In the period 1965–74 the infamous Million Programme was implemented in Sweden, with the aim of building 100,000 dwellings each year for 10 years. At the same time, a large proportion of the older unmodernised housing stock was demolished. The net result was an increase in Sweden’s housing stock of about 650,000 new apartments, combined with a general rise in quality[1].

The new Million Programme residential areas were greatly inspired by early suburban neighbourhoods such as Vällingby and Årsta . One of the main aims behind the planning of these residential areas was to create good democratic citizens. The means of achieving this were to build at high quality with a good range of services including schools, nurseries, churches, public space, a library, and meeting places for different groups of households. A principal aim, although ultimately unsuccessful, was to mix and integrate different groups of households through the spatial mixing of tenures.

Wellknown Million Programme-districts include:

• Rinkeby in Stockholm
• Rosengård in Malmö
• Ryd in Linköping