Early Pioneers: CLEVER Fellow Cities blaze possible trails towards the EU Urban Greening Plans
27 August 2021
To help reverse biodiversity loss within and around urban areas, the EU has called on European cities of more than 20,000 inhabitants to develop ambitious Urban Greening Plans in support of its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
Through their involvement in CLEVER Cities, the project’s Fellow Cities Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece), Madrid (Spain), Malmö (Sweden) and Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) are conducting pioneer work that is already making significant contributions to the EU Urban Greening Plans initiative. So is Quito (Ecuador), the only non-European Fellow in CLEVER Cities.
Malmö's challenges and opportunities
In comparison to other Swedish cities, Malmö’s population is one of the youngest and has one of the highest proportions of foreign-born residents. The city is often portrayed as being unequal, segregated, and having high rates of violence, poverty, unemployment and social tensions.
One of the clearest indicators of inequality in Malmö is shown by the difference in life expectancy between different areas. To address these issues, Malmö set up the Commission for a Sustainable Malmö in 2010, which resulted in a report and policy recommendations to address some of the identified structural social inequalities. One of the main conclusions of the commission was that good and equal health is a precondition for all three dimensions of sustainable development.
Malmö also faces challenges related to its urban environment and climate change. For example, the city only has few green areas within or close to the city, and its continuous densification leads to additional stress on those areas.
Additionally, the city has a flat topography composed of a primarily clay-based foundation and relatively few water drainage outlets, making Malmö vulnerable to flooding during heavy rainfall. Located close to the sea, rising sea levels are also problematic.
To address these challenges, the city has spearheaded several development areas such as the Western Harbor with a focus on environmental solutions and innovative architecture, and Augustenborg with a focus on sustainable urban drainage systems. As one of the early adopters of Agenda 2030, Malmö continues to prioritize its sustainable urban development.
Lindängen
With CLEVER Cities, Malmö has chosen to support health-related issues through nature-based solutions in the neighborhood of Lindängen.
Lindängen was developed during the late 1960s and 1970s as a part of the country’s Million Program, an ambitious public housing program to build a million new homes in response to a housing shortage, a growing population, and increased urbanization.
Lindängen is located to the south of the inner ring road, which has become a physical barrier between Lindängen and the more central neighborhoods of Malmö. It features several high-rise blocks as well as detached houses, a community center, a shopping center including a library, various daycares, schools and after-school centres, as well as a 100-hectare area designated to become a recreational area. Some of the neighbourhood’s physical challenges include large-scale and monotonous architecture broad throughways, and unsafe cycling and walking paths.
Today the area of Lindängen has around 7,000 residents and is a culturally and socio-economically diverse area. Lindängen is one the neighborhoods in Malmö which has been identified as especially vulnerable, where residents have relatively low rates of post-secondary school education, employment, election participation and life expectancy as compared to other areas of the city and country.
CLEVER Cities plans
The intention is to work together with local residents and other actors to co-create plans to address health-related challenges. The area has experienced various attempts at regeneration with limited impact. However, as a result of recent organizational restructuring, there are new opportunities for joining forces, bolstering ongoing efforts and having real impact through nature-based solutions. The project will begin by identifying specific health-related challenges together with other actors already engaged in the area, and jointly identify processes and initiatives that can be supported through the CLEVER Cities project.
Malmö has chosen to follow and seek inspiration from London’s CLEVER Action Lab, which is implementing nature-based solutions in an area that is comparable to Lindängen. Experienced in implementing nature-based solutions from the technological side, the City of Malmö is also keen to share its expertise with other participating cities.
Latest news from Malmö
Malmö Bee-lieves in Pollinator Conservation
3 August 2022
Fostering community awareness and concern for local pollinators was at the heart of two outdoor events hosted by CLEVER Cities Malmö this past spring: (May 20th) and the Malmö Garden Show (June 3rd-5th). At both events, participants of all ages were encouraged to leave a fear of bees at the metaphorical door, and were given an insider view into the world of pollinators–a world upon which our food system and biodiversity targets depend. Read more.
Co-creating Biodiverse, Inviting Spaces for All
21 July 2022
CLEVER Cities took center stage in May at the ICLEI World Congress, where three project cities gathered to discuss the question: how can city planners co-create biodiverse spaces that are inviting for all members of a community?
City representatives shared concrete examples of co-creation and community engagement from their varied social and political contexts, highlighting the benefits experienced by affected communities. A speaker from the European Commission reflected on how political and legislative frameworks can support upscaling nature-based solutions (NBS) and make biodiverse and inclusive green spaces a priority in cities.
CLEVER Cities Malmö Joins Making CIties Resilient 2030 as a Resilience Hub
21 June 2022
City and regional officials, policy makers, and UN staff came together at the ICLEI World Congress to celebrate the announcement of CLEVER CIties Malmö, Sweden as a Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) Resilience Hub. Malmö joins CLEVER Cities Milan in receiving this honour.
MCR2030 member cities receive a 3-stage roadmap to urban resilience that includes knowledge sharing, monitoring, and reporting tools that support cities in reducing risk and building resilience.
Co-creating Biodiverse, Inviting Spaces for All
21 July 2022
CLEVER Cities took center stage in May at the ICLEI World Congress, where three project cities gathered to discuss the question: how can city planners co-create biodiverse spaces that are inviting for all members of a community?
City representatives shared concrete examples of co-creation and community engagement from their varied social and political contexts, highlighting the benefits experienced by affected communities. A speaker from the European Commission reflected on how political and legislative frameworks can support upscaling nature-based solutions (NBS) and make biodiverse and inclusive green spaces a priority in cities.
Malmö welcomes fellow cities to kick-off in Lindängen
31 May 2019
“Green rush to Lindängen”: this is the vision that the CLEVER Cities team in Malmö (Sweden) has set for its CLEVER Action Lab. The Malmö team - hosts of the Kick-off Workshop for fellow cities, which took place on 16-17 May 2019 - presented their vision of a peaceful, healthy, biodiverse and proud neighbourhood, with future headlines covering the green rush to visit Lindängen’s buzzing bee hotels and trails of plants from North to South.
Participants from Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece), Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) and Quito (Ecuador) also presented the visions for their CLEVER Action labs.
