10 years, 10 examples. Building for sustainable development in Gothenburg, 2003-2013 (original) (raw)

Good built examples: Implementation of sustainable building in a ten years perspective in the city of Gothenburg

In order to understand the implementation of sustainable building in practice, the characteristics of sustainable building are identified and discussed in a local perspective and over a ten years period. Results from two studies, that compile good built examples of sustainable building in the region of Gothenburg, Sweden, are compared. The studies, carried out in 2004 and 2014, include ten examples each and the empirical material for the individual examples consists of results from literature studies, project documents, management data, interviews with key stakeholders, and visits to the buildings. The main characteristics of the built examples are described by a framework in relation to interpretations of sustainable building. The implementation of sustainable building is discussed in terms of transformation, the kind and complexity of issues dealt with in a project, and the role of different stakeholders. The results indicate tendencies of the development of the implementation fro...

Envisioning sustainable lifestyles in Stockholm’s urban development

2016

The urban development in Stockholm, Sweden is an obvious example of the materialisation of the idea of a compact and traditional city as the sustainable city. This paper develops on this theme using the ongoing planning and development of the area Arstafaltet in the south of Stockholm as example. With the central planning documents as empirical material, this paper investigates urban discourses that construct and give meaning to an area as urban/suburban, including the role of green space. The city and the urban are today better understood as ideological constructions than descriptions of a place or lifestyle. However, the city/country (or urban/suburban) division still lives on in planning. Arstafaltet, on the edge of the inner city is interesting in this context, since it is currently being transformed from a typical Swedish post-war suburb into a post-modern 'urban area'. Its green space is also being re-conceptualised as a "world class park". At the same time a...

How the Grass Became Greener in the City: On Urban Imaginings and Practices of Sustainable Living in Sweden

City and society, 2011

Far removed from a direct connection to the land and environmental feedback, most urban inhabitants have little choice but to rely on external sources of information as they formulate their understanding of sustainability. This reliance on analytical, scientifically produced, and highly technical sources of information-such as life-cycle analyses, carbon footprints and climate change projections-solidifies definitions of sustainable living centered on technological resource efficiencies while concentrating the power to define sustainability with experts and the industrial and political elite. Drawing on 14 months of ethnographic field work in and around Stockholm, Sweden, this paper explores how urban alienation shapes ideas about sustainable living among ecologically concerned citizen-consumers and how the urban focus on efficiency has led many to argue that the grass is now greener in the city. Meanwhile this ethnographic research demonstrates that the efficiency-based perspectives so dominant in urban settings are contested by other Swedes who argue that sustainable living also depends on localized connections to the land and communal self-sufficiency. Despite these contrasting perspectives, research presented here suggests that these views are united in the Swedish context by a historically-rooted concern for global equity. As such, the concept of "a fair share of environmental space" resonates with many Swedes who are concerned about human and environmental health, regardless of where they live or how they define or practice sustainable living.

Supporting development towards more sustainable building: perspectives on the demonstration project as a strategy for change

2008

This paper explores the mechanism for development towards more sustainable building in Sweden. The proposed mechanism is based on a retrospective study of the evolution of more sustainable building practices during the last decades, with focus on the west of Sweden and using elements from theories on ecological modernisation as a way to understand change. The retrospective study presents actors, networks and important break-points. Three conceptual pairs have been used to discuss factors that make sustainable building practices progress: governance and learning, exemplifying and legitimising, and symbol and performance. It is argued that we might experience a shift towards governance and voluntary action developed through practical experiences. Catalysing successful demonstration projects lead the way, set up visions and goals and influence development of policy and regulation. The focus on energy efficiency has led to a broad acceptance with a rebound synergistic effect back to other building qualities. However, it is important to look beyond current achievements and to reconsider other important aspects of sustainable building: water and material issues, renewable energy and social issues.

Politicizing the stories of Swedish sustainable urban development

2017

Sweden is known worldwide for its achievements in the field of sustainable urban development. Due to this global recognition Swedish stories and policies of sustainable urban development are being spread across various spatial and institutional contexts. Focusing on SymbioCity and its approach as examples for such stories, this thesis seeks to elaborate on the de-politicization of urban environments through sustainable urban development policies. In doing so, this thesis synthesises urban political ecology and policy mobility literature to form a theoretical framework to investigate the mobilization and legitimization of such environments. Drawing on findings provided by methods of text analysis and interviews, it is illustrated that Swedish stories of sustainable urban development construct a de-politicized spatiality supported by capital, desires of influence and "the planner". The thesis concludes by arguing that planning research needs to critically address the process of de-politicization and support the articulation of a political Ecotopia. Adscheid, Toni (2017): When Ecotopia grows: Politicizing the stories of Swedish sustainable urban development.

Implementing Regenerative Standards in Politically Green Nordic Social Welfare States: Can Sweden Adopt the Living Building Challenge?

Sustainability, 2021

This paper focuses on understanding the place for regenerative building standards within the context of politically green Nordic social welfare states. To this end, it examines the particular case of adopting the Living Building Challenge (LBC), an iconic example of regenerative design standard, in Sweden. An extensive document analysis comparing the Swedish building and planning regulations as well as the Miljobyggnad national certification system with the LBC, shows overlaps and barriers the standard can face when adopted in the country. Barriers are validated and further discussed in interviews with one of the few architects trying to achieve a certified LBC building in Sweden and Swedish public authorities from the Boverket (Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning). Results from the document analysis and interviews show barriers to implement the LBC in Sweden are a product of a conscious political and ideological decision from the welfare state which considers i...

Spectacular, realisable and ‘everyday’: Exploring the particularities of sustainable planning in Malmö

‘Sustainability’, often presented through an ecological–economic–social triad, is today one of spatial planning’s absolute key concepts (and key priorities). But it is also a highly contested concept, whose meaning is often considered evasive or vague. In this paper, we try to counterweigh such evasiveness by putting emphasis on the material landscape produced within a project that is frequently depicted as a pinnacle of sustainable planning: the Western Harbour in Malmo¨ , Sweden. Regardless of how vague discursive definitions of sustainability are, we argue that there is a sense in which planning projects such as this one help stabilise the meaning of the concept. They become material manifestations of particular takes on sustainability. Through examining what has emerged as former shipyards and factory grounds have since 2001 been transformed within the Western Harbour, we develop a heuristic triad that highlights what is presented as sustainability therein. We argue that through the Western Harbour’s development, sustainable planning becomes ‘spectacular’ through a focus on building sustainably in a way that also attracts public attention. It becomes regarded as ‘realisable’ in that it should be achievable within current political and political–economic structures. And sustainable planning becomes about the ‘everyday’ in that technological solutions for greening inhabitants’ everyday lives are developed in a way that emphasises the local scale.