Sustainable Cities

Almere: Sun Island

Eva Kirstine Fabricius — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:40:43 +0000

According to the Dutchmens God creates the world, but the Dutchmens created the Netherlands. The Netherlands is one of Europe’s most densely populated countries, which has led to large artificiel land reclamation projects. The province of Flevoland reclaimed from the former Zuiderzee lake in the middle of the Netherlands, is one of the largest land reclamation projects in the country. In the southern part of the province east of Amsterdam is the Municipality and Town of Almere.

Plantascrapers and the Future of Urban Green Space

Helena Klintstrom — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:37:26 +0000

Green roofs, green walls, rooftop gardening, rooftop farming, plantascrapers; the solutions to create new urban green space are getting more and more inventive.

The Copenhagenization of Copenhagen

Helena Klintstrom — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:43:19 +0000

Copenhagen continues to invest in its biking inhabitants and have now put forward a new bicycle strategy. The strategy builds on the former from 2002, and the title reveals the level of ambition of the strategy: “Good, Better, Best”.

Are women more apt for sustainability than men?

Helena Klintstrom — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:19:53 +0000

In reading some interesting articles by Jean Brittingham, I got interested in the subject on how/why/if female individuals could be more fit to create a sustainable world than male.

Vancouver: Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability

Helena Klintstrom — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:50:12 +0000

The building is designed to be a “living laboratory” and a demonstration site for cutting edge green technology and ideas. In describing CIRS, the university uses the term regenerative instead of sustainable to point to that the building is supposed to regenerate the environment by “net-positive” benefits.

Open Plans for an Open Society

Helena Klintstrom — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:02:45 +0000

A trend is on the rise where citizens are starting to demand better access to information in their communities. The new era of technology and information is creating the tools and, with the possibility of creating new green solutions as a motivation, cities and governments all over the world are starting to respond. The responses today often come in forms of Smart City solutions, where technology is used to create better solutions and innovations to create green growth.

Amsterdam Smart City: “The idea of the Smart City will bring us to a new economy”

Helena Klintstrom — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:02:11 +0000

What is Amsterdam Smart City?
Amsterdam Smart City is, according to Joost Brinkman, mainly about cooperation; about city, citizens and companies working together to reduce CO2-emissions. The Amsterdam Smart City project started with a small organization and the goal to start new Public Private Partnerships, but has quickly grown in cooperation with a multitude of partners.

Amsterdam: Smart City

Helena Klintstrom — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:21:25 +0000

The Amsterdam Smart City project is soon on its third year. During this time, Amsterdam Smart City has initiated a large number of innovative projects aiming to create a more sustainable and energy efficient city. Sustainable Cities wanted to take a closer look at the achievements, to analyze what has been produced and what other cities could learn from the project.

Background:

Mannheim: Smart City

Helena Klintstrom — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:40:02 +0000

Germany is at the forefront when it comes to the concept of Smart Cities and many experiments are being conducted in cities throughout the country. The german interest in Smart Cities has led to the creation of an E-Energy financed program that connects technologies for energy saving with systems of communication. The first so called Smart City in Germany is Mannheim, where they have succeeded in connecting every household in the city to a smart energy network.

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.