Shaping Runnable Routes. Evaluating Runnability in Gothenburg’s Urban Planning

Abstract

This thesis examines runnability in Gothenburg, understood as the environmental and infrastructural conditions that support running as a regular physical activity. The aim is to evaluate the current state of runnability through a route-based analysis and to investigate how the concept can be integrated into urban development by analyzing existing policy and planning documents, complemented by insights from interviews with Gothenburg city planners. Three research questions guide the study: what is the current state of runnability in Gothenburg, whether runnability has been addressed in earlier or current official planning documents, and what possibilities exist for making Gothenburg a more runnable city. The route-based analysis was conducted using running activity data from Strava’s weekly heat map, capturing activity data generated by the platform’s users across sixteen chosen routes. The activity data indicate that runners in Gothenburg predominantly use routes that align with runnability theory, favoring environments rich in nature, greenery, and proximity to water. At the same time, the analysis highlights that connectors to larger green areas attract high levels of use, even when these environments perform poorly in the spatial GIS analysis of runnability. Although the term runnability is absent from planning documents, its underlying qualities such as greenery, blue spaces, accessibility, and connectivity are well integrated into existing strategies. Opportunities for Gothenburg to become more runnable lie both in general planning measures, including traffic calming and the development of green-blue corridors, and in targeted interventions, such as formalized routes, improved connectors, and way-finding systems. The thesis concludes that while runnability is not yet established as a planning concept, Gothenburg has the foundations to develop it into a practical planning tool. By embedding runnability more explicitly in policy and design, the city can support healthier lifestyles, enhance sustainability, and improve the everyday quality of urban life.