This is a guest post by Irena Toljan. It first appeared in her newsletter The Third Place on September 12, 2026. She is also on Instagram.

Not every summer street in Stockholm is a roaring success. After the glitz and glam, we are going to analyze some tragedies.

Some have the data to back up their potential but still feel like a battle zone for pedestrians. Others lack the programming, safety, or community engagement to thrive truly. So, which streets are falling short, and how can we fix them?

Read about the winner here.

5. Nybrogatan: A Battlefield on Concrete

Nybrogatan’s sommargågata is a central and thriving pedestrian street in Östermalm, stretching between Östermalmstorg and Karlavägen. Located in a dense urban neighborhood with 17,000 residents and 38,000 workers within a 500-meter radius, the street was transformed in 2018 from a typical city road into a vibrant, car-free summer space. Officially, it features expanded outdoor dining, greenery, and street furniture, and the city reports impressive economic results: workplaces increased by 31%, employment by 47%, and the number of restaurants by 33%, with restaurant revenue doubling and specialty retail revenue rising by 150% since 2016. Public surveys even show that 85-90% of visitors find the street safe and pleasant (source 4).

Line chart, indexed to 100 in 2014, of the number of hospitality workplaces on nine street projects compared with the inner city from 2014 to 2024. Nybrogatan rises from its project start in 2018 to about 130 in 2022, then falls back to about 120 in 2024; the inner city stays close to 100.

Change in the number of workplaces in the hospitality industry after street projects 2014-2024, in relation to the inner city. We can see that the number increased, but then decreased after 2022.

Before and after on Nybrogatan: Google Street View with cars parked along both sides on top, and below, the summer street with planters, red benches and a cyclist, but still a car driving down the middle.

Yet, my experience painted a different picture. While sitting on a bench to analyze the street, a big SUV nearly cut off my legs as it sped by. I was so shocked I didn’t even manage to photograph the driver. The reality? The street is still absolutely full of cars, parked vehicles, speeding drivers, and delivery trucks in the middle of the day. It’s pure chaos. Despite the official narrative, more restrictions are clearly needed to truly prioritize pedestrians and make the space safe and enjoyable for everyone. The success stories and positive surveys don’t change the fact that, on the ground, Nybrogatan often feels like a battlefield between cars and people. Feelings are harder to measure, but they’re an important part of a successful street.

Nine photos from Nybrogatan during the summer street season: parked cars, an SUV driving past the red benches, delivery trucks in the middle of the street, a pickup truck at a crossing and cars driving between the planters.

4. Lilla Nygatan

Hand-drawn sketch of Lilla Nygatan: a narrow street between orange buildings with café tables and a planter, and the words walking, restaurant, access, clean and planters.

This nice, narrow street in Gamla Stan swaps its boring winter side parking for planters and restaurant chairs in summer. Pretty nice, but I would expect more from the old town. Most cars don’t need to be on this island. Almost all the streets here should be completely pedestrian, no matter the season. This would make room for public seating, outdoor seating boxes even in wintertime, and we could even plant some trees.

Excerpt from the street league: Lilla Nygatan scores 65.1 out of 100 and ranks 49 of 859, with air quality 59, traffic volume 68 (400 vehicles a day), noise 51, city life 97 and trees 5 (0 percent canopy).

Statistics from the street league.

Before and after on Lilla Nygatan: Google Street View with a red car parked on the cobblestones on top, and below, the same stretch with outdoor café chairs, tables and planters.

Before and after of Lilla Nygatan

Four photos from Lilla Nygatan in sunshine: pedestrians and outdoor seating outside The Hairy Pig, a parked car and a truck on the cobblestones, people at café tables near the Postmuseum, and an older man with a walker passing outdoor seating.

3. Verkstadsgatan

Hand-drawn sketch of Verkstadsgatan: a giant purple chair with three people sitting on it, planters, benches and bike parking, and the words clean, sun, flower, food, walking, diversity, access and bike parking.

If you bike over Västerbron toward Hornstull, you’ll spot a big, eye-catching chair from far away. It’s large enough for three adults to sit together, which is a fun way to draw attention to the summer street. The area also has planters, benches, and outdoor restaurant seating. However, there isn’t much shade, so not many people stop here when it’s warm. The restaurants open later, so the area doesn’t get much use during the day. Overall, the street is pleasant but could use a few more features and open spots for daytime visitors.

Excerpt from the street league: Verkstadsgatan scores 65.8 out of 100 and ranks 46 of 859, with air quality 73, traffic volume 53 (800 vehicles a day), noise 44, city life 94 and trees 36.

Statistics from the street league.

The statistics are quite good, though.

Before and after on Verkstadsgatan: Google Street View from August 2020 with bike racks and a parked car on the asphalt, and from June 2024 with flower pots, picnic tables and outdoor seating on a wooden deck.

Before and after of Verkstadsgatan

Photo collage from Verkstadsgatan: a giant red chair on the street, a cyclist passing, benches, flower towers, bike parking and outdoor seating.

2. Malmskillnadsgatan: The Street That Proves Numbers Aren’t Everything

  • Why it’s here: Economic stats are impressive (67% more workplaces, 266% more jobs, 50% more restaurants), but the street lacks a proper pedestrian street life. It’s a business success but a social failure.
  • Potential: Events, public art, and community activation.

Excerpt from the street league: Malmskillnadsgatan scores 33.2 out of 100 and ranks 645 of 859, with air quality 6, traffic volume 16 (about 6,200 vehicles a day), noise 13 (65.9 dBA), city life 80 and trees 25.

Statistics from the street league.

But we see that, besides the economy, this street is underperforming in other areas. And we will deep dive into this in my last blog post!

Seven photos from Malmskillnadsgatan and its surroundings: a colorful painted sculpture and painted concrete blocks on a paved pedestrian stretch, bike racks, rows of rental e-scooters, office buildings, and cars driving past planters and outdoor seating.

Malmskillnadsgatan and surroundings

1. Kista torg

Hand-drawn sketch of Kista torg: a glass building by the square with planters, benches and trees, and the words planters, sitting, vegetation, walking, clean and toilet.

And we have a winner! If you’ve ever wondered what a ghost town looks like in the north of Stockholm, look no further than Kista torg.

When I entered the square, I knew something was wrong here. It looked quite deserted even though some people were in the square. The kiosk in the middle of the square was closed, and with no activities available, it was not the best place to relax. On the 7th of July at 13.00, the square had 13 men and 2 women sitting and 0 kids playing. That’s far from great. Other women were in the area, just passing by to run errands. If the ratio of men and women, especially in favor of men, is unbalanced, something is wrong with public space.

Some planters and benches were added, but this square wasn’t car-infested before, so I wouldn’t call it a summer square. It clearly lacks activities that would balance out the gender situation. But hey, there is a toilet!

Four photos from Kista torg under a grey sky: red benches with a single man sitting, a closed shawarma kiosk with shutters down, a black public toilet, and the mostly empty square with a few benches.

Sources

  1. Admin (2024). Cyclists and Pedestrians Contribute Significantly to City Centre Spending. Dutch Cycling Embassy. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  2. Debattredaktionen (2026). Låt fakta och inte magkänsla styra stadsutvecklingen. Dagens industri. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  3. The Power of 10+. Project for Public Spaces. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  4. Gatupotential (2025–2026). Spacescape. Accessed 27 July 2026.
  5. Ny bryggpromenad och upprustad strandpark på Bergsunds strand (2026). Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  6. Munkbrohamnen. Visit Stockholm. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  7. Miljöpartiet Stockholms stad on Instagram: “Sommargågatan Rörstrandsgatan är ett av Stockholms livligaste stråk som 12 000 personer passerar varje dag.” (2025). Instagram.
  8. Rörstrandsgatan blir gågata året om (2026). Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  9. Levande Stockholm 2018: Resultatrapport. Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  10. En del av Hornsgatan blir gågata året om (2026). Stockholms stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  11. Sommargågata (2026). Solna stad. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  12. Trots utslaget Sverige: här fortsätter VM-festen (2026). Mitt i. Accessed 28 July 2026.
  13. Saber, Joanna (2017). En plats att vara på: den tillfälliga gågatans inverkan på Stockholms stads- och näringsliv. Master’s thesis, KTH School of Architecture and the Built Environment.