What happened
Moderaterna, Liberalerna, and Kristdemokraterna have formed a new administration in Täby under the name Borgerlig allians för Täby. The new administration has presented a 40-point programme for the coming four years. A central point is to stop new planning notifications for large-scale multi-family housing areas in order to protect the municipality's villa character and green spaces. The administration also wants to look into having more municipal security guards, increased camera surveillance, and introducing special parking permits for home care staff. From 2027, expanding preschool to 30 hours a week for children of parents on parental leave is also planned.
Our analysis
To "protect the villa character" has become a convenient way for affluent municipalities to shut out people without multi-million fortunes. When Täby stops new multi-family housing, it is not about aesthetics. It is about who gets to live in the municipality, and who is kept out.
Above all, it is new Swedes and young adults who depend on rental apartments and multi-family housing to establish themselves. When wealthy municipalities refuse to build housing for ordinary people, they shift the entire housing responsibility onto neighbouring municipalities, while keeping the tax revenues from the highest earners for themselves.
The hypocrisy becomes especially clear in the new administration's proposal for special parking permits for home care services. Täby is happy to have new Swedes clean, care, and drive the home care cars in the municipality's villa areas. They just do not want the same people to be able to move there.
Explained
A planning notification is a decision from the municipality that informs a property owner or construction company whether the municipality intends to initiate work on a new detailed development plan to permit construction on a site.