Sustainable Cities

Smart Aarhus - Danish Digital Democracy

Helena Klintstrom — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:30:35 +0000

Aarhus, Denmark, is one of the most recent municipalities attempting to create progress through inclusive technology-sharing. The project is called Smart Aarhus, as a reference to the Smart City concept.

Stockholm Royal Seaport: Aiming for World-Class Sustainability

Helena Klintstrom — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:31:22 +0000

When finished, Stockholm Royal Seaport plans to hold 10.000 new apartments and 30.000 new work places. In addition to housing and offices, the area will also include urban parks, an art gallery and a harbor for cruise ships. The area is located immediately east of the city center, right by the water and the Royal Urban National Park, making it a very attractive area for a new district.

Retrofitting the suburbs

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:33:10 +0000

Retrofitting describes the measures used in fitting new or updated parts to an old and outdated one, making the part last longer and more attractive. From being part of the industry expression the name ‘retrofitting‘ have developed into being a design phrase, and are used to describe sustainable re-designs projects from building and renovation projects to improve of water quality, energy saving projects and larger scale urban planning.

Mount Royal, Montreal - an indispensable green public space or a hole in the metropolis?

Helena Klintstrom — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:15:08 +0000

In the middle of Montreal, with dense rows of houses on all sides, rises one of the largest urban parks in the world, Park Mount Royal. The park is over 200 hectares and is a unique place that combines activities such as trekking and snowboarding with the protection of biodiversity. Real estate agents call it crazy, but the Montrealers have decided that the mountain should be protected from further urban development.

The 7th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:44:01 +0000

From the 7th to the 9th of May the ‘7th International Conference on Urban Regenerations and Sustainablility’ will be held in Ancona in Italy. At the conference issues like intelligent environments and emerging technologies, development, urban startegies, waste management, relevant case studies among others will be discussed. During the conference participants can present research and interact with experts from around the world and together evolving new ideas and innovative solutions.

The missing link in communication on sustainable cities

Signe Cecilie Jochumsen — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:01:09 +0000

For at least the past two decades scientists and experts have all pointed to the urgent need of changing the way our world functions and the way we, its users treat it. For the majority of the population, however, it does not seem to register the importance of this transition – of changing the way energy is produced, distributed or consumed. But, why this discord? This article aims at exploring, what I perceive, as a missing link in communication between the settled science, the media, and human behavior.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2012

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:24:17 +0000

It has been an eventful year for Sustainable Cities™ with a lot of exciting challenges and international events. We are looking forward to enrich Sustainable Cities™ in the new year with new project, challenges, and alot of new sensationel and inspiring cases on our website.

Can Beijing regain its status as the world’s “bicycle kingdom”?

Joshua Joseph — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:27:59 +0000

Once known as the “bicycle kingdom”, Beijing now faces a sprawling, congested, and smog filled future, as bicycle use declines and car ownership drastically increases. Just decades ago, Beijing’s cycling rate surpassed an astounding 60%, yet today the number has fallen sharply to around 20%. Cars are replacing bicycles at an alarming speed, and 1,500 new automobiles are added to Beijing’s roads each day.

Lidköping: Biogas – A Joint Venture

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:13:27 +0000

The development of biomethane production in the City of Lidköping was initiated in 1990, and in autumn 2011 the plant at the Kartåsen refuse treatment plant will operate with full capacity. It is one of the first of its kind in the world producing both compressed and liquid biomethane for vehicles. The production will be sufficient to cover the consumption of 6,000 cars driving 17,000 km annually.

The cutting-edge elements of the project are:

Bornholm: Transparent Energy Planning and Implementation

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:59:06 +0000

The project was implemented in the period from 2007 to 2010. Based on a mapping of the island’s energy consumption, a strategy was adopted including the following prioritised actions:

Albertslund: Energy efficient renovation of homes

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:38:46 +0000

The project targets houses built during the period 1960-1980. All buildings under the project are prefabricated.

Porvoo: Energy-efficient Residential Area

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:34:23 +0000

The aim is to develop an energy-efficient residential area, to integrate the aspect of energy efficiency in all phases of spatial planning, to create new solutions and new ways of working, and to steer and monitor the use of energy. The findings of this pilot project are intended to be applied on a larger scale elsewhere in Finland.

The project’s three main tasks are: