Sustainable Cities - Cases

Augustenborg: Green roofs and storm water channels

Kit Sand Ottsen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:55:04 +0200

In 1998, the Augustenborg district in Malmo, Sweden, initiated an extensive renovation under the name of 'Ekostaden'. The neighbourhood, which consists of low-rise apartment buildings from the 1950s, was very popular when it was first constructed. However, due to poor maintenance, many of these original occupants have moved out over the years and left the area dilapidated, economically challenged, and socially deprived. Recently, Malmo Municipality and the housing company MKB have cooperated in an attempt to regain the area’s original status.

Barcelona - Biking club for city residents

June-Catherina Starling — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:18:49 +0100

Barcelona, like many other cities, suffers from massive amounts of atmospheric CO2, released from both private and public transportation. Consequently, the city council has been striving to make the city more environmentally friendly and has worked hard to increase public transportation use.

Barcelona: Leader in solar energy

Sidsel Overby Hartlev — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:06:03 +0100

Since 2000, all new buildings and those undergoing major renovation have had to have solar energy sources installed to provide most of their hot water. What is truly groundbreaking in this respect is the fact that Barcelona has ventured to regulate rather than simply encouraging people to make use of solar energy.

BedZED: Leading the way in eco village design

Malene Freudendal-Pedersen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:13:34 +0200

If everyone in the world lived like the average North American, we would need five planets-worth of resources to subsist. Three planets would suffice if everyone lived like the average European but this is still a sure shot away from the one planet that we inhabit.

BedZED: Promoting green living

Kit Sand Ottsen — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:16:37 +0200

Located South of London in a town called Wallington, BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) is UK’s first and largest eco-village. The multi award-winning project was initiated by the environmental organisation BioRegional and was designed by Bill Dunster Architects. Completed in 2002, the development illustrates the capabilities of present-day environmental technologies and demonstrates that a sustainable lifestyle can be achieved without compromising the characteristics associated with modern urban living.

Belfast: Changing citizen behaviour leads to cleaner city

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:50:06 +0200

Belfast City Council, Northern Ireland, launched an anti-litter campaign in 2004 aimed at changing and improving public behaviour towards littering. The main objectives of the campaign were to encourage individual responsibility for the disposal of litter, to highlight the consequences of littering, to heighten awareness of fixed penalty notices and the level of enforcement in Belfast, and to develop a sense of ownership and pride in Belfast’s urban environment.

Berlin: Water creates a vibrant cityscape

Sidsel Overby Hartlev — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:45:11 +0100

Rain falling on Potsdamer Platz becomes the water table and a canal installation in the open cityscape which has helped to make the square one of Berlin's greatest tourist attractions. In this way, a recreational cityscape has been combined with environment friendly planning. A co-benefit of this is that water use and environmental issues become topical for the city's citizens and its visitors.

Bogotá: More bikes and buses, fewer cars

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:26:30 +0200

In Bogotá more than 300 km of bicycle lanes, stretching from the slum areas and suburbs into the capital centre been, have been built. The bicycle lanes are an ongoing project under concurrent development. Since the construction of the lanes, bicycle use has increased by 5 times in the city. It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 400,000 trips made daily in Bogotá by bicycle. A large portion of these rides are in the southern, poorer areas.

Boulder: Smart Grid City

Astrid Svane — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:25:59 +0100

Xcel energy, the United States' largest public electricity supplier, together with partners, has invested USD 100 million in the Bolder Smart Grid. The system is currently under construction. When the first phase has been installed in September 2010, some 10,000 homes in Boulder will have an intelligent electricity meter, a so-called Smart Meter.

Bra: Slow food - slow city

June-Catherina Starling — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:13:36 +0200

Brá, Italy, has about 30,000 inhabitants and is located about 50 kilometres south of Turin, in a gastronomic region known for, among other things, its wines, truffles and cheese. Brá is one of the founding cities in the Cittaslow movement. The inspiration to create slow cities came from the Slow Food movement with international head office and own restaurant in Brá. Earlier the city contained major footwear industry, but today the slow movement is the highest-profile business.