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SDG: Life on land

Naturen på lika villkor

Studiefrämjandet is an adult educational association that offers education, lectures, workshops and cultural arrangements. They cooperates with municipalities and county administrative boards and investigates how accessible the outdoor life is and form recommendations on how to improve it. By helping municipalities to apply for fundings, actions to improve the outdoor life can be made.
Challenges

Individuals with functional variations are, still, in many ways excluded from nature areas and nature exploration, although experiencing nature and green areas is considered a fundamental human right.

Good practices & Solutions

Studiefrämjandet, a citizen-driven educational institution, co- initiated the application for funding for “Naturen på lika villkor” with NGOs Naturskyddsföreningen and Hjärnskadeförbundet (the Brain Damage Society) because they realised that they shared certain problem definitions and visions for change.

Further into the project, an associate of the Stockholm County Administrative Board accidentally learned about the project and became spontaneously intrigued by it after initiating a meeting with the coordinators from Studiefrämjandet the Administrative Board joined in as a funder and supporter of Naturen på lika villkor. Thus, the project has been cross-sectorial from the start. The project has since spawned a series of joint walks and events for promoting the expanded use of nature among the target groups, thus exploring ways of empowering and inspiring the various groups.

Related SDGs
  • 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
  • 10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
  • 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
  • 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
  • 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
  • 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
  • 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Further reading

Studiefrämjandet 

Södra Skanstull

Skanstull South is evolving into an area with reduced barriers for interaction and sustainable transport, while the pollution from surrounding traffic routes is being mitigated by positioning new buildings such that the backsides of the buildings are facing towards the roads. The Eriksdalsbadet swimming centre and the Trädgården music and arts hub are being supported and developed because they are deemed valuable meeting points for youth and people of other ages from all of south Stockholm, connecting residents from different areas and districts and helping to foster inclusion.

For the overall urban scheme, the city engaged three architectural firms in a parallel assignment. The best ideas were moulded together into the final concept (by one of the three firms). The different stakeholders were then asked to invite their own architects to pursue their projects within the overall framework. Thus, commitment from all stakeholders was secured. Meanwhile, local residents and civil and private organisations were involved in formulating needs and ideas for future development. Parts of Skanstull South belong to the civil defence infrastructure, which gives The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) an important say in its future use.

Related SDGs
  • 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
  • 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
  • 11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
  • 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
  • 11.6 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
  • 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
  • 15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
  • 16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
Further reading

White Arkitekter 

Årstaskogen

Årstaskogen is a more than 150-year-old forest covering 57 acres in the Årsta area just south of Södermalm in central Stockholm with particular ecological significance to the city, hosting many endangered animal species and plants.

In June 2017, the City of Stockholm Development Administration (Exploateringskontoret) approved a report suggesting an altered border of the Årsta Forest Nature Reserve. Simultaneously, the City of Stockholm was planning the construction of 800–1000 apartments in the area outside these altered borders. This was the starting point for the protest network Bevara Årstaskogen (”Preserve Årsta Forest”, BÅ).

BÅ uses petitions, crowdfunding, traditional and social media exhibitions of the issue, and dialogue with high-level decision-makers in order to gain the attention and influence needed to preserve the nature reserve. For example, students of Stockholm University published a thesis on the subject. In January 2018, the City of Stockholm announced its decision to make Årsta forest an official nature reserve, which was not deemed sufficient by BÅ and other critics. A petition in June 2018 gathered 13 834 signatures according to the website. The Centre Party of Stockholm’s (then) political opposition announced the preservation of Årstaskogen as an election issue before the September 2018 local elections in the City of Stockholm, in which the party grew three- fold.

The main issue concerns the construction of apartments in what is considered a precious green area in south-central Stockholm; these apartments are also estimated to have high rental prices. Thus, local social and ecological values are perceived by BÅ to be under threat from an inconsiderate public administration. Instead, the initiative recommends making the nature reserve more accessible, e.g. by laying down pathways and putting upsigns, as well as generally prioritising building more affordable rental apartments instead of launching expensive construction projects on previously untouched land.

Related SDGs
  • 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
  • 15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
  • 15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
  • 15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
  • 15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
Further reading

Bevara Årstaskogen 

Hållbar utveckling 2022 Initiative

Hållbar Utveckling is a platform offering education and knowledge exchange about sustainable development, particularly targeting SMEs, larger companies, and public institutions. It was founded in 2012 by CEO Helena Lindemark.

One notable initiative from Hållbar Utveckling is the 2022 InitiativeTM in which they invite organisations to participate in a planned 2022 manifestation of the 50-year anniversary of the first UN conference for sustainability, held in Stockholm in 1972. The 2022 Initiative aims to promote further matchmaking between users and problem-solving actors and networking between actors working for achieving the Agenda 2030 SDGs.

Further reading

Hållbar Utveckling

Innovating small-scale farming

Asociația pentru Susținerea Agriculturii Țărănești, ASAT (Association for the Support of Rural Agriculture) is a Romanian non-governmental organisation established in 2014 as a country-wide network of partnerships between traditional organic small-scale farmers and nearby consumers and cities. Following a cooperation model of creating partnerships between organic and local agricultural producers and local consumers and businesses, the project supports sustainable rural development and traditional agriculture while at the same time offering small-scale producers a step into the larger market. The organisation has been very successful in establishing an alternative model for the development of traditional small-scale farms, a model through which farmers receive a fair price for their work and which protects them from the instabilities of the food market dominated by large agri-businesses.
Challenge

Even though large-scale and modern techniques of farming are efficient in producing a vast quantity of agricultural product, such techniques are dependent on using pesticides, relying on monocultures and other practices that are harmful and hazardous for the biodiversity of the area. On top of this, local and small-scale producers who are farming organic and sustainable agricultural products have been forced out of business in favour of the expansion of large agribusiness.

Good practices and solutions

ASAT helps small-scale farmers to capitalize on the benefits provided by traditional agriculture in Romania. With a cooperation model based on solidarity and with a vertical governance, the organization has established a nation-wide network connecting local food producers with consumers and businesses. This model ensures the sustainability of small-scale farming, their possibility of collective bargaining ensures that producers receive a fair price for their products. Not only does this model support the financial sustainability of locally produced agri-products, it also helps to preserve local biodiversity.

Outcomes & Opportunities

The ASAT project is guided by three pillars: 1) Ecology and sustainability: small scale farmers supported by ASAT deliver healthy organic products to their consumers. ASAT farmers also work hard at preserving Romania’s traditional seed diversity; 2) Social inclusion and solidarity: most farmers supported ASAT were marginalized people at risk of poverty before entering the partnership. Now they manage to make a decent living and slowly grow their farm through new investments supported by the partnerships (e.g. investments in greenhouses, irrigation systems, technologies, etc.); 3) Direct sales of farm-made products: ASAT farmers sell their product directly to their consumer circumventing all intermediaries. Furthermore, the co-operative solidarity foundation and governing model of ASAT has been identified as a key factor for success, confirming the importance of accounting for the needs and demands of the local community in the decision-making process.

Related SDG targets
  • 8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
  • 10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average.
  • 15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

 

Photo: © Fineas Anton/Unsplash

Circular Island

In 1997, Samsø set the goal to be 100 percent energy self-sufficient within 10 years and in 2004 the island reached the goal, ahead of time. The transformation of Samsø from a carbon-dependent importer of oil and coal-fuelled electricity to a pioneer of renewables started when the island won a competition sponsored by the Danish ministry of environment and energy. The agency was looking for a showcase community that could prove, the then freshly announced Kyoto target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent was, in fact, achievable. Since 2004, Samsø has continued to act as a pioneer in the wider field of sustainability with a clear target set on becoming fossil free by 2030 and circular by 2050.
Samsø Energy Academy, an organization and a meeting place on the island, has played a key role in this journey – binding together the local people, NGO’s, farmers, businesses and local politicians in a strong network.
Challenge

Meeting the goals of carbon neutrality and sustainable use of resources, requires a holistic societal approach uniting citizens, producers, agencies and organisations in a shared vision for a green transition. A holistic approach is necessary but it is also a challenge since it requires acceptance and knowledge. Therefore, it is crucial to increasing the general knowledge of local residents and make all sectors active participants in the decision-making process, to realise the master transition plan.

Good practices and solutions

Samsø’s green transition has, since 1997 when the journey began, been divided into three phases with different thematic focal points and scopes.

The first phase, Island 1.0 Utopia is possible (1997-2017), focused on sustainable energy systems, which today are partially owned by the residents of the island. With an investment of 468 million kr. (US$73 million), the island is now 100 percent self-sufficient with renewable energy, and have a negative CO2 footprint of minus 3.5 tons per resident.

The second phase, Island 2.0 This IS difficult (2007-2030) is focused on phasing out all fossil fuels by 2030. This involves careful planning, arranging themed meetings, upgrading existing wind turbines, replacing oil furnaces with heat pumps, and advising residents and businesses to reduce their use of electricity and heat.

The third phase, Island 3.0 Common Sense (2011-2050) is focused on the recycling of resources and circular economy. The entire island community needs more knowledge to make informed decisions about technologies and economic investments, decisions that are based in a circular mindset and that accelerate the transformation towards a circular island economy.

Outcomes & Opportunities

Experiences from Samsø’s green transition has shown that working with sustainable development is a special type of developmental work that requires venturing into new territory, heading into uncharted waters. It takes community and collaboration models developed by practitioners. It requires a certain kind of leadership and a leader who know the local communities. The empowered community that has been established in Samsø is a proven source of success for the green transition on the island. One example of Samsø’s green transition success is the islands CO2 emission. Danish CO2 emissions as a whole were 7.4 ton per inhabitant, while Samsø islanders emitted minus 1.4 ton – 8.8 ton less than the average Dane.

Related SDG targets
  • 7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
  • 11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
  • 15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts.

 

Photo: © Michal Kubicek/Unsplash

Municipal Waste Management

In Oslo, the collaboration between the municipality and the population has resulted in an efficient use of resources. The city has set an overall target to reduce its CO2 emissions by 95 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 and to become carbon neutral by 2050. One of the measures needed to achieve this target is an integrated waste management system, which Oslo launched in 2006 with its Waste Management Strategy (WMS), aiming to establish a “recycle and reuse” society10. The citizens sort their waste at home using a system of color-coded trash bags that are collected by the municipal Agency for Waste Management and brought to the waste facilities. Once there, the Waste-to-Energy Agency sorts the household waste and produces district heating, biogas and biofertilizer. This resource-focused way of thinking is the main force behind a circular economy approach that is needed to reach the target of carbon neutrality.
Challenges

Cities consume about 75 percent of global energy and emit between 50 and 60 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gases12. The global waste problem is also increasingly linked to urbanisation as the growing number of cities are becoming mass producers of waste13. Efficient waste management systems are key to meet the targets of carbon neutrality and greater energy and resource efficiency in any city.

Good practices and solutions

Using a system of color-coded trash bags, the waste that is produced by the city is sorted through an optical separation system at waste management sites Haraldrud and Klemetsrud, where green bags containing food waste and blue bags with plastic packaging are separated automatically from the residual waste. The food waste, together with other biological materials, becomes biogas and biofertilizer, while the plastic waste is handled by Grønt Punkt Norway (Green Dot Norway) and ends up as new plastic products. The residual waste is incinerated and becomes district heating for Oslo’s population11. The system makes it easier for the citizens to correctly dispose a vast majority of their produced waste, at the same deposit sites only using differently coloured bags. This also makes the transportation of waste more efficient as all waste pickups can be centralized to fewer locations. Today, only two colours are used for identification, green and blue. However, there is no limit to the number of colours that could be used for sorting and therefore has the potential for upscaling.

Outcomes and opportunities

A key to the success of the Oslo waste management system is that it required no logistical changes to the existing waste management system and could be implemented rapidly – contrary to the alternative of adding more waste containers and routes for the collection vehicles. As of now, 21 percent of the plastic, 64 percent of glass and metal, and 76 percent of paper and cardboard are recycled. In addition, it seems that by making food waste visible, the system has had an educational effect, making the citizens more aware about the volume of food that is wasted, as the total volume of food waste has reduced by 5 percent since the system started.

Related SDG targets

  • 9.B Support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities.
  • 13.B Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
  • 15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts.

 

Photo: © Markus Spiske / Unsplash

 

C/O City

C/O City is about connecting and assessing ecosystem services (ESS) for development in urban environments. It has substantially contributed to spreading knowledge about ESS, which is a social- ecological concept that can be applied to various societal sectors, including private businesses, building companies, non-profits and policy-makers.

 

Challenges

Ecosystem services (ESS) are functions within the ecosystem that improve or sustain the well-being of mankind. Among these services are pollinating insects, leisure from green areas, and purification of water and air. Green infrastructure refers to various areas and connections of natural life and wildlife contributing to maintaining these services.

Difficulties of ESS being included in city development processes, as well as the fact that biodiversity was greatly discussed within city development without mentioning the human benefits of this diversity, triggered the launching of C/O City. Connecting ESS to the development of green infrastructure in the building process would therefore create better conditions for sustainable urban development. The newly developed area of Norra Djurgårdsstaden (also featured in this report) became the central location of the project, and the development of the area invited a range of R&D projects to enhance its sustainable features. The C/O City project was carried out in three stages, beginning with a pre-study conducted by U&WE, a consultancy bureau promoting socially and ecologically conscious enterprises. This was followed by the City of Stockholm carrying out the main work during stage 2, and then presenting and promoting the results during the last stage.

Good Practices & Solutions

The project nurtured a co-creative approach between the participating actors, although citizens were not part of it at any stage. The approach used no explicit tool or method to achieve its co-created solutions but employed the collaboration consultancy firm LÄNKA as facilitators during kick-offs, seminars, and for general process support.

As mentioned above, the three stages activated different partners. Whereas U&WE provided expertise on the variety of relevant actors, projects, and already existing businesses working with social and environmental innovation, the public servants from the City of Stockholm provided the main expertise on planning and construction processes. The Sweden Green Building Council, a non-profit organisation, provided a vast network of construction companies and building certification systems for implementing ESS as a relevant part of these systems. However, a conscious strategy from the start was to co- produce knowledge, so environmental and other relevant expertise from researchers and U&WE as well as the operational expertise of the municipality and construction actors were integrated during the course of the project. Participatory dialogue was likewise consciously not included; the results from the project would instead serve as a tool for facilitating future participatory dialogue processes, particularly within city development and construction programmes.

Outcome & Opportunities

C/O City managed to include the concept and evaluation of ESS into the programme of Citylab, a certification system for sustainable housing created by the Sweden Green Building Council. The Excel-based tool Grönytefaktor för allmän platsmark (GYF AP), used for quantifying the values provided by different types of green areas, was also introduced into the green certification process and presented in a report. C/O City decided to continue operations as a non-profit organisation through the digital platform Hållbar stad beginning in 2018. Moreover, several public authorities and municipalities now have ESS included as part of their mission. On a broader level, C/O City has substantially contributed to spreading knowledge about ESS to various societal sectors, including private business, building companies, non-profit organisations, and policymakers.

“ESS” is a social-ecological concept, making it more suitable for sustainable urban development than the hitherto more commonly used “biodiversity”. The concept has virtually exploded in recent years and is rapidly becoming a general guiding variable used in the context of city planning.

Lessons learned & Recommendations

Communicating the concepts of ESS and green infrastructure in a pedagogical manner was a great challenge. Lack of willingness to be influenced by others proved too significant an obstacle for one of the actors who left the project in its third and final stage.

Existing legislation constituted another stepping stone when, for example, building green roofs (due to fire risk). Promoting the modification of policies thus became an additional part of the project.

Devoting one year almost exclusively to discussion concerning objectives, vision, and principles was worthwhile, although it demanded a firmly held belief in the fundamental idea of the project. Getting researchers on board is also vital to such projects. The project was successful because the stakeholders managed to achieve a shared goal, with each actor having an interest in promoting the project.

Having different actors sitting “on the same side of the table” for once was empowering with regards to the objectives of C/O City. Such collaborations between construction companies and municipalities are fairly unusual, but these created a level of mutual understanding that proved essential for the project’s outcome.

Related SDGs
  • 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
  • 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
  • 15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
Further Reading

C/O City

 

Rosendals Trädgård

The project has transformed and cultivated 2000kvm of land, at the organic café Rosendals Trädgård. This is an attempt to change the narrative of sustainable food production and to develop a sustainable food box out of the cultivation testbed.

 

Challenges

A just, global food production regime allows for each human being to cultivate 2,000 square metres of land. Currently, however, the distribution of land is asymmetrical and is focussed on maximising output while minimising cultivation spaces, contributing to nutrition shortage and “welfare diseases” as well as to eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, for example. Moreover, the debate around farming in Sweden is polarised between conventional versus ecological farming. There is a need to change the narrative from one positioning humans as victims and/or perpetrators to having a transformative role. 2000 kvm (English: “2000 sq. m.”) explores the overlooked concept and narrative of regenerative farming within the just space of 2000 sq. m. in an open environment located at the organic café Rosendals Trädgård. Thus, Rosendals Trädgård attempts to create means for developing both innovative business models and healthy sustainable meals for tomorrow’s cities, while re- writing the narrative of sustainable food production and visualising transformative scenarios. The concrete purpose of the project is to develop a sustainable food box out of the cultivation testbed.

Good Practices & Solutions

The team of 2000 kvm are conscious of the challenges emanating from initiating such a project. The design process in itself is rigidly structured. The project does not employ pre- designed methodologies but instead utilises three overarching structures to design and facilitate the co-creative process. First, the project’s theoretical starting point is to work with Systems Change in Open Networks, taught within GAIT (Guild of Agents for International Transformation). Many of the involved individuals share experience from GAIT, thus facilitating a common understanding.

Second, achieving a common basic view is prioritised. In order to have a functioning team, utilising official team contracts based on established joint principles is key to achieve an inclusive culture for diverse experiences and epistemologies, as one generally tends to work with like-minded individuals if principles are not outspoken.

Third, a non-coercive principle is emphasised because it is considered necessary for change processes to be voluntary and interactive. People need to be integrated and involved into the change process.

Starting from these overarching structures, methods are designed according to each structure and operation in a flexible way. The same goes for the people involved; depending on which actors are required in a certain phase, the translation of knowledge – and, consequently, the level of ambition – needs to be continuously adjusted.

The concept “Take care of your square” – with regards to global justice and planetary limits – was coined as guidance for everyone involved in testing the 2000 square metre testbed.

Outcome & Opportunities

As the 2000 sq. m. food box is realised, the expectation is that it will eventually expand into a commonly embraced concept, complementary to currently acknowledged sustainable diet options. Another expectation is that this will contribute to regenerative farming becoming an alternative to the aforementioned dichotomisation in the current discourse around sustainable farming.

Lessons learned & Recommendations

Goals of co-creation processes are not likely to be met if calculations do not include time and resources being set aside for developing the co-creative process as an acknowledged practice. Co-creation is dependent on stakeholders “owning the change process not being required to translate their thinking to the concepts of researchers”, while the researcher needs to respect the narrative of these stakeholders to be met in the co-creation process. Thus, funders need to put higher demands on these aspects; otherwise, researchers or other project coordinators might end up ruining the transformative process.

Other more general challenges for co-creation for sustainable development are the lack of concepts and vocabulary, but equally so the lack of co-creation as a practical craft. Knowledge of these aspects is usually non-existent, even though many prefer and encourage working across sectors and diverse stakeholder groups. The reason for this is that there are no professional requirements for initiating co-creation; it is open for everyone.

The creative sector – art, design, and other cultural crafts – is a valuable asset to foster co-creation. However, using artists and scientists together might be deemed unprofessional and even “fudged”, and this is a risk that might prevent some actors from enabling full co- creation.

Nature must be present in co-creation processes such as 2000 kvm, either through research, a certain space, or a craft because the work being done refers to a constellation involving both humans and nature.

Using and targeting public procurement as a means of enhancing and scaling results is a proven asset, at least within sustainable food innovation.

Related SDG targets
  • 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
  • 2.4.1 Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
  • 3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
  • 11.A Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
  • 11.B By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
  • 12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resource
  • 12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
  • 12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
  • 15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
Further reading

Experiment 2000 kvm

eRoad Arlanda

eRoad Arlanda tests an electrified road in order to create knowledge needed for a national implementation, the test road connects Arlanda Airport with Rosersberg logistic area, a distance of 10 km of which 2 km are being electrified.
Challenges

Roughly 10% of Swedish annual CO2 emissions emanate from the transport of goods. The Swedish government has set a goal of fossil fuel-independent transport by 2030. However, road-bound transport is expected to increase with 59% by then. The challenge rests on providing new sustainable means of supporting the growing number of transport vehicles. One innovative technique enabling this ambitious prospect is the construction of electrified roads. Today, electrified vehicles are dependent on large batteries due to the small number of charging stations. If the vision of an electrified Swedish main road network is realised, batteries can be made much smaller and thus more sustainable, because charging batteries at stations will become largely obsolete for vehicles using the main national and regional highways.

eRoad Arlanda tests an electrified road in order to create knowledge needed for a national implementation of this solution. The test road connects Arlanda Airport with Rosersberg logistic area, a distance of 10 km of which 2 km are being electrified. The main vehicles using the road are larger trucks transporting goods, mainly from the state-owned main Swedish postal service PostNord. A large number of participating organisations contribute in various forms to the outcome of the testing area.

With so many actors involved, the consortium is dependent on structured co-operation and joint vision. This is in turn to some extent dependent on personal chemistry and individual engagement. Also, functioning regulations and standards for partnerships such as e-Road Arlanda are not yet sufficiently explored, leaving many questions unanswered.

Another challenge is the fact that potential customers are not demanding electrified roads, partly since it is an innovation and therefore unexpected, and partly for reasons unknown. This has proved a challenge for the mind-set of many of the actors involved because they need to firmly believe in the potential of the solution even without customers considering it.

The concept of innovation procurement poses a challenge due to its complexity, and for example lawyers of NCC are still having difficulties fully understanding what it means. Moreover, future financing is not completely secured because high speed trains are currently receiving more attention regarding funding on a national political level.

Good Practices & Solutions

The Swedish spearheading actors of e-Road Arlanda were Gunnar Asplund of Elways and the large construction company NCC. While Elways was the main innovator and developer of the electrified road technology itself, they lacked resources needed to test the roadway, which was supported by NCC.

After the Swedish Transport Administration procured the innovation of electrified roads from Elways, the prospect took on more large-scale proportions and a consortium was established for developing a test project of electrifying a longer portion of a road. The Dutch company E-Traction was an important actor in this regard because they provided the truck that was first used, whereas the company ABT was given the main responsibility for the group of vehicles. Together they used their expertise to prepare the tests. Sigtuna Municipality leased the road used for testing, previously mainly used by the police.

With many of the main actors being heavily business oriented, the idea of integrating the customer’s perspective into the collaboration project is ever-present. Equally important and common knowledge to most of the actors are the aspects of risk-taking, uncertainties, multi-organisational partnership constellations, and complex problem-solving. These prerequisites significantly aid the progress of e-Road Arlanda. With NCC being the main organising part, their experience and stability in leading projects and multi-organisational partnerships is well needed, apart from their more obvious knowledge on related material aspects such as asphalt and roads: “The facility itself is not rocket science”. The Swedish Transport Administration serves as the main steering and guiding part, but the operations themselves are managed by the various actors according to their specific expertise.

Outcome & Opportunities

Regardless of the final assessment of the test road, the opportunities for scaling up are already relatively clarified. If 5000 km of the most trafficked roads and highways – out of a total of roughly 20 000 km of roads in Sweden – were to be electrified, CO2 emissions from heavy transport is estimated to be reduced by 50%. Furthermore, the new technology would be integrated into existing infrastructure, a welcomed cost-saving procedure. Safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike is believed to be further enhanced by e-roads, particularly when combined with autonomous vehicles.

Lessons learned & Recommendations

In a consortium of such a variety of actors and routines, it is especially necessary to be precise and clear when formulating ideas and statements. When dealing with a large spectrum of competences, it is essential to try and remain a specialist and not act as a general expert. Keeping the consortium well functioning is key because innovation projects tend to attract the attention of naysayers and sceptics, and allowing the partnership to suffer or funding money to run out could mean a backlash from outside disrupting the progress and perhaps even halting the very implementation of the innovation itself. For similar reasons, keeping good relations and dialogue with key public authorities is essential because the success of the project is dependent on their approval.

Patience is considered another virtue to technology innovation because testing processes require unusual amounts of time before generating productive outcomes, and every step taken needs to be verified: “Expect the unexpected”.

An important lesson learned is that Sweden traditionally puts much faith in the vehicle industry, with large companies like Scania and Volvo. However, due to their primary interest in selling as many of their old models as possible before they become out-dated, they were not considered as partners in e-Road Arlanda. Instead, infrastructure and transportation actors were the ones mainly approached.

Related SDGs
  • 3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
  • 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
  • 11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
  • 14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
  • 15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
Further reading

eRoad Arlanda

Enable Stockholm: Flaten Lake

Flaten area has been in a transition phase for the past few years and it has been the largest nature reserve in Stockholm since its founding in 2005. The focus of the project is on gathering data and knowledge about the specific conditions in Flaten and subsequently sharing these results within the larger Enable project (in which Stockholm’s Flaten is one of six cases in different cities).

 

Challenges

Urban areas undergoing substantial changes and restructuring pose challenges regarding how to navigate natural resources in relation to local residents. The Stockholm case of the EU-funded research project Enable investigates the prerequisites for optimising the value of green and blue infrastructure in the rapidly changing area of Lake Flaten. The largest nature reserve in Stockholm since its founding in 2005, the Flaten area has been in a transition phase for the past few years. This has called for an investigation into how nature is being (and could be) used for recreation as the surrounding society gradually changes, while still maintaining its rich ecological qualities. In order to produce this knowledge, local stakeholders are approached on a broad level, although each actor participates on its own terms.

The project is largely focused on gathering data and knowledge about the specific conditions in Flaten and subsequently sharing these results within the larger Enable project (in which Stockholm’s Flaten is one of six cases in different cities). Thus, the results are mainly meant to provide value for the future development of Flaten Lake and are not generalisable. However, the methods evaluated during the process will be potentially applicable in a larger context, as well as certain aspects of the research results.

Good Practices & Solutions

The research process is designed to entail testing of a participatory resilience assessment adapted to an urban context. Thus, the project is both a learning process regarding the issues stated above as well as a meta-learning process, i.e. an exploration of participatory research methods. Knowledge is co-produced with researchers, public servants, individuals, associations, communities, and other stakeholders around Flaten Lake through a work package of citizen research, workshops, enquiries, and follow-ups and regularly updating participants while preserving results along the way. Each phase is designed so that all participants are able to give feedback on a personal level, largely avoiding group-based evaluation (and thereby risking consensus).

Obstacles for co-creation between actors often appear in the form of time, and voluntary organisations and individuals cannot always show up during the same hours as public servants and researchers. There are also numerous latent and active conflicts between some of the participating stakeholders, whether related to the project or not. Some participants are public servants and architects responsible for designing new local construction projects and are likely to receive critique when encountering local residents: “When things are being built, someone will always be displeased about it.” This creates a tension that needs to be taken into account so as not to jeopardise the overall objectives.

To logistically manage a chequered group of stakeholders with diverse schedules, interests, and resources, discussions are conducted parallel to one another and never with all stakeholders present at any single time. However, the leading actors have made sure that stakeholder groups inform one another regularly so that everyone has access to the same information. Furthermore, several different processes are designed to be going on simultaneously, thus enabling diverse forms of involvement. Although the research process has been prepared in advance, some aspects of the process are being altered according to needs along the way because not all prerequisites of all stakeholders can be foreseen.

A quite different potential stepping stone for the future application of the results is the fact that no decision-makers have been part of the project, hence there is a lack of a policy- driving aspect. This has not been a definite decision, but rather a consideration due to limited resources.

Outcome & Opportunities

As mentioned, the main outcomes are aimed at an academic context – mainly producing articles presenting project results – and less towards a policy-development process. However, having managed to bring so many local residents, businesses, and activities on board throughout the research project might potentially increase locals’ interest and commitment in developing the lake and nature reserve. Moreover, the process’s learning outcomes might be acknowledged as a substantial basis for future action-oriented research processes aiming at bringing in practitioners for producing knowledge for sustainable cities.

As part of the project, a review article published in 2017 highlights the apparent knowledge gap between decision-making for enhancing urban ecosystem services through green infrastructure and biodiversity and ecosystem services relations, stating that there is still little empirical evidence to suggest that biodiversity is substantially strengthened by urban ecosystems services.

Lessons learned & Recommendations

Far from surprising, dialogue takes its toll on the schedule. Having diverse groups working with a common vision is a “continuous headache”, requiring continuous discussions and re- formulating of objectives and boundaries and coordinating different points of view into a coherent process. One notable example is the systemic perspective not being embraced or even fully comprehended by all actors because many instead choose to apply an issue- specific perspective. On a higher level, coordinating an international co-creative project requires proactive communication structures. Co-creation is considered not to work well in large group meetings; instead, bilateral dialogues are held between managers of the six different projects.

There is a danger in trying to generalise one’s results. In a case study like this, it is more reasonable to assume that the outcome will be a rather particular one and, in this case, efforts should be focused on developing the Flaten area: “We are trying to work against the scientific illusion of things being generalisable.” Thus, each of the six case studies has relative autonomy regarding problem definition and methodology. This is also a reason why Agenda 2030 has not been explicitly part of the problem definition even though the SDGs cover the issues being investigated in Enable.

Related SDGs
  • 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
  • 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
  • 14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
  • 14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
  • 15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
Further reading

 

The Street as Public Space

The Traffic Office in Stockholm is commissioned to, together with private sector and citizens, finding places for pop-up parks and pedestrian streets with potential to vitalise the public space. The vision is that this experiment will contribute to the development of new regulations and strategies that enables initiators in Stockholm to carry out activities and create meeting places in the public space in the future.

Challenges 
The public planning in Stockholm has been guided by cars for 60 years. There is a growing consensus for change from a city of cars to a city of public transport, and new initiatives are coming from both officials and private sectors. The region recently adopted a new vision for the city, “Living Stockholm”. The aim is to create prerequisites for a vibrant city with diverse activities and inclusive places in the public space by co-creating the space together with initiators, Stockholmers and politicians. In order to realise this vision it is crucial to free the public space from car traffic and create space for pedestrians and cyclists

Good practices & solutions

Initially, rules and regulations may need to be changed to facilitate co-creation initiators in their reshaping of the shared public spaces. It is imperative that local government officials and politicians are in tune, and that there are clear political directives to push through adopted strategies.

Outcome & opportunities

The City Commissioner for Traffic does not believe that a transformation from car to public transport and bike will involve any major problems for Stockholmers. The Commissioner does not believe that the inhabitants of Stockholm are in need of their cars to the extent previously presumed.  With this in mind, the city have chosen to pursue a more compact inner city.

Lessons learned & recommendations
The ambition to create a “living Stockholm” and make Stockholm a city guided by public transport, is a big commitment and a challenge for the city. Such an initiative  requires bold political directives.

Related SDG targets

11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.

9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.

15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts

Rural Women’s Assembly

Afrikagrupperna is a non-profit, non-party-political and non- religiously-based solidarity organization with a vision of a just world. The organization originated in the solidarity movement in Sweden in the late 1960s. Afrikagrupperna works to strengthen the civil society that is already in place in a south African context. Together with partner organizations in southern Africa, the Afrikagrupperna has worked for over 40 years to ensure that people have access to their rights.
Challenge

The UN has predicted that the world population will increase to around 9.6 billion in 2050, and to a large extent, this will be on the African continent. In Africa, the population will double or more, and according to the prognosis the African population will increase to about 2.4 billion by 2050. When the population increases, the movement and settlement patterns change from rural to increasingly urban. In order to secure an inclusive and equal development, as well as sustainable and long term based, Afrikagrupperna focus on securing the rights of rural women through a feminist point of view.

Good practices & solutions

Since the organization has been established for so long it has gathered a great experience of development cooperation and use well tested methods based in a deeply rooted ideology. However, only recently has the organization adopted a strong feminist strategy. This
in order to secure that the most vulnerable groups, women and children, are prioritized within their development work. Some projects specifically target women and children, but all development cooperation have a feminist perspective throughout. One example is the Rural Women’s Assembly, an initiative that organize rural women within the whole southern African region. The Rural Women’s Assembly is one of the most important ways to reach the groups that will be the future urban citizens.

Outcome & opportunities

If rural women get the possibility to mobilize and work together, they increase their possibilities to secure other many human rights, such as sexual and reproductive health rights. The sexual
and reproductive health rights are threatened globally, that is a setback for all human rights, and it is the first sign of a threat. For women to have the possibility to have larger meetings, to mobilize, to feel secure enough to meet without a threat is a crucial building block for a sustainable society where women are an active part of the community both locally and globally. Involving women is key to reach a sustainable development all over the globe, especially in the fight against climate change, democratic setbacks, human rights and our possibility to decrease poverty and reach food sovereignty within the global south. Mobilizing, offering safe spaces and being able to support grassroot movements are important methods to reach a sustainable development and integrate a feminist perspective within all development cooperation work.

Lessons learned & recommendations

Over the decades, Afrikagrupperna have found the only way to create sustainable development is to listen to those who’s rights are threatened. It should not be top down when it comes to development. The model of core support is one way the organisation work to realise this vision. By supporting local organisations with core funding it becomes possible to actively listen and navigate the landscape of civil society on a local level. In regard to this, Afrikagrupperna has also found that a feminist approach is a valuable tool in strengthening civil society and creating resilience.

Related SDG targets
  • 3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
  • 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
  • 5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights
  • 5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
  • 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
  • 10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
  • 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
  • 15.6 Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed
  • 17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public- private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnership
Further reading

#Women4Cities interview – Louise Lindfors

#Women4Cities

Afrikagrupperna

Testbädd Gröna Solberga

The test bed in Solberga is a form of research and demonstration facility where small companies, researchers and various organizations cooperate with the residents to find solutions together for the housing sector’s environmental challenges.

Challenges

Housing accounts for roughly 40% of energy use in Sweden, making apartment and facility renovation and innovation an essential prerequisite for reaching SDGs 6 and 11. Moreover, many urban areas in Sweden are facing increasing risks of flooding from heavier rainfalls due to climate change.

The current standard procedure when launching a testbed is to address particular residences and almost never local communities as a whole. This was partly the reason why the Solberga Testbed, labeled by its organisers as “The most living testbed in Sweden”, was launched in February 2018 by IVL and Stockholmshem, funded by ERUF platform Grön Bostad.

The main objective of the testbed is to promote better management of stormwater, surface water and waste. Companies and researchers are invited to join the testbed for experimenting with new solutions and behavioural change for reducing energy use in various contexts while contributing to a viable area and its social value.

Stockholmshem have clear financial goals in attracting business and residents to Solberga, where they own a considerable amount of apartments. The residents are included insofar as they are able on a voluntary basis, endangering a broad long-term citizen commitment. Grön Bostad wish to improve the environmental management conditions in Solberga while attracting private and public actors as well as citizens to keep the process going, hopefully by far outliving the project itself. On top of that, the structural fund has to approve of the results reported.

Good practices & solutions

Using a smaller community for trial-and-error activities with the possibility to fail repeatedly is considered crucial for a successful testbed. Therefore, creating good relations with the residents is key, thereby creating acceptance for a quantity of ideas to be tried out in their daily life. Companies wanting to be a part of the trials is also a welcomed feature.

Residents are invited to participate in test projects such as urban gardening and surface water management through workshops and casual activities. Stockholmshem is known to house many environmentally committed tenants, further facilitating the ongoing work of the testbed.

Outcome & opportunities

Of the solutions tested, notable examples are surface water being diverted into urban gardening use and reducing smell in local waste management in order to facilitate placing waste collecting stations close to residents. Surface water, putting significant pressure on water treatment systems, will be led through specially designed drain pipes instead of down the general municipal draining system. Preserved in local facilities, it will be utilized in hydroponics (water-only gardening) managed by urban gardening company Kretsloppsbolaget. The smell-reducing technology is provided by waste management company Bioteria. In a longer perspective, the organisers hope to contribute to an enhanced circular economy in the area. The project is open for new cleantech companies as long as they want to be included, with Stockholmshem also harboring hopes of appealing to the social aspect as well as the ecological, for example involving the residents in urban gardening, thereby improving social trust and community in the area.

Lessons learned & recommendations

Involving citizens can be difficult, as they do not possess the same time schedules and possibilities as other involved actors; it is particularly necessary to foster good relations with them, as well as with housing owners. Being allowed to fail with experiments occurring in their own environment requires a high level of trust and understanding. Collaborative projects cannot be written, they need to be equally conducted and tried in practice as they need to be prepared and planned. This may be obvious to many, but in academia it is hardly commonplace.

Engaged partners & stakeholder groups

Grön Bostad, Stockholmshem, local residents, cleantech SMEs, IVL.

Further reading

Gröna Solberga

Leader

Leader is a method for rural development elaborated in the 1990’s, also useable in urban areas. The leading principle is to make local communities participants in developing their future. A specific area or region can choose to become a Leader area, of which there are currently 48 existing in Sweden. Each area has a central office to which local cross-sectorial development and innovation projects can apply for funding and support. An earlier Leader development project in the Stockholm Region, UROSS (Utveckla Roslagen och Stockholms Skärgård, “Developing the Roslagen Area and the Stockholm Archipelago”) 2007-2013, effectively utilised Leader and confirmed its potential for creating local participatory initiatives and hope for the future.

Challenges

The Stockholm archipelago, with its roughly 30 000 islands (of which about 200 are inhabited), together with the vast rural areas surrounding the city comprise a substantial part of the Stockholm Region. The archipelago alone hosts around 3 million tourists every year. Much of the region’s wildlife, green areas, cultural heritage and nature reserves are located in these areas. Although sparsely populated, with a total of 113 991 stable residents in 2014, of which only 7 348 lived on the islands all year round, the countryside and archipelago together comprise around 5% of the total regional population. However, these areas are generally overlooked while facing major social and ecological sustainability challenges. Tourism has dramatically raised estate prices, especially in the archipelago. Establishing stable internet connections is still a challenge in most areas. The large local fishing business is challenged due to previously  unsustainable draft. Unemployment is relatively low in the archipelago (est. 2,5 % in 2014) but dramatically higher in the inland rural areas (est. 17% in 2011). The access to public services in the Stockholm archipelago is generally considered to be equally remote as in some northern parts of Sweden (Norrbotten).

Out of the 50 Swedish islands regarded as depopulated in 2013, 22 were located in the Stockholm Region.  In conclusion, the residents of the archipelago and rural areas of Stockholm are in need of empowerment in order to strengthen their own local businesses as well as creating feasible and sustainable living conditions.

Leader Stockholmsbygd was initiated in 2014 as a development project and non-profit organisation envisioning “an archipelago and a countryside in which local initiatives, interacting with the surrounding world, develop sustainable and attractive societies, spreading hope for the future.” It was approved in 2016 by the Swedish Board of Agriculture, meaning that Leader Stockholmsbygd was officially one of 48 approved Leader areas.

Good practices & solutions

Priority efforts for Leader Stockholmsbygd are the development of a local community attractive to visitors and inhabitants, promoting local foodstuffs and markets, creating a good environment and increasing sustainability. One aim is to further diversify the local community and its actors through increased collaboration around distribution of local products and services, logistics and marketing. This will also entail increased knowledge exchange and new meeting fora among the actors and with the surrounding world. Finally, a particular goal is to increase local knowledge about ecosystem services and sustainable development in order to strengthen the biological diversity of land and sea in the concerned areas.

The project/non-profit association functions mainly as a central resource of support for locally initiated projects. These projects are able to apply for funding and are supported in this process. Approval of funding depends on a set of criteria as a broader benefit to the leader area, locally-based approach and participation, collaboration with other stakeholders and sectors and last but not least contribution to one of four focus areas (smart villages, tourism, local food production and marine/nature conservation). Once approved, projects can receive investment funding as well as network building support, since Leader Stockholmsbygd has knowledge about potential collaborators. Leader Stockholmsbygd explicitly states a desire to promote cross-sectorial collaboration, diversity and synergies between stakeholders.

In 2014, 13 bygdemöten- meetings with local neighborhoods – were held, in total attracting around 140 participants. Participants included fishing associations, SME associations, neighbourhood associations, environmental activists, sports clubs, womens’ associations, farmers and local branches of Naturskyddsföreningen, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. During each meeting, a SWOT analysis was made to guide the discussions about needs and possibilities for future efforts.

Potential initiatives included increased local food production, tourism development, local investment companies, more rental apartments and recreational activities. Leader professionals are the target group of a particular academic course offered by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), in English “Innovation – coaching innovative processes”.

Outcome & opportunities

The whole area has a rich tradition of voluntary associations, family and small-scale businesses and social entrepreneurs. A certain self-made mentality pervades the area and its people. Instead of public meeting spaces, the civil society offers the most scenes for dialogue and community. Also, being a close neighbour to Sweden’s largest urban centre does provide certain opportunities that can be exploited further. As tourists are already numerous, an increased profiling of locally and organically grown foods could be further marketed to the environmentally aware urban consumers or attract visitors. Further use of digital marketing is considered especially beneficial to these areas, since they lack sufficient infrastructure. Being a more niched, entrenched and accessible project partner to stakeholders, Leader Stockholmsbygd has an advantage over other EU funds.

Lessons learned & recommendations

As the project attempts to grasp a diverse and wide area, the conditions for enabling local initiatives vary significantly. For example, the level of commitment and resourcefulness usually decreases with proximity to urban areas, as responsibility is expected from other actors rather than the local community. Due to budget restraints, LEADER Stockholmsbygd does not have the capacity to create a common platform for the different initiatives to meet and exchange knowledge. Lack of investment for local initiatives is  common. As mentioned in the above section, local investment funds is framed as a general alternative to applying for investment from larger actors. The younger generation is generally considered difficult to engage, partly due to the perceived lack of future possibilities, the main challenge in this regard not being work opportunities per se, but rather the lack of accessible societal services and housing. Involving a sufficiently large number of local actors is key. A well-balanced mix of required expertise is usually present in most areas. Balancing the local and global aspects is particularly difficult. Local residents need a stronger sense of community while achieving stronger bonds with and openness towards the rest of the world. If this is not achieved, matters will not move forward.

Related SDG targets

 

Norra Djurgårdsstaden

Challenges

Developing Norra Djurgårdsstaden (NDS), a completely new urban district for 12 000 residents and workplaces for 35 000 people, has been a significant feature of the last two decades of planning in central Stockholm and, naturally, a huge challenge. It was, however, only half-way through the process that the Stockholm City Council in 2009 decided to profile NDS as an internationally competitive hallmark of sustainability, inspired by the previously successful development of Hammarby Sjöstad. This serves municipal marketing purposes while it promotes sustainable and innovative models of urban planning, construction and development that can be adopted by future projects.

Good practices & solutions

Developing a sustainable city district cannot be done by merely assigning the task to the Development Administration at the municipal administration; close co-operation is needed with other departments, construction, housing and other companies, residents and academia. A particular organisation was built up solely for working with NDS, with thematic groups of experts breaking down the many different project goals into specific sustainability requirements. Co-creation of problem definitions and ideas was also present at an early stage by necessity, as those involved in the long and complex development process had different experiences, knowledge, vocabulary and view of the problem, meaning that they needed to develop common frameworks in order to work together. In 2008, KTH conducted a series of future workshops, gathering experts and stakeholders around issues such as transport and energy, in order to gain a broad understanding of the challenges and possibilities of NDS. The outcome of these workshops implied a way forward for developing NDS. In 2010, a World Class Agreement (Swedish: världsklassavtal) was developed by around 100 different actors – including construction companies – regarding NDS. Again, when revising the NDS sustainability vision and targets in 2017, a similar process was conducted, in which researchers, different city administrations and companies, developers, by then established residents and others were involved in working out future challenges and objectives. Requirements specifications have been emphasised throughout the project. First, sustainability requirements are set at a high level.

Second, from an early stage, assigned developers need to declare their data on a regular basis so that requirements can be carefully followed up. Third, the main incentive for living up to requirements is not, as is usually the case, a fine, but open declaration of achievements in NDS’s annual sustainability reports. Not wholly unexpected, many developers anticipated a failure to meet requirements; thus, developing sustainability competence became a highly emphasised part of the process at an early stage. Forum för hållbara lösningar (Forum for Sustainable Solutions) was initiated in 2012 and has held around 20 events where material industry can meet developers to talk about innovative products and businesses. A capacity development programme is held since 2010 of knowledge sharing between involved actors in construction and sustainable development processes. The capacity development programme particularly demonstrates the progress of NDS, but also generally discusses innovative solutions to building sustainable housing. While many actors initially showed reluctance to participate, it only required for a few to join the competence development process for others to follow and subsequently compete with each other regarding learning about sustainability. The close dialogue with constructors also helped to improve project management’s requirement specifications.

NDS works with 5 overarching strategies, each encompassing the three dimensions
of sustainable development:
1) A vibrant city.
Emphasising the public space as an important area for equality and accessibility for all.
2) Let nature do the work
Harnessing green and blue qualities in improving life quality; for example, laying green rooftops is essential in order to meet requirements.
3) Accessibilty and proximity
Providing proximity to societal services and making fossil fuels as redundant as possible by promoting cycling and pedestrians.
4) Resource efficiency and climate responsibility
Creating smart management systems of energy, waste and engaging in a sharing economy. Moreover, a particular centre for re-use and restoration of used materials
and goods creates new value for artisanry connected to these practices, thus enabling a form of circular knowledge.
5) Participation and consultation

Local collaboration within and between neighbourhoods is emphasised through digital and analogue means. In order to experiment and push boundaries in NDS, R&D projects were welcomed to create innovative solutions with NDS as testbed. All projects were coordinated by the NDS strategic sustainability group, promoting projects in particular areas of interest to form a balanced and diverse portfolio of  outcomes. Projects mainly worked according to triple or quadruple helix models, including C/O City, who developed new tools for assessing green qualities in built environment. 7For the NDS project management, the internal anchoring process of the unusual collaboration forms with construction actors, other cities and research institutesultimately took approximately 3-4 years to accomplish; however, the dialogue that has originated out of this process has become particularly beneficial and probably unprecedented for the City of Stockholm. Moreover, the close dialogue format breeds a higher level of respect and understanding due to mutual learning between actorsand their objectives, as well as an environment of constructive criticism.

No particular method has been utilised to foster co-creation apart from general project management tools; managing the chain of ownership by establishing contact higher up in the municipal management structure, and horizontally between departments, has been key to having the right expertise present at as many meetings and forums as possible.

Outcome & opportunities

NDS is currently the home of 6 000 residents having successively moved in since 2012. NDS won the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Awards in 2015 in the category of sustainable city district, awarded at the UN Paris Climate Conference. Through its high requirements, NDS has implemented a rich variety of sustainable solutions and more are waiting to be implemented. While apartments will be costly, the new land allocation agreement assigns developers to shaping properties in order to maximise accessibility in public spaces to attract a diversity of citizens.

Lessons learned & recommendations

The early stage is crucial for success in terms of co-creating sustainable solutions and knowledge. Aspects in need of particular attention in this regard are: clarifying the objectives and involvement of each actor, working on a strategic level, harnessing leadership, not giving up, have the courage to evaluate regularly, internal anchoring, revising targets, supporting the creative process and a general intuitive feeling. A particular significance is paid to including sustainable goals from the beginning, instead of pasting it onto already existing structures. A challenge hitherto unmanaged in NDS is the continuous documentation and preservation of knowledge generated in the process, in order to ensure that it lives on into other projects.

Further reading

Norra Djurgårdsstaden

Empowering youth through city farming

4H is an international youth organisation with activities in city farming, animal care, sports, cooking and theatre, amongst others. In Sweden the organisation, and the local 4H-clubs, have worked with city farms since the 1970s, with focus on self-sufficient sshopping centre-scale farming. One of the most important goals of the farm are inclusion and that all members are able to participate in farm activities. Stora Skuggan 4H farm is one of the largest cooperations of city farms in Sweden, with a total of 37 4H-farms spread all over the country.
Challenges

The organisation wants to create inclusive meeting spaces and activities where all children and youths are welcome. The vision of the organisation is that all children and youths will develop a strong sense of commitment and responsibility to respect the surrounding environment. There is an extensive need for urban activities that reach children from all areas, including more economically challenged areas. For example, young girls in the suburbs lack affordable spaces to hang out and the organisation give them an opportunity to spend their leisure time in a welcoming environment. The organisation emphasise that their activities offer an important contribution to society, as few spaces and activities for children are both non-performance and non-commercial based. The aim of creating this space in this kind of the setting is to help children with an unstable social background develop a sense of belonging.

 Good practices & solutions

As a volunteer organisation, the local 4H-club at the city farm engages youths in farming, animal care, nature care and ecosystem knowledge. The 4H city-farms are open for all children and youth. Active members range between the age of 6-25 years. The members and visitors of the farms are girls, to a large majority. One method developed within the 4H-farm is called“mini-leaders”. Becoming a Mini-leader is the first part of the farms’ leadership program, where children from the age of 11 begin to help out at in various ways, for example hosting visitors, and train younger members at farm activities. They also work with ecosystem awareness by engaging and informing other children. Another method applied is the“4H recycle visit program”where children in the ages of 4-8 can through actively follow the life cycle off eggs; from hen to egg and from eggshell to compost and from composted soil to growing crops, giving seeds to feed the hen that produces new eggs.

Outcome & opportunities

These two methods are only two of many that has resulted in a warm, including, accepting and welcoming social environment at the 4H-farm. 4H is a safe place for visitors and members, especially for children with socio-economic burdens at home or in school. The inclusive work of the organisation enables unique social contacts between children and youth of different ages. The members feel needed, which is different from only participating in“consuming activities”or performance focused sports. The engagement of children in the 4H farms has had great impact of the children’s life in general, both at home and at school. There are several examples where children with very poor school results and presence in school activities have changed in a positive direction after participating in 4H-farm activities and becoming part of their community-like environments. Children with a difficult or unstable home environment, have also found support in the Mini leaders, as well as the employed staff at the 4H-farms.

Lessons learned & recommendations

Children and youths develop important life skills when needing to take responsibility from a young age. Through the methods used to engage children and youths, personal development is promoted through“learning by doing”. The physical activity and nature experience that 4H city-farms gives, are powerful and important for developing transferable skills to other contexts. The environment in these activities enables the young participants to discover their strengths, both physically and mentally, and learn about healthy life habits. The programmes run by the 4H-farms also give children and youths in urban contexts an opportunity to learn more about, and develop an interest for, agriculture, animal care and environmental issues.

Related SDG targets
  • 3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
  • 4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
  • 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
  • 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium- sized enterprises, including through access to financial services
  • 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
  • 13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
  • 15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
Further reading

Photo: © 4H