According to iamhigher, the urban population is 85.4% (2012) of the total, one of the highest values in the world. Among the now small rural population, the centralized settlement of fishermen along the coast prevails in central and southern Sweden, while in Norrland, where the exploitation of forests and soil is territorially discontinuous., the scattered farm predominates. L’ urbanism is on the whole a relatively recent phenomenon and has always been kept under control, so to speak, by the government, which has attempted to curb the growth of large cities, strengthening the centers of Gothenburg and Malmö as a counterweight to Stockholm and promoting the development of medium-sized cities of 50,000 inhab. to be used as new regional development poles. Indeed, precisely in following and planning the urban expansions step by step, the rationality, the taste for experimentation, social sensitivity and “democracy” in the context of urban planning, typical of this country, were fully expressed. Swedish cities are, or at least try to be, comfortable and pleasant for those who live there; they are very rich in green, with a completely exceptional percentage, and particularly extensive, because skyscrapers are scarce while preference is given to buildings of medium height, well spaced from each other. Furthermore, decentralization in effectively self-sufficient neighborhoods was an effective remedy for the congestion in central areas, typical of metropolises. New building solutions have been successfully tested and generally some of the highest urban planning standards in the world have been achieved. Indeed, precisely in following and planning the urban expansions step by step, the rationality, the taste for experimentation, social sensitivity, “democracy” in the urban planning, typical of this country, were fully expressed. Swedish cities are, or at least try to be, comfortable and pleasant for those who live there; are very rich in green, with a completely exceptional percentage, and very extensive, because skyscrapers are scarce while preference is given to buildings of medium height, well spaced from each other. Furthermore, decentralization in effectively self-sufficient neighborhoods was an effective remedy for the congestion in central areas, typical of metropolises. New building solutions have been successfully tested and generally some of the highest urban planning standards in the world have been achieved. Particularly illuminating remains the Stockholm plan, which indeed boasts a precise master plan since 1640; especially since the 1950s, the capital has become somewhat of an obligatory point of reference for modern urban planning, thanks, among other things, to the creation of the splendid and well-studied satellite city of Vållingby. Norrland has also experienced some urban development; in the fortunes of the northern cities of the interior, a decisive role played on the one hand by the presence of mineral deposits, and on the other by the communication routes.
In particular, the relationship between urban agglomerations and railway lines, especially the transversal ones, connecting the Gulf of Bothnia with the Norwegian ports on the Atlantic is very close: thus the mining centers of Gällivare and Kiruna are connected with Narvik (Norway) and even more important is Östersund, on the railway to Trondheim. But generally the main cities in the North are located on the coast, such as Luleå, Skellefteå, Umeå (the “capital” of Lapland), and Sundsvall., headquarters of vibrant industries. The economic roles of the most important Swedish cities are multiple, but all of them originally developed as port and commercial centers (this is the case of Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö), but then assumed an industrial function that in many cases ended up with become preponderant. Stockholm arose in the Middle Ages, expanding on a series of islands and peninsulas and becoming economically enhanced as a port center on the Baltic routes; the strong demographic growth is however linked to the industrialization of the country. The nearby Uppsala is a famous university center, an illustrious historical city of ancient origin, which in medieval times also had great political importance because the Parliament of the various Swedish principalities met there. Gothenburg it is the largest seaport, mainly oriented towards Western European countries; free from ice all year round, it lines its quays along the right bank of the Göta river and along the internal canals, while the opposite bank houses the fishing port; In recent times, industry has also been activated, especially heavy industry, which includes mechanical complexes, shipyards, etc. In Svealand, the area of highest urbanization in Sweden, there are, in addition to the aforementioned, various important cities, all of them of recent development, mainly linked to industry, such as Linköping, Jönköping, Norrköping (Köping means in Swedish city-market), Örebro, Borås, each with over 100,000 residents. A great hub for internal communications, the arrival point of ferry-boats from Copenhagen, is Malmö, a fishing center, home to large industries, shipbuilding in particular.
