Symbiotic cities

As everybody knows, the human race is going urban. In every single country in the world, more than 50% of the population lives in cities. That is expected to increase to more than 70% in the next 30-40 years. What we do with our cities has a lot to do with climate change, both how we respond to it and how we affect it. Thinking of cities as dynamic ecosystems is not new, but it is increasingly promising, and relevant. A new Swedish national initiative, "SymbioCity: Sustainability by Sweden," was launched at the beginning of 2013. It is a collaboration between the Swedish Government, Business Sweden and the international affiliate of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, SKL International. The idea is to create and nurture symbiosis in the design and running of cities, all around the world. Their impressive website is a gold mine of resources, ideas, tool kits, contacts and, above all, inspiration. They are doing things. They are open, inclusive and sharing. Go there and explore the possibilities.

Brilliant waste

(All images in this blog post have been borrowed with kind permission from www.logiwaste.se and www.envacgroup.com, where you can find many more. They are brilliant, like everything else on their sites!)

Anything that can help our cities run more smoothly, use less energy, create less pollution, leave more green space and be more pleasant to live in is also good as a response to climate change. Good responses to climate change are also good contributions to sustainability. That's why I got so excited this week when I heard about the work of two Swedish companies. What I read literally made me stop reading and start thinking (not too bad in our current age of information overload). The companies are Envac and Logiwaste. They build and install central vacuum waste collection systems for entire building and housing districts, among others. Yes, you read correctly, the word was "vacuum!" The main idea is that "the garbage truck" and everything that goes with that old-fashioned, but common, way of collecting garbage is eliminated from the first stage of a community waste collection system. That means that there's no need for an access road, and none of the noise, engine exhaust, fuel, labor and cost of running a vehicle-dependent system. You have to go to their excellent websites to learn more about them, since they have too many interesting aspects to report here. It's not just science fiction, either; many systems have already been installed. Believe me, I have no economic interest in these companies (but I wish I did!), but it would be great if they became extremely well-known and successful. Bravo!