SuSTainabiliTy by SWEdEn

get more For less

w we kno how!

The Swedish experience in urban development The Swedish experience in urban development
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SymbioCity promotes holistic and sustainable urban development finding potential synergies in urban functions and unlocking their efficiency and profitability.

InTroduCTIon

Welcome to SymbioCity
Symbiosis in a city
Symbiosis means the integration of organisms in a mutually beneficial union. In Sweden, we have been focusing on holistic city planning for 50 years. For us, symbiosis means finding synergies between urban technology systems that save natural resources and cost less.

A Swedish trademark
SymbioCity reflects all Swedish knowledge and experience in approaching sustainability. Several hundred Swedish consultants, contractors and system suppliers are organised in various networks dedicated to spreading the vision of sustainable urbanism and making the distance to implementation as short as possible. We all share the SymbioCity approach.

Sustainability: everywhere, always

As the Brundtland Commission* put it, sustainability is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. * The Brundtland Commission, formerly the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), convened by the United Nations in 1983.

World of cities
Urbanisation is closely tied to economic and cultural development. The majority of the worlds 6.9 billion people already live in or near cities. This exponential large-scale urban growth has created a pressing need for more holistic planning and governance of city development. These challenges were the reason why the Swedish government and the Swedish Trade Council launched a concept for sustainable city development at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002.

SymbioCity
puts into practice a holistic approach for sustainable urban development primarily based primarily on experiences and best practice. all aspects of sustainability should be considered. uses an integrated approach where different fields of action will be coordinated and combined in an optimal way. offers a concept which is adaptable to different development levels of cities and towns as well as different planning situations.

BaCkGround

How should urban growth be managed?

World challenges
While ecological footprints come in many sizes, we are all leaving our mark on the planet. The environment is under obvious and increasing stress to which every economy contributes. The main challenge areas are well known: water supply, food supply, transport systems, waste disposal; and threats to fauna and flora. Not to mention the problem of climate change and the carbon dioxide emissions that stem from almost any human economic activity. Specialists in ecosystem research have shown how different environmental aspects depend on each other. The depletion of natural resources in most of the world today is a serious threat to our standard of living.

City life
World population will likely rise to 9 billion by 2050. In 20 years, as many as 60% of the human population will live in cities. Cities already represent a major share of the consumption of non-renewable resources, produce large amounts of waste and pollute our air and water. City leaders are increasingly aware of the needs of the future: free mobility, clean air and water, waste recycling, smart energy consumption, spatial planning for green areas, and biological diversity in urban environments.

Decision time
Faced with these diverse challenges, city governments are eager to take action. Today, city mayors all around the globe are planning for sustainable urban development and future human life. The challenges are enormous, but the benefits even greater. Policy options range from consumer behavior to large infrastructure investments. Never before have urban technologies in harmony with citizens offered such promising opportunities. It is time for new decisions.

Traffic is an obvious major source of air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions but is not alone in straining urban environments. Fossil fuel consumption for heating and low energy efficiency in buildings also adds to the challenges we face. 6

our experIenCe

Sustainability by Sweden
Pioneers
Sweden was an early starter in sustainable thinking. As early as the 1960s, Sweden recognised that the rapid loss of natural resources had to be confronted. It took a leading role in organizing the first UN conference on the environment held in Stockholm in 1972. In the 1970s Sweden was the most oil-dependent country in the industrialized world, but following the oil crisis in 1973, made tremendous efforts to find new sources of energy, create new ways to insulate buildings and develop automatic energy saving systems.

Private and public

Sustainable growth is a shared responsibility. Strict environmental legislation and rules provide guidance for developing and preserving green cities. The successful cooperation between local, regional and national authorities and private industry as well as the crucial involvement of the public has helped to turn ideas of sustainability into reality.

In the 1950s and 1960s you wouldnt even dip a toe in the polluted waters around Stockholm. Swimming and fishing were of course forbidden. Today, swimmers are everywhere, and fishing in central Stockholm is popular.

In 19962008 Swedish carbon dioxide emissions fell by 18% while GNP increased by 45%. Linking environmental performance to economic performance is both necessary and fruitful.

GNP

1995

2008

CO2

Think green save money

le eatab unb rs! offe
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SymbioCity will help you

n n n n n n

cut life cycle costs of system investments cut maintenance costs improve living satisfaction increase property values use land more efficiently reduce air pollution, noise and vibrations, harmful substances, polluted water, sewage and waste cut carbon dioxide emissions

for home, industrial, commercial and office areas for any city, block, house or household for both small and large-scale implementations for planning, building and renovation

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The ConCepT

Value from combinations

Get more for less
The most important word in SymbioCity is value. How to get more for less. By integrating different urban technology solutions, we create synergies that increase resource efficiency, optimise recovery and reuse and saves money. Cleaner air, reduced noise, improved water quality and a safer living environment makes people happier with their housing which in turn increases property value.

Long term gains

SymbioCity is all about the life cycle cost the long-term benefits of investments. In a sustainable city, maintenance costs tend to be lower thanks to forethought and better planning, resulting in lower life cycle investment costs and better returns.

With a social dimension

To ensure a successful and appreciated investment, the citizens should be involved early in the process, through information, education and communication. In the SymbioCity view, social and economic factors are as important as the ecological and technical the recognized ultimate goal being health, comfort, safety and maximum quality of life for all citizens.

A multi-disciplinary approach
Sharing information is crucial to a cost-efficient and smooth process. Municipalities, public authorities, universities, institutes, private companies and other networks can come together to share knowledge, skills, and organizational muscle. Questions of legislation and its implementation, of decisionmaking, transparency, and accountability are addressed and answered.

No more landfills! In Sweden, less than 20% of household waste is deposited as landfill. In Stockholm, 75% of all waste is collected for recycling or use as fuel. For household waste, this figure is 95%! Organic waste from restaurants and grocery shops as well as from households, toilet waste, sludge from septic tanks or waste water treatment plants all of it can be used to produce biogas. The digested biogas contains methane, which can be used for heating and electricity production or, after refining, as fuel for transportation.

fro wast m e fuel! to

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The building blocks

An integrated planning approach is key to unlocking hidden synergies in the city. Why manage urban sectors one by one? Instead, let SymbioCity combine them, saving valuable city resources and creating new values. Clockwise, from top: n Urban functions (housing, industries, services) n Waste management n Energy n Landscape planning n Architecture and master planning n Traffic and transport n Water supply and sanitation

The symbiosis in SymbioCity

Combine waste management and heat production get a new power industry!

the

re!

Combine industrial waste heat with the municipal energy plant cut energy production costs in half!

Combine wastewater treatment and traffic systems get biofuel for public transport!

Combine architecture and landscape planning let sunshine and shading lower heating and cooling costs!

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The LaYouT

Making urban systems communicate

Information and communication
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is an important part of SymbioCity. Its all about easily accessing, analyzing and sharing vital information in and between all urban systems and parties including the public. ICT increases resource efficiency in both the short and long term, which will ultimately reduce CO2 emissions across the board.
n Smart logistics can save n With smart monitoring,

transportation fuel as well as storage space, electricity and heating.

n Digitalized communications

buildings and factories can become highly energy efficient.

n Involvement creates respon-

reduces the need for some transport altogether.

n Smart power grids avoid peak

sibility. Maintain an open dialogue with stakeholders about public projects before and after implementation.
n Defined systems for measuring

loads, save electricity, and make use of multiple energy sources.

and evaluating city functions are crucial for mayors decisions.

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Scalable and easy to modify

Region, city, district, building or household? depending on your needs and resources you can use the SymbioCity approach at different scales: For brand new city areas or for renewals of existing urban districts. To found a new, state-of-the-art, large scale, ultramodern high-tech district. Or to help you create a single system or building that can serve as a touchstone driving interest in sustainable urban development so that a district or a city can be developed step by sustainable step. SymbioCity adapts to your unique situation!
SMALL MEDIUM

The most efficient solutions are not always the most high-tech. This simple matrix shows waste management and recycling in different scales and degrees of technology advancement. The SymbioCity approach can be used on any level, independently of project size, technology level or budget.
LARGE

HIGH TECHNOLOGY LEVEl

Automated waste collection for a single house

SMALL

Automated waste collection system

MEDIUM

Automated waste collection network

LARGE

MEDIUM TECHNOLOGY LEVEl

Composting and recycling solutions

Recycling centre

Recycling network

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

LOW TECHNOLOGY LEVEl

Individual composts

Private collectors

Collection network

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Carbon down! thumbs up!

s cces ! su ies stor
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a few SwedISh ShowCaSeS

SymbioCity in practice
MASTER PLANNING

hammarby by-the-sea, a model district

In the 1990s, plans were made to build Hammarby Sjstad in a former brownfield area of wharfs and docks. Today, it boasts attractive housing for several thousand Stockholmers. By 2018 the area will have approximately 11,000 apartments, 25,000 inhabitants and 10,000 workplaces. The Hammarby model has set a new world standard for future sustainable housing development, with its integrated planning approach.
n A system based approach to

architecture and planning of energy efficient housing n Automatic underground waste collection systems n Solar-powered hot water and electricity n Biogas from household sewage water and waste n Collection and filtration of runoff water n Super-efficient buildings, triple glazed windows, green roofs, etc. The investments have been proven environmentally successful: 40% less environmental stress 50% less eutrophication 40% less ground-level ozone 25% less water consumption

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HEATING

ENERGY

district heating energy hero

From December to March, the temperature is below freezing in many parts of Sweden. Thats why district heating has become our energy hero. District energy systems produce steam or hot water at a central plant. The steam or water is then piped underground to individual buildings within a designated area. This provides 50% of the households with an ideal indoor climate. District heating is far more efficient than traditional individual household heating and thus releases much less carbon dioxide. Thanks to district heating, total Swedish carbon dioxide emissions have fallen by 25% since the 1970s. A district heating system can easily increase energy efficiency by 50% compared to individual 18 household boilers. When the plants also provide electricity so-called combined heat and power a 90% degree of energy efficiency is possible. District heating plants are also much cleaner: in Ume, 99.5% of sulphur and particles are filtered out. Incineration works well with most fuels, including biomass and waste from households, construction industry and forestry. It has been calculated that if the European Union reached the same level of district heating as Sweden, the Europeans could overshoot their carbon dioxide reduction targets four times. District heating environmental performance, since 1980: 70% less carbon dioxide 95% less SO2 80% less NOX

smart electricity stockholm

A smart grid applies digital technology to monitor and control all electricity, to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability. When power is least expensive the user can allow the smart grid to automatically turn on selected home appliances, such as washing machines, or factory processes that can run at arbitrary hours. At peak times it can turn off selected appliances to reduce demand. The technology can also feed small scale energy production into the main grid, to make use of it where its needed at the time. Today, Stockholm is planning for a smart grid system in Stockholm Royal Seaport an area that will house 25,000 inhabitants when completed in 2025.

Oscar PrOPerties / HerzOg & de MeurOn

COOLING

The big chill

Sometimes we like it cold. On hot days, business productivity is much higher in air-conditioned offices. Hospitals benefit enormously from effective climate control. Using essentially the same technology as district heating, cities can create district cooling systems. District cooling has massive advantages over individual solutions. For one thing, it is often produced in the form of free cooling via a closed distribution system laid in the ground to supply customers with cold water from adjacent rivers or lakes. But it can also be produced from sewage water or sludge. Compared to individual household air-conditioning, district cooling lowers carbon dioxide emissions by 60%. On smaller scales, innovative companies provide system solutions for both cooling and warming, using solar technology combined with extremely efficient small scale heat exchangers. bIOGAS

biogas from waste

Biological waste and wastewater can easily be turned into biogas. In Linkping, one municipal gas company offering biogas for vehicles now has 7% of the local fuel market. A full scale project with a local biogas train is also in process. There is little waste in the process. After fermentation to gas, the bio-manure is used as an agricultural nutrient, reducing the use of artificial fertiliser.

ENERGY SAVING

no heat lost
There is enormous potential in waste heat recovery in harnessing the heat energy from waste that would otherwise be lost. In Iggesund, in the cold north, a large paperboard factory has cut its fossil fuel consumption by 75% by using waste heat. Thanks to a detailed energy assessment and large investments in new technology, the company now uses a greater part of waste heat from the industrial processes as a source for the whole plant and all its buildings. 19

HOUSING

a change for life

From triple glazed windows to hot water economy, all the buildings in new districts are optimized using a life cycle calculus of maintenance costs. Many new designs use insulation techniques that allow for so-called passive energy buildings, where the only heating sources are household appliances and the residents own body heat. But you can also renovate sustainably. Near Gothenburg, a suburban area from the 1970s has recently been refurbished. The energy, electricity and water savings are all well above 30%.

WATER

Clean waters
We spent more than three decades cleaning Lake Mlaren from household wastewater, industrial pollution and traffic runoff. Water treatment techniques have now become so sophisticated that even household wastewater can be a resource for drinkable water production.

COMMUNITY

sustainable safety
There is much to be gained by aiming for both a safe and attractive environment. The Gothenburg area of Grdsten used to be a rundown 1970s suburb. When the city decided on a total makeover, 40% of apartments were short of tenants and unemployment and crime rates were at national record levels. It was clear that social solutions and urban planning had to go hand in hand 20 and that local people should be involved in the change process to inspire confidence in the development. Soon the figures took a new direction. Shortly after the renovations, empty apartments dropped to zero, crime rates went down by 40%, and the number of local businesses rose eightfold. Today, Grdsten is an international model of sustainable social development.

SymbioCity is an all Swedish approach, and business cases around the world testify to the success and adaptability of Swedish solutions for a sustainable urban development.

er th all ov rld! wo

Check our offers! Swedish companies have delivered their solutions around the globe, both high-tech and low-tech. find your right partner or supplier, read more about our cases or simply play the SymbioCity Scenarios game. enjoy www.symbiocity.org
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CheCkLIST

A few inspiring ideas

TRAffIC AND TRANSPORT
n assess public transport facilities between out-of-theway areas and city centres, commercial and industrial areas, and site new residential areas where it is favourable from a transportation and public infrastructure viewpoint, to minimise costs for transport and connections to energy and water supply systems. n waste utilities, private actors

URbAN fUNCTIONS
n Locate industry correctly with regard to prevailing wind direction for improved public health. n Cut energy demands for cooling of industries and offices through passive and energy producing building techniques. n Let energy utilities and industry cooperate to cut peak loads in order to make energy supply more reliable. n Minimize industrial waste and swap hazardous substances for less hazardous ones through collaboration between environmental and waste authorities. n Combat environmental prob-

WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

n water and drainage utilities and waste collectors need to cooperate to prevent dumping of waste and septic sludge in collectors for storm water and/ or wastewater. n drinking water sources are often polluted by wastewater, sludge and toilet waste. allow cooperation between water supply and sanitation authorities. n water supply and treatment

bUILDING DESIGN
n plan for rainwater collection during the planning and construction process. n Consider designing multipurpose buildings in urban areas to facilitate mixed use of both housing and small-scale business activities within the service sector. This reduces need for private transportation. n reduce energy demand, energy supply needs and operating costs by specially designed walls, roofs and floors (insulation, space and design of windows, etc.). n Careful building design in relationship to the surrounding landscape. Topography, vegetation and related factors are important to the micro-climate, in turn influencing energy demand, the diffusion of air pollution, comfort level due to sun exposure, sun shading or wind exposure for cooling winds in summertime or wind protection in wintertime, etc. n Make entrances to buildings easily accessible from bicycle and walking paths, and include parking lots for bicycles. n Let green roofs attenuate storm water flow and contribute to cooling.

and traffic planners can develop plans for how to make waste transportation efficient.
n Minimise the need for transportation by private car and motorcycle through collaboration between public transport, industry and urban planners. n utilize synergies between land-use, traffic and transportation to achieve good logistics for public transportation in order to minimize transportation energy consumption as well as air pollution and noise. n Manage storm water in cooperation with road department and water utilities.

and wastewater plants should be managed in a way that decreases energy demand.
n health education and hygienic practices, included in water supply and sanitation authority operations, can mitigate waterborne diseases.

lems upstream. Improve incoming water quality at wastewater treatment plants through cooperation with industry.
n Combine urban planning, building design, production processes and equipment, introduced in early decisionmaking phases, to diminish industrial demands for cooling.

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LANDSCAPE PLANNING
n develop alternative solutions and ideas for integrated land use and green areas, traffic/ transportation and infrastructural planning. n purify water bodies through systems connected to recreation and biodiversity. Integrate green areas and the attenuation of storm water by developing attractive open ponds and ditches. n redevelop old waste dumps for ecological and recreational purposes. n use green areas to help school children understand ecology and the environment. n reduce air and water pollution with green areas. n Coordinate green wedges and green corridors with pleasant paths for bicycling and walking.

WASTE MANAGEMENT
n fermentation of biodegradable waste, septic sludge or wastewater sludge may be a feasible option for small-scale energy production. Gas may be utilized for heating purposes or to produce vehicle fuel. n Clearly allocate responsibility for dry toilet waste, septic sludge and other types of waste in cities where the waterborne sanitation system is limited and sanitation is an issue for the waste collection services. n Incinerate waste with strict environmental controls. n digest biodegradable waste,

ENERGY
n Let forestry authorities, nature conservation authorities and energy planners/utilities cooperate to stop deforestation around a city. n Let municipal utility departments cooperate to identify energy-saving opportunities for the city. n Let the energy sector spread knowledge of potential hazards in cooking or heating with dangerous fuels. They may be able to contribute alternative, energy efficient solutions. n use combined heat and power systems for waste incineration.

septic sludge or wastewater for small-scale energy production. utilize biogas for heating purposes or vehicle fuel.
n Make waste transportation efficient by collaboration between waste utilities, private actors and traffic planners. n design buildings and their immediate surroundings with regard to the source separation and collection of waste for example by facilitating waste management centers on the ground floors of multi-family housing.

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SymbioCity is an initiative by the Swedish Government through The Swedish Trade Council, in the aim for sustainable urban development worldwide.

Swedish Trade Council Telephone +46 8 588 660 00 E-mail symbiocity@swedishtrade.se Website www.symbiocity.org

For an update on cases and news, stop by www.symbiocity.org

! mazing a

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