Smart City Sweden’s Post

🏙️ "A smart city is centred around people and their well-being. In a Swedish context, a smart city is a sustainable city; these two are not separated." During the conference "Journey to a Smarter Future: Building Smarter and More Sustainable Communities in Serbia", SEI Project Manager Sasa Solujic presented insights on Sweden’s approach to smart cities, exploring how they could be adapted to meet the unique needs of urban areas in Serbia. Learn more from this Q&A where she addresses the critical issues and summarizes key takeaways from a discussion with a panel of Nordic experts. 🔗 https://buff.ly/3UniSdB #SmartCities #Innovation #Sustainability #UrbanDevelopment

🤝 Meet our partners 🤝 🌍 The city of Genk, home to over 67,900 residents and spanning 88 km², has a unique urban structure shaped by its late 20th-century development around coal mine sites. This polycentric city, embedded in the landscape, faces challenges such as the reduction of green spaces due to ongoing urban developments. In response, Genk is actively implementing climate adaptation projects to reshape its urban environment. Two of the city's most notable initiatives include: - The redevelopment of the main city square, transforming it from a predominantly paved area into a green urban space. - The re-naturalisation of the Stiemer valley, which runs through the city, enhancing both ecological and urban resilience. Additionally, the ongoing Genk Verruimt research explores how to manage predicted urban growth, demographic shifts, and mobility while improving the quality and size of open spaces. The research treats these as complementary aspects of a climate-resilient urban fabric, focusing on strategies to integrate climate adaptation measures within private developments to ensure city-wide impact. 🎯 In CLIMATEFIT, Genk represents the Belgium planner case study, showcasing innovative approaches to sustainable urban development and climate adaptation. 🌱 Join us in our mission to create a sustainable and resilient future for the city of Genk and beyond! 🌍💼🌱 🌍💼🌱 #CLIMATEFIT #ClimateFinance #EUMissions #HorizonEU #MissionClimateAdaptation World Climate Foundation | Research Group for Urban Development - University of Antwerp | SEI — Stockholm Environment Institute | CMCC Foundation - Centro Euro Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici | ICLEI Europe | Forum per la Finanza Sostenibile (ItaSIF) | Actierra | SustainAdvisory Srl | Ramboll | Euroquality - Tinexta Group | Enviros Group | Ambiente Italia S.r.l. | Agency ENERGAP | AdEPorto - Agência de Energia do Porto | Alba Local Energy Agency - ALEA | Diputación Provincial de Ávila | Agence du climat, le guichet des solutions | COMUNE DI BRESCIA | Departement Omgeving | Ville et Eurométropole de Strasbourg | Municipiul Alba Iulia | Stad Genk | Paris Europlace | Fondul Roman pentru Eficienta Energiei | CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency

European cities are urging the European Parliament to accelerate the transition to a ♻️ #circulareconomy! In an 📃 open letter to newly elected members of the European Parliament, the #CircularCities Frontrunner Group – led by the Gemeente Amsterdam with support from ICLEI Europe and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation – calls for stronger policies that empower cities to lead the way. From enhancing strategic autonomy and competitiveness to scaling up sustainable urban practices, this coalition is pushing for transformative change. The letter is signed by Gemeente Amsterdam, Innovatie, Ayuntamiento de Vitoria-Gasteiz, Comune di Milano, Turun kaupunki - Åbo stad - City of Turku, Københavns Kommune, Malmö stad, stad Leuven and Câmara Municipal do Porto. Learn more about their vision for a circular Europe https://lnkd.in/ecjqUZ9j   #circularcitieseu #cidadescirculares #circulareconomy #economiacircular #sustainability #sustentabilidade

Deep collaboration is the only way. It’s harder, but also way more fun. -Kaj Lofgren, founder of Regen Melbourne Yesterday, our community of change makers in Oslo had the pleasure of meeting a delegation of inspiring investors, researchers and change makers from Australia, including Regen Melbourne, at SoCentral. Kaj Lofgren shared with us how they in 2019 saw the need for collaboration across silos in order to accomplish ambitious goals towards a future where both people and planet are thriving. They have since built Regen Melbourne as an engine for ambitious collaboration, and are now on a path to host bold projects for a regenerative Melbourne. Heidi Sørensen, director of the Climate Agency in Oslo (Klimaetaten i Oslo kommune), told us the story of how the city of Oslo has worked systematically to cut emissions since 2017. Her mission is to make climate boring; a taken-for-granted part of how we work and run our cities. One of the main issues they decided to tackle was how we can build our cities without emissions. Every week, the world has to build another Stockholm just to accommodate all the people moving to cities! Using bureaucratic means like tenders as well as organizational change work, they started the work of making all city construction sites zero emission. This means both electric heavy machinery and transportation, but also reusing buildings and building materials on a large scale.   Sandra S. Skretting, co-founder and leader of Pådriv Oslo, then told the story of how Pådriv Oslo was used as a means to enable exactly that - a large scale pilot for a reused materials hub, where public and private sector change agents could come together quickly when the moment was there to be seized. The result is OMBYGG and Sirkulær Ressurssentral, in operation today. Thomas Berman, co-founder of SoCentral and Pådriv Oslo, presented the 1717 Infrastructure that , Pådriv Oslo is built on and uses in these exact cases to enact new and bold collaborations with results. The similarities between Regen Melbourne and Pådriv Oslo are striking, and seems to represent a new structure that cities need as a supplement to existing initiatives. The city of Melbourne has 5,5 million inhabitants - it’s in other words roughly the size of Norway! When bold change happens there, the impacts can be huge. So what can we learn from each other, and how can we keep working together going forward? This won’t be the last time we speak!

Stockholm’s ambitious plan for a restrictive low-emission zone in the city centre moves forward. 🚗🚫   “The decision of the European Commission is of great benefit for all of Europe, and for the inhabitants and visitors of Stockholm in particular. The Low Emission Zone is an investment for a city with cleaner air and more space for people, trees and public life. Stockholm is proud to be leading Europe in this necessary direction”, says Lars Strömgren, Stockholm’s Deputy-Mayor for Transport.   🌿 Read more about how the city is banning polluting vehicles to make way for a greener future ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eGJncY6y  Stockholms stad #ZeroEmissionsZone #LEZ #Stockholm #SustainableMobility #GreenCities

𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 ✨ The last #MemberInTheSpotlight feature of 2024 is out 🔦 Who is the star in this issue, you may ask? 👀 It's the City of Aarhus, our dear Danish member 🩵 As Denmark's second-largest and fastest-growing city, #Aarhus faces several challenges in advancing innovative and sustainable #UrbanMobility, yet this is not stopping the city from taking 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 action. The ultimate goal? A decarbonised and inclusive mobility system delivering better quality of life for all citizens🌱 Here is a sneak peek into Aarhus' #mobility toolbox: 🤝 Valuable insights and best practices acquired through the city's participation in several EU projects ✍️ Extensive public participation in mobility planning and implementation and a strong focus on vulnerable groups to ensure solutions are fit-for-purpose and inclusive 🚴♀️ A #GreenMobility plan focused on #ActiveTravel, which is becoming increasingly attractive Curious to know more? Read the full article on our website ➡️https://buff.ly/3ABqzHm

We're proud to have supported the creation of this powerful open letter from European cities to EU policymakers. Cities are at the centre of the circular economy transition. Cities are the engines of economic growth and centres of culture, innovation, and learning. They are where consumer trends start and consumer habits evolve. Embracing the circular economy is not just an option, but a necessity for a prosperous, competitive, and sustainable Europe. This ambitious group of cities is committed to leading Europe's circular economy transition. To catalyse progress, cities need robust support, and forward-thinking economic incentives and fiscal reforms are essential

We're proud to have supported the creation of this powerful open letter from European cities to EU policymakers. Cities are at the centre of the circular economy transition. Cities are the engines of economic growth and centres of culture, innovation, and learning. They are where consumer trends start and consumer habits evolve. Embracing the circular economy is not just an option, but a necessity for a prosperous, competitive, and sustainable Europe. This ambitious group of cities is committed to leading Europe's circular economy transition. To catalyse progress, cities need robust support, and forward-thinking economic incentives and fiscal reforms are essential. ICLEI Europe | Circular Cities EU | City of Amsterdam

Today, we want to introduce you our first pilot region! 🥳   In Austria, we are working together with Bruck an der Mur, a city situated in the Austrian state of Styria, nestled between the cities of Graz and Leoben, at the confluence of the Mur and Mürz rivers. 📍🌍   In Bruck an der Mur, the city owns arround 34 public buildings. The 7 building with the greatest thermal weaknesses were analysed in detail, where the need for a renovation is the highest. Therefore, the project is entitled as "the 7 sins of Bruck an der Mur". 🏬🏨🏦   The building portfolio includes the city hall, a gymnasium, a townhall, the building yard, the music school, the elemantary school and the kindergarden. 🏗️🏙️   The building, which we will introduce today is the city hall: The Stadtsaal in Bruck an der Mur is a historic event hall located in the heart of the town, renowned for its elegant architecture and versatile spaces. It serves as a venue for various events, including concerts, conferences, and cultural gatherings, providing a refined atmosphere with modern amenities. Because of the irregular use, the city hall has a very high demand in heating and energy. The major challenge for this building lays in the monument protection. 🗿🛡️   In the MESTRI Project, we are working on solutions for portfolios like the one in Bruck an der Mur, which shows different challenges. A good plan is required, with which builiding to start, how to best structure the renovation measures and how to finance these. 🤗💸🚧🚀 #MESTRI #MESTRICE #Interreg #Interregce #CentralEurope #Euproject #smartdatamanagement #sustainablebuildingstandard #greenfinancing North West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency (REGEA) | e7 energy innovation & engineering | Agentur für Energie Südtirol - KlimaHaus | Energieagentur Nordbayern | Mazowiecka Agencja Energetyczna | Jožef Stefan Institut, Energy Efficiency Centre | IPOPEMA | Zelena energetska zadruga (ZEZ) | Zagreb Stock Exchange | Energie Agentur Steiermark MESTRI-CE Interreg Central Europe – a project of Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme, Co-funded by the European Union 

European Union's Horizon 2020 funded a smart city project named +CityxChange. This project focused on making cities better (think "smart"). The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) lead the project along with two cities: Trondheim in Norway and Limerick in Ireland. This large-scale project took place between November 2018 and October 2023. The +CityxChange project may be complete, but its impact on cities such as Trondheim, Limerick, Alba Iulia, Písek, Võru, Smolyan and Sestao will continue to be felt for years to come. Access one of the success examples here: https://lnkd.in/eMNc4mbJ Picture Source: https://lnkd.in/eF23geEp #smartcity #urbanmobility #sustainability