the task for belatchew labs was to find the answer to the question of how metropolitan regions can be developed in order to find the solution to the housing crisis without establishing new cities and avoiding costly infrastructural initiatives — the ‘stockholm loop’ project applies sustainable existing resources instead gubbängen running track (exterior) typology: station house program: subway station which can be densified and activated by establishing new homes and other functions at the existing stations by upgrading existing infrastructure instead of building a new one a sustainable solution of the housing issue is created where residential outlying areas are activated and made attractive during the day the architects faced a number of challenges — to begin with a bridging of physical barriers in the form of open water railway tracks and motorways must be solved belatchew labs’ solution for breaking these barriers is based on the introduction of a new high-density neighborhood typology and the creation of new types of buildings a transport hub and bridge houses over motorways these buildings create an identity for the new neighborhoods with the potential to counter the city’s depopulation during the daytime through innovative programs for housing which also create ties between people over social barriers while simultaneously retargeting the spotlights from the center to the periphery belatchew labs’ implementation of the TOD strategy in metropolitan stockholm is the stockholm loop concept — an effective catalyst for more than 120,000 new homes and its residents’ need of housing the concept comprises the establishment of new urban development areas around twelve existing stations within a radius of 400 to 800 meters from each of them which in total utilizes more than 400 hectares of previously unused land belatchew labs designed a number of buildings — station houses in bergshamra and gubbängen municipalities as well as bridge houses in masmo and huddinge bergshamra basecamp typology: station house program: subway station one way to give these outlying areas a common identity could be the establishment of an annual sports event that fuses all the nodes in stockholm loop through a race that includes swimming in addition to positive health effects that result from sports stockholm loop will also retarget interest from the city center towards the outskirts masmo footboat typology: bridge house program: person and car ferry huddinge velodrome typology: bridge house program: walking and cycling bridge designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here. AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style This article originally appeared on AlterNet At 31, with a successful career as an author and artist, Lauren Brim felt her life was near perfect. “I was working for myself and making art,” she told Washington Post reporter Britany Robinson despite the happiness and privilege life afforded her even seeking help from relationship coaches and through hypnosis all with the intention of finding a life partner and beginning a family But with little success and declining hope she wondered if there might be another way to begin a family Brim approached one of her friends and after months of discussion about everything from spirituality and schooling to medical care and finances on the grounds that they would take an equal role in parenting and their relationship would remain platonic Brim’s story is representative of larger cultural shifts in how women view marriage A recent study by Lake Research Partners and Family Story a nonprofit that explores and preserves family histories revealed that more than half of women think there should be more ways to raise children with someone who is not a romantic partner Fifty-eight percent of unmarried mothers say they would consider raising a child with someone who is not a spouse or romantic partner a sociology professor and demographer at the University of New Hampshire estimates that roughly 500,000 fewer babies are now being born per year than would have been the case had the fertility rates of the mid-2000s continued many women in their 20s and 30s still want children A Gallup study in 2013 found that only 6 percent of American adults — both men and women — don't have kids and don't want them younger Americans are increasingly interested in having large families When asked to name an "ideal number of children to have,” American under the age of 30 gave an average response of 2.7 kids This conflation of factors — declining marriage and fertility rates yet an increased desire for children — has prompted women to find ways to have children outside of traditional methods “The family is always evolving,” said Nicole Rodgers the founder and co-director of Family Story “We tend to forget that if you take the long view of history the independent nuclear family is a bit of an aberration It was never really the 'tradition' many think it was multi-generational homes were far more common Most women understand that family can take many forms and that a good family is simply a group of people bonded together by love a term previously used to describe a couple who continues to parent affably after they break up is evolving to mean something else: a partnership of two or more people who come together to raise a child adults are increasingly joining forces and thereby shifting and expanding the concept of the family In the Family Story and Lake Researchers’ survey 60 percent of women believed that children do best with multiple adults invested and helping but that two married parents are not necessary have always done family in all sorts of different ways," said Rodgers have a tradition of raising children collectively in ways that transcend blood and legal ties I think you can argue that is a far better and more natural way to raise kids." As the model of the family continues to evolve services are likewise developing to help and foster support for adults interested in opportunities outside of tradition and Family by Design are all sites where people can create profiles to meet compatible strangers instead of seeking some type of romantic or sexual relationship users intend to find a partner in platonic parenting a 35-year-old single mom who wanted a second child a 44-year-old gay man looking for someone to raise a kid with They have a written agreement that outlines an even share in finances and time spent with their son Despite the planning and amiability they have cultivated in their relationship Schulz acknowledges that it requires an enormous amount of trust Platonic parenting can create many complications entirely different from married or divorced parents There is little legal stipulation for co-parents especially when there are more than two involved Coparents.com encourages individuals to get legal counsel before committing to raise a child "The biggest problem we face is that our current policies and practices support so few of them." the laws will reflect how mindsets have changed Rodgers believes social and economic mandates that assume what a family should be are hurting everyone “Our survey shows that women are pretty open-minded about building lives and raising families Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press Chinese officials from Guangdong have attended a course in Swedish politics and administration at Stockholm University and field studies where they take a closer look at a neighbourhood municipality Twenty-five officials participated in the course to study the Swedish example One of the educational goals is to show how policy is made in Sweden To show how politics work in reality and to enable interaction between the participants This year the Chinese officials studied Bergshamra and Bergshamra Party which has representation in the Solna Municipality the participants discussed their observations from their three weeks in Sweden together with the field study leaders Lars Johansson and Olle Torpman ethicists from the Department of Philosophy at Stockholm University The impetus for the programme is the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of the Guangdong Province who is responsible for the recruitment and continuing education of public officials at the provincial level The course at Stockholm University is part of a larger project administered by the Sun Yat-sen University Hanna Hill Brunius, Project administrator at External Relations and Events: hanna-hill.brunius@su.se Food prices increased by 1.3 per cent in February which is more than in any other month for the past two years according to the food price comparing site Matpriskollen Dairy products and chocolate are among the items that now cost more than just a month ago while the price of coffee has been going up for a longer period "I stick to the cheap fruit and leave the expensive ones in the shop," says Eva Bäckström in Bergshamra Ulla engbergulla.engberg@sverigesradio.se plus weekly summary on Fridays at 4.30pm on P2 (P6 89.6FM in Stockholm) Kontakta gärna Sveriges Radios forum för teknisk support där vi besvarar dina frågor vardagar kl