Sustainable district in Malmö has become an international pioneer

Under information facts the swedish epa presents facts aboUt different issUes

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may 2009

photo: miljöförvaltningen, malmö stad

sustainable district in malmö has

become an international pioneer

a new, modern district has been erected in what used to be a port and industrial area in malmö’s Västra hamnen (Western Harbour) in south sweden. Västra hamnen is a pilot project that shows how it is possible to create residential areas that are more ecologi-cally sustainable and at the same time offer a pleasant environment for residents. Malmö wanted to showcase leading examples of environmentally sound urban development at the national housing exhibition Bo01. The city was granted fund-ing from the local investment programme (LIP), and was awarded a further LIP grant in 2000–2002. A total of 65 actions were launched, principally in the areas of transport, energy, wastewater, waste management and the ecocycle, as well as biodiversity. Of these, 58 have been fully or partially implemented.

Västra hamnen provides a good example of how urban districts can be built with a far lower carbon footprint than present-day Swedish towns.

PositiVe enVironmental and economic imPacts

Energy for the 1,000 new apartments in Västra Hamnen is 100% locally •

produced and renewable. This means that CO₂ emissions from homes are almost zero.

The many green spaces, combined with innovative surface water management, •

provide a very pleasant environment for residents and good conditions for biodiversity.

The project has highlighted building methods that use significantly less toxic •

substances than usual.

The City of Malmö built a district where people recycle, use energy more •

for fUrther information contact:

tor fossum, city of malmö, +46 (0)40- 341267, +46

(0)703-510547, tor.fossum@malmo.se.

per-arne nilsson, city of malmö +46 (0)40-34 20 30, +46 (0)706-58 99 51, per-arne.nilsson@malmo.se. contractors/providers:

lb hus, wihlborgs fastigheter ab, ekologibyggarna, skanska nya hem, envac, e.on, veg tech ab. around twenty developers, a similar number of archi-tects and several energy companies were involved in the various projects in västra hamnen.

the project on the internet: www.malmo.se/vastrahamnen www.ekostaden.com

for further information on best practice: www.swedishepa.se/bestpractice www.naturvardsverket.se/mir facts

lip malmö, bo 01 2000. grant: mseK 183

swedish ePa se-106 48 stockholm. visiting address: stockholm - valhallavägen 195, Östersund - forskarens väg 5 hus Ub, Kiruna - Kaserngatan 14. tel: +46 8-698 10 00, fax: +46 8-20 29 25, e-mail: registrator@naturvardsverket.se internet: www.swedishepa.se orders ordertel: +46 8-505 933 40, orderfax: +46 8-505 933 99, e-mail: natur@cm.se address: cm-gruppen, box 110 93, se-161 11 bromma. internet: www.naturvardsverket.se/bokhandeln

imPlementation

Most of the projects are run by private operators such as developers and energy companies. Others are run by municipal companies. The environmental adminis-tration dealt with the overall coordination, follow-up and reporting of operations. To create a varied urban environment, the municipality chose to try to involve as many operators as possible in the projects.

Several projects have been aimed at making residents aware of the possibility of changing habits and the environmental gains this can bring.

The municipality tested two technical solutions for dealing with organic waste from households: waste macerators and an underground vacuum waste system. Both solutions are aimed at collecting the organic waste and digesting it to produce biogas.

Potential and future benefit

It is important to create sustainable towns. Developing many different kinds of environmental solutions in an urban district or residential area allows integrated systems and other complete solutions to be developed.

why best practice

this urban district is a pioneer in taking account of biodiversity in urban planning, even in small spaces. västra hamnen has attracted close attention around the world. the area receives around 3,000 visitors a year. representatives of malmö have attended conferences around the world to talk about västra hamnen. the bo01 has become a driving force in malmö’s switch to ecological sustainability.

the project was unique in involving so many players – a number of city administrative bodies, as well as a large number of private developers, energy companies and architects.

information facts best practice examples sUstainable cities lip – local investment programme, sweden

may 2009 isbn: 978-91-620-8402-8