relating to innovation and accessibility in housing development.
– With this day, we want to inspire and challenge people to build housing that includes everyone, rather than excluding them! We can do this if we have the will to do so and can think in terms of both socio-economics and innovation. There will be two lectures that raise issues such as these, says Christina Nyberg.
She adds:
– We want to create collaborations between different actors that can result in us together putting Skellefteå on the map as a municipality that builds in a socially sustainable, accessible, and functional way. We will build for young people, for families, for those most in need, and for the elderly. Together, we are building a Skellefteå for everyone!
Questions and answers about Skellefteå's new travel center
Social sustainability and exclusion.
Show how the homes being built today can be developed to better meet the needs of those most in need, and how an increased proportion of homes with higher accessibility requirements can contribute to a more inclusive society. This highlights the importance of planning and building homes that work for everyone.
By increasing the proportion of housing that allows for a variable housing stock in order to attract diversity and include a population that currently cannot find housing adapted to their individual needs. We want to influence through good examples, thereby inspiring both Västerbotten and Sweden on how to build more inclusive housing.
In the short term, find methods for local collaboration and, in the long term, deliver concepts for how we can build in an accessible, usable, and economical way.
A safe living environment increases well-being and contributes to better health. It increases everyone's chances of a better life. It is more sustainable to be able to stay in your home for a long time instead of moving around at different stages of life.
We see challenges in how we should respond to demographic developments and how we must collaborate with various actors to avoid ending up in a situation where institutional housing becomes the norm when we are not building to meet everyone's needs.
The project fits best under the strategic areas A place to thrive and Accessibility in everyday life and to the world.
The project is aimed at politicians, researchers, planners, architects, designers, the construction industry, actors in the housing market, and associations in the field of disability rights.
The vision aligns well with the project and our future approach to building good housing for a better everyday life. We want Skellefteå to be a city that includes all categories of people and gives them the best we can offer for a better everyday life and quality of life.
Read more: SE26 project
Sidinformation
- Senast uppdaterad:
- 23 January 2026