District of hammarby sjöstad in stockholm
In Sweden, the well-known social democratic welfare state model applied to housing, building and planning from the s has been eroded and replaced by market-driven urban development and housing construction. This example raises important questions about what has been achieved by this vast project, widely acclaimed as an exemplar of urban sustainable development.
Our research confirms that most positive interpretations of this district restrict their analysis to its environmental and energy characteristics, that were modified during the long-term realization of this large redevelopment project Svane et al. We argue that limiting analysis and discussion of any urban project only to these characteristics of sustainable urban development is problematic.
In , the City of Stockholm proposed the redevelopment of a large derelict industrial site, comprising about hectares of which 40 are water , in order to construct a new neighbourhood in a prime location on the banks of the Hammarby Lake near the Nacka Nature Reserve. The site, shown in Figure 4. The soil on parts of the site had to be decontaminated prior to any new construction work.
Hammarby Sjöstad: A Case in Stockholm
The redevelopment of. In the early s, this site gained political favour for the construction of the Stockholm Olympic Village, if the city was chosen to host the Olympic Games in Between and August , redevelopment plans for the site were modified to focus on environmental issues in the context of sustainable development. This proposal was made by external consultants who had planned the Olympic Games Village in Sydney.
However, in September , Stockholm was not selected to host the Olympic games. The City Planning Office collaborated with other municipal companies and service providers, architectural firms, property developers and building contractors to propose a Master Plan for a new residential neighbourhood, with a mixture of housing and commercial premises, in which many housing units had views of the lake see Figure 4.
The whole site was divided into 15 planning areas and each of these was subdivided into interconnected development projects. In , Hammarby Sjostad was almost completed and it included about housing units that could accommodate about 17, inhabitants see Figure 4. Some buildings would accommodate offices, commercial premises, cafes and restaurants, and community facilities and services.
The new district was planned and constructed by a project-based management team, including representatives of the municipal departments of city planning, roads, and real estate. Other municipal. Photo Credits: top photo — by kind permission of Lennart Johansson see vaxer. The Environmental Program, endorsed by the municipality in , included the following six themes: Land use; soil decontamination; energy, waste and water sewage systems; transport; construction materials, and noise.
Hammarby Sjöstad: A Sustainable Urban Oasis in Stockholm’s Heart
Each of these themes has quantified targets including:. Targeting low environmental impact for the new urban district meant that it should consume only half the energy used in a typical Swedish neighbourhood, a normative planning goal par excellence. In addition, used water and household wastes should be treated and recycled. The district should have zero energy' consumption owing to on-site energy production, and this brownfield site should be decontaminated.
The City of Stockholm proposed an eco-cycle model, now known as the Hammarby model, for the new district, shown in Figure 4. This model applies specialized knowledge and systems thinking to interpret the new district as if a metabolism within the large urban region. It is formulated using knowledge gained from experience of other projects in Stockholm and Sweden.
This new district was planned and constructed with an innovative waste sorting and transportation system associated with local energy production in the City of Stockholm. The high-tech waste extraction system includes a waste suction system for combustible and compostable solid wastes. These collected wastes are transported to peripheral sites to avoid vehicular access through the district.
The contribution of renewable energy was meant to be higher than the national average,.
Hammarby Sjöstad - one of the world’s most successful urban renewal districts
Innovative household metering of energy and water consumption were also proposed to monitor consumption. Site planning and urban design processes were completed by a consortium of professionals who assumed the role of experts. They had to respect statutory requirements that the public should be informed about the project. The outcome of planning and design processes by public consultation, instead of the explicit citizen participation, confirms that the future residents of the neighbourhood were treated as housing consumers rather than participants.
Any public consultation has been tokenism a term used by Sherry Arnstein nearly fifty years ago. Reasons for this included claims that democratic participator ' processes with elected local government council members should not be replaced by representative democracy by future residents who wish to express their views Monno and Khakee,