stadsdel

Stadsdel is a Swedish term for an administrative subdivision within a municipality, commonly used in larger cities to organize the delivery of local services and planning. A stadsdel is typically coterminous with a neighborhood or cluster of neighborhoods, and its borders are defined by the municipal council. The concept is not uniform across Sweden; municipalities may choose whether to create stadsdelar, and the degree of self-government varies.

In municipalities that use stadsdelar, the local administration structure may include a stadsdelsförvaltning or stadsdelsnämnd responsible for day-to-day matters within the district, such as care and welfare services, early childhood education and schools, libraries, culture, parks, traffic, and local planning. Central municipal authorities retain overall political responsibility and budgetary control, and services may be delivered directly by the central administration or commissioned to the stadsdel administration.

The term emphasizes geographic areas within a city used for planning and service delivery rather than separate legal entities. Stadsdelar can be dissolved, merged, or renamed through municipal decisions, reflecting changes in population or policy priorities.

The concept is especially associated with larger Swedish cities, including Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, which organize at a stadsdelsnivå for practical management of urban life. In smaller municipalities, the term may be used less or replaced by other divisions such as komunalområde or simply del av kommunen.