The EU has now launched five missions for a new and innovative way of working together and improving people's lives in Europe and beyond. The five missions address major societal challenges such as health, climate and the environment and set ambitious and time-bound targets to be achieved by 2030. One of them is 100 climate-neutral and smart cities - with and for citizens.
It is now clear which 23 cities are joining forces with Viable Cities and four government agencies for climate-neutral and sustainable cities.
- "The transition work that we are doing together in Viable Cities is incredibly important, and has ripple effects both here in Sweden and in the EU. It is therefore very gratifying to be able to welcome another 14 cities that, together with the previous nine, are paving the way for the sustainable cities of the future," says Robert Andrén, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency.
Today it was announced that Viable Cities has been commissioned by the government to support innovation in sustainable urban and community development in Norrbotten and Västerbotten.
- "It is a great honor to receive this assignment, and it fits very well with the processes we are already working on in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative," says Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities.
Viable Cities' Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative is growing. From October 1, 2021, more than 20 cities will join the initiative to accelerate the climate transition. The nine cities that have been part of the initiative since the start in 2019 are now sharing their most important experiences in a series of blog posts. First up is Växjö municipality, which has worked for 25 years to become a fossil fuel-free municipality and sees that Climate City Contract 2030 strengthens the work for a sustainable climate-neutral society.
The Spanish cities of Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Valencia and representatives of the Spanish government signed a Memorandum of Understanding in September as a first step towards a Spanish Climate City Contract for cities. The inspiration for this comes from Viable Cities' work on Climate City Contract 2030.
- "It feels unreal and wonderful that we have contributed to the development of a Climate City Contract in Spain", says Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities.
It is 2053 and the FOSSIL museum has just opened the exhibition Beyond the Fossil Society, which celebrates the fact that Sweden was the first country in the world to leave the fossil fuel era when net-zero emissions were reached in 2045.
At the premiere of the Frihamnsdagarna in Gothenburg, the city participated with a seminar series on the theme "Fair climate transition". Participants included civil servants and politicians from the City of Gothenburg as well as representatives from business, civil society and academia. They all agreed that we need to accelerate the pace of transitioning our society to climate neutrality.
When Umeå Municipality entered the Sharing Cities Sweden program four years ago, concepts such as the sharing economy were not part of their governing processes. Now that the initiative is rounded off in August 2021, Sharing City Umeå shares some of its reflections.
On the blog, Tove Lund from Sharing Cities Sweden writes about how the City of Gothenburg has coordinated the Sharing City Gothenburg test bed where they have tackled the sharing economy from a consumption perspective. Here we can read about the various services created to promote the sharing economy, ranging from the Toy Library to co-working concepts.
The Hammarby Sjöstad district in Stockholm aims to halve its climate impact by 2030 through a citizen-driven process developed by Sharing Cities Sweden in Stockholm, in collaboration with local stakeholders. But what do the citizens and entrepreneurs of Sjöstad have to do to realize this goal?
"Wow, what a journey it has been!" On the blog, project manager Juliet Leonette and her team talk about the work on the sharing economy in Sharing Cities Sweden's test bed in Sege park, Malmö. The goal? In Sege Park, it should be possible to live a good and healthy life with a minimal negative environmental and climate impact - at a reasonable cost.
Most of the greenhouse gas emissions in cities come from transportation, of people and goods. Viable Cities and Drive Sweden are now joining forces to accelerate the transition to climate neutral mobility in our cities, we call the initiative Climate Smart Mobility 2030. Our first joint event, on June 4, offered international perspectives, panel discussions and inspiring examples.
The transition to a circular economy is an important piece of the puzzle in the work for climate-neutral and sustainable cities. Umeå municipality was the only Swedish municipality to participate in the OECD circular economy program and has signed the European Circular Cities Declaration. On the blog, Liv Öberg, project manager for the circular economy in Umeå, shares her thoughts on her work.
Fill the climate gap, writes Örjan Svane, one of the researchers in Sharing Cities Sweden's test bed in Stockholm, who has followed ElectriCITY's work and the establishment of the Hammarby sjöstad district from the beginning. The district aims to become climate neutral by 2030 through a citizen-driven process developed in collaboration with local stakeholders.
The last climate breakfast of the season was about circular economy. We were hosted by Liv Öberg, project manager in Umeå municipality. Umeå was the only Swedish municipality included in the OECD program for circular economy and has signed the European Circular Cities Declaration. She was joined by Stina Behrens, Barkarby Science, who drives innovation for sustainable urban development in Järfälla together with the municipality and other stakeholders.
Viable Cities and Drive Sweden are now launching a collaboration to join forces to accelerate the climate transition in cities, with a focus on climate-neutral mobility. "Now, together with our partners, we want to develop a process that accelerates the transition to climate-neutral and sustainable transport in cities," says Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities.
We were looking for cities that want to take the lead on climate change. And many do. 30 cities from all over the country have applied to become part of the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative. "We are so pleased with the great interest, and very curious about which cities we will work with in the coming years," says Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities.
Viable Cities is strengthening its communication work. We are now looking for a creative team player who likes to think in new ways, who is also thorough and efficient. Viable Cities offers dedicated and ambitious colleagues and a creative, dynamic and international environment. Deadline 20 May.
Our search for partners to develop two strategic projects was very successful - we received over 30 high quality bids. It is now clear who will be commissioned to develop two parallel strategies for the transition to climate-neutral cities. Ramboll will lead the work on the strategy for digitalization and digital tools and Anthesis will drive the strategy for citizen engagement.
Since Viable Cities started in 2017, Allan Larsson has been Chairman for the board. At the Annual General Meeting on April 15, 2021, he stepped down and he summarizes the results achieved and expectations for the future on our blog.
To achieve the radical societal changes that the climate transition requires, we need to cooperate and learn from each other, both within the country and internationally. Climate Breakfast 11 was hosted by Nina Rismalm, North Sweden Cleantech; Östen Ekengren, Smart City Sweden, and Philip Näslund, Umeå Municipality.
At today's Annual General Meeting, the Viable Cities board has new leadership. New Chairman after departing Allan Larsson is Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, former county governor and hospital director. The new vice Chairman is Anders Wijkman, Chairman in the Club of Rome and Climate-KIC.
Curitiba (Brazil), Bogotá (Colombia), Bristol (UK) and Makindye Ssabagabo (Uganda). These are the four cities selected as partners for the Climate Smart Cities Challenge following an open call for proposals that resulted in 58 applications from 54 cities around the world.
IIIEE has launched a new web portal for learning about cities, sustainability, governance and innovation. The portal, an initiative of Viable Cities' Sharing Cities Sweden initiative, among others, brings together educators and organizations from around the world to share knowledge for sustainable urban development.
This spring, the Sharing Towns project will publish a handbook on the sharing economy for small and medium-sized municipalities, with good examples and strategies for successful work. The book is based on Yuilya Voytenko Palgan's framework for how municipalities can run and manage the sharing economy.
Allan Larsson has been Chairman on our board since Viable Cities started, and since then he has made invaluable contributions to our development. At the Annual General Meeting on April 15, he will hand over to a new Chairman. A lot has happened along the way and at Climate Breakfast 10 Allan Larsson developed his thoughts on the journey with Viable Cities and some of the stops along the way. Per Grankvist, our chief storyteller, led the conversation.
New ways of collaborating, thinking and investing were widely discussed during the Viable Cities Transition Lab Forum 5 on March 24. The theme of the conference - investment plans for climate-neutral cities - was explored from different perspectives with representatives from finance, academia, government agencies and, of course, from the host cities of Lund and Malmö.
The magazine Byggindustrin has named the Viable Cities project Xplorion "Building of the Year 2021" in the housing category. Xplorion is a house that is built to give the residents the conditions to live climate-smart. Collaboration with others has resulted in innovative solutions. For example, there are alternatives to the privately owned car, so only one parking space is needed.
In Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, a unique sustainability initiative is underway. The goal is for the district to become climate neutral by 2030. The initiative is run by ElectriCITY Innovation together with citizens, housing associations, companies and academia. Lennart Backlund develops the ideas behind the project on our blog.
Do you want to join us in developing our strategic development projects? Viable Cities is inviting tenders for two different assignments. Both are about how we can accelerate the climate transition in cities, one focusing on citizen engagement and the other focusing on digitalization and digital tools.
To speed up the climate transition, everyone in society needs to be involved. The Hammarby Sjöstad 2.0 project in Stockholm is a citizens' initiative to reduce the climate footprint of the district. In the project, 55 housing associations with 12,500 residents, companies, researchers and the City of Stockholm are working together to become climate neutral by 2030. Climate Breakfast 9 was hosted by Jörgen Lööf, ElectriCITY Innovation, and Charlie Gullström, Sweco/RISE.
Green roofs offer a large profitable potential to strengthen and preserve ecosystem services, and the project One roof - five opportunities shows that there are many opportunities to realize this potential. Henrik Dahl, Future Position X, writes about it on our blog.
The starting point for Climate Breakfast 8 was the project One roof, five possibilities. The project has investigated how roofs - with a focus on water, energy, cultivation, recreation and biodiversity - can affect a property's economy and what socio-economic benefits they can generate. Watch the Climate Breakfast afterwards and take part in the presentations.
Viable Cities now opens our largest call to date - the total budget for call #8 is SEK 200 million. The Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative thus grows from nine cities to twenty.
Does your city want to help accelerate the urban climate transition and work towards a good life for all within the limits of the planet? Apply and become a Viable Cities pioneer city.
Industry and business have a very important role in the transition to the climate-neutral and sustainable cities and communities of the future. In the Viable Business Hub, several major industries in Umeå and the surrounding area, together with various social actors, have been gathering for a year to develop the sustainable industrial environments of the future.
On behalf of Viable Cities, our member Klimatkommunerna has made an overview of how municipalities structure their climate work. Among other things, they have identified some key factors for successful climate transition in cities. Listen to Filippa Borgström, Klimatkommunerna, Elin Sundqvist, Helsingborg City and Sara Olsson, Järfälla Municipality, at the first Climate Breakfast of the spring, which you can watch here.
Phase one of the Climate Smart Cities Challenges, Viable Cities' first global collaboration, closed at the end of January. Now all partners will review the 58 applications from cities across four continents to be selected for Phase 2, the innovation competition that will be launched at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The world's cities are facing major challenges. We need to act quickly, forcefully and together to contribute to more sustainable urban development. You can now apply for support within ENUTC to explore how research and innovation in urban transition processes can contribute to sustainable urban development. The Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and Viable Cities together announce approximately SEK 28 million to Swedish actors in 7-9 projects.
Climate City Contract 2030, which was signed by nine cities, four government agencies and Viable Cities last December, is a long-term commitment to accelerate the climate transition in cities.
Olga Kordas, Viable Cities Program Manager, talks about the way forward in 2021.
On behalf of Viable Cities, our member Klimatkommunerna has made an overview of how a number of municipalities structure their climate work. They see that in recent years, more and more have adopted long-term goals or roadmaps for their climate work, and have also identified some key factors for successful climate transition in cities.
The report "100 climate-neutral cities by 2030 - by and for the citizens", proposes the development of a "multi-level and co-creative process formalized in a Climate City Contract, adjusted to the realities of each city". In Sweden, nine cities signed Climate City Contract 2030 on 11 December, along with four national government agencies and Viable Cities. In this blog post, Viable Cities and Dark Matter Laboratories explore how we democratically create commitments to transition to sustainable and climate-neutral cities.
On December 17, the government presented the research and innovation bill that sets the direction of Sweden's research policy for the next four years. The next generation of strategic innovation programs are included.
It is now clear which projects have been granted funds in the call for Energy Positive Neighbourhoods, a collaboration between Viable Cities and JPI Urban Europe. Cities4PEDs, Interact, PED-ID and Trans-PED, all with Swedish partners, are now tasked with facilitating learning between cities and countries to create energy positive neighbourhoods in Europe.
To transition to climate-neutral and sustainable cities, we need to communicate with citizens, business and many other stakeholders. In this climate breakfast, communication strategist Therese Ek talks about how Lund municipality works to coordinate sustainability communication. We also get reflections on the topic from Annika Egan Sjölander, who researches communication for sustainable societies.
Today, December 11, 2020, is a big day for the climate transition in cities. The first climate contracts in Europe have now been signed by the political leadership of nine Swedish cities as well as by the Directors-General of four government agencies and Viable Cities. "Swedish cities are now taking the lead in Europe," says Allan Larsson, Chairman of the Board of Viable Cities.
A municipality is its residents, its businesses, its visitors, its associations and all the other people who inhabit or visit the place. As an organization, the municipality can do a lot for the climate - but we can never become a climate-neutral city by 2030 without doing it together with everyone else in the place. And here, communication has a very important role to play. So writes Therese Ek, communications strategist in Lund on our blog.
In November this year, we launched the first stage of the Climate Smart Cities Challenge. With this initiative, we hope to find the most important challenges to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implement the most promising solutions in cities globally. But what does it take to scale climate solutions in cities?
During the EU Week of Regions&Cities, the Covenants of Mayors brought together a wide range of cities and regions. The seminar Governance models for climate neutrality showed that cities and regions are moving faster towards climate change than nations. This is what portfolio strategist Lena Holmberg says in a blog post.
How do you work long-term and systematically with innovation? Vinnova and Viable Cities are now launching a project to develop skills, methods and tools for innovation management for climate-neutral and sustainable cities. Climate Breakfast 5 was hosted by Glenn Gran from Vinnova, Lisa Olsson, City of Helsingborg and Ellen Grahn, Umeå Municipality.
Stories about how good everyday life in the climate-smart city will be are, in a way, a fairy tale because they are not yet true. Our chief storyteller Per Grankvist explains why some of the most common fairy tales include site-specific details that make them more believable, and why it's important for urban planners to follow suit.
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