Socio-Spatial Inequality in a Sustainable City: A Comparative Study of Active Travel Infrastructure and Planning in Rosengård and Västra Hamnen, Malmö

Sammanfattning

This study examines how active travel infrastructure and planning differ between Rosengård and Västra Hamnen, and whether those differences reflect principles of mobility justice. Although internationally recognized for sustainable urban development, Malmö remains one of Sweden's most socio-economically segregated cities. The study employs a comparative qualitative design with mobility justice as the analytical framework through the proposition that equitable planning should produce comparable infrastructure quality, continuity and network integration across socio-economic lines. The findings reveal a consistent pattern of unequal infrastructure distribution. Despite similar bikeable road totals, Västra Hamnen's network is grid-integrated across all street types; Rosengård's concentrates on arterial corridors, leaving residential areas largely unserved. Investment records document a 1:5.5 disparity in committed lane length and 1:6.6 in budget across both the 2017 Ramavtal (framework agreement) and the 2023 Tilläggsavtal (supplementary agreement). Planning documents frame active mobility through aspiration and innovation in Västra Hamnen and through functional, problem-oriented language in Rosengård. Field observation confirmed these patterns. A critical governance finding shows cycling is classified under SDG 13 Climate Action rather than SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, with no mechanism to track equity commitments’ outcomes. The study concludes that Malmö's active travel planning reproduces infrastructural inequality despite formal equity commitments, driven by economic efficiency rather than distributive justice. Recommendations include mandatory equity screening of mobility investments, reclassification of cycling as an equity instrument within Malmö's SDG governance, and extension of separated provision into Rosengård's residential interiors beyond the current transit-oriented model.