Vertical horizons: parking matrix

Where's your car?

As we all know, cities are more and more becoming the home for increasing numbers of people around the world. We are heading towards an extremely urbanized future. Everything that we humans like to do needs to take place surrounded by growing congestion. It's getting crowded. More cars, more "housing units," more stores, more roads, more pollution, fewer green areas, fewer parking spots, everything more expensive by the square-meter. Here in Sweden, as I've been reporting, one avenue of adaptation is the switch to electric cars, as just one area that could ease some of the pressure.

Big department store chains like Coop Forum and IKEA are beginning to add charging stations for electric vehicles, but the cars themselves are often still missing. IKEA, though, has also developed a partnership with a Göteborg-based renter of electric vehicles, Move About, to provide easy rentals for its own customers. The incredibly popular MAX hamburger chain is also adding charging stations. Since hamburgers will probably be with us for some time, it is heartening to see how much effort MAX is putting into its overall climate change and environment policy. They claim that even their newest restaurants are entirely recyclable! (It's their claim.) When I was reading about their policy, I saw that they have been developing it with help from a foundation called The Natural Step, which is on my list of good causes to promote here. So I'll do it here, now!

One of those involved in starting up The Natural Step was Kaj Embren. Nowadays, he has an informative and provocative blog, dedicated to all aspects of sustainable development. He has also continued his work on sustainability via his company, Respect, which focuses on developing sustainability-conscious businesses. It's worth following, too! See you there! And I'll be writing more about The Natural Step in a later blog. Stay tuned . . .

Vertical horizons: farming matrix

The iconic "Toronto Sky Farm" (design and image copyright, Gordon Graff).

Today on Swedish Radio's science program, "Vetandets värld," you could hear about a Swedish company's efforts to develop urban farming systems. The company, Plantagon, is not only developing innovative designs for vertical agriculture, but it is doing so in partnership with the native American Onandoga Nation. This is worth learning more about. The company was a partner in organizing the recent conference, Urban Agriculture Summit, held at the end of January, 2013, in Linköping, Sweden. You can read about Gordon Graff's iconic design and study for his Toronto Sky Farm, as well as lots, lots more about urban farming, on the Treehugger website. (Let's hope that Swedish Radio's interest lasts longer than one day).

Do you have a company and do you feel moved to develop a climate change consciousness? Read Sarah Cornell's blog on the website, Hagainitiativet (The Haga Initiative), which promotes active, responsible corporate behavior in relation to climate change. (Does this mean that even Coca-Cola has realized that it's hard to have market dominance when you don't have a planet?)

Stay tuned for more vertical thinking from a horizontal position!

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.