Örebro: Shaping the environmental agenda in a medium-sized city

Abstract:

Comprehensive environmental planning laid the foundation for the establishment of a Local Agenda 21. In the Swedish city of Örebro various fields of environmental activities have been tackled under the umbrella concept of an "ecological municipality". The city has become one of 19 'eco-model' communities in Sweden in which the best available practices are to be demonstrated. In addition, the new ecological settlement at Ladugårdsängen was chosen as a pioneer in demonstrating an environmentally compatible lifestyle. The case study has been selected as an example of good practice for the following reasons:

• promotion of green principles and interdisciplinary green-city planning;
• drawing up long-term environmental plans with fixed reduction targets;
• adaptation the guidelines of eco-cycles in various environmental fields of action;
• incorporation of the public into the formulation of Local Agenda 21;
• continuous dissemination of information and co-operation with other municipalities.

Concept and aims

As early as 1985 The City of Örebro has set itself the goal of becoming an “Ecological City”. A municipal environmental protection programme was set up to deal with the most important issues of spatial planning, waste disposal and energy supply. Local environmental policy was oriented towards the following five fundamental principles:

1. the municipality has to work systematically towards a sustainable city. In particular, the environmental activity will follow the guidelines that use of raw materials from limited resources must not exceed the amount of new materials; that the use of long-life substances which are in nature has to be ceased altogether; that variety in nature and in the capacity of the ecosystem has to be maintained, and that the use of energy and materials has to take place at a level which corresponds with the capacity of the ecological cycle;
2. ecological thinking has to be established as the governing principle of development;
3. work in urban policy area has to be pursued according to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary view in different policy sectors;
4. the development of urban policy areas has to be implemented as a process of dynamic interaction between municipal actors and the citizens concerned. Citizens have to play a active role in the process which will be stimulated by exchange of information, experience, and education;
5. the concept of the City of Örebro is that of an ecological model municipality which also covers co-operation with other cities.

In addition, since 1992 the City of Örebro has been participating in the Swedish "eco-municipality project". The aim was to spread and deepen knowledge about ecological conditions and sustainable development. By 1995, 19 'eco-model' communities had been created all over Sweden. At Örebro the Ladugårdsängen neighbourhood was selected as an area in which the principles of ecologically compatible town planning and building should be demonstrated.

Altogether the City of Örebro aims to adopt implementation of environmentally compatible policy approaches in key areas of environmental planning and action.

Implementation

As a medium-sized city of 120,000 inhabitants the City of Örebro has succeeded in acting as a pioneer in various environmental fields which can be influenced by local urban government. The following initiatives have been taken in environmental management.

Air Quality Management

As air quality management is an important task in the process of reducing environmental burden, the City of Örebro installed a new measuring and calculations system over the last ten years. With the help of a special computer programme at street level it was established that SO2, NOx and carbon levels are relatively good compared with European standards. This is partly due to the absence of major industrial emissions, but also as a result of opening with a CHP plant by the local Örebro Energy utility company.

Another important issue in the city’s air quality management is the reduction of mercury emissions as this is a vital precondition for tourism as well as the fishing industry. Prior to tackling this problem Örebro County had been blacklisted and the selling of fish had been forbidden due to the high concentration of mercury content. As the local crematory was a major source of pollution (1,800 cremations per year which constitutes 85% of all funerals!), the city decided to install special pilot equipment with gas purification. Both funerals have been equipped with oil-heating and gas cleansing systems which involves burning the gases in an afterburner. Thereafter gases are cooled in a heat exchanger, filtered through a textile dust separator with active charcool and finally re-heated by mixing with hot air before they are emitted.

Further measures in the transport and energy consumption sector are also designed to contribute to reducing greenhouse gases by 5% between 1994 and 1998. They will be described below.

Waste Management

Since 1992 the City of Örebro had a comprehensive waste plan. The main goals for dealing with waste are laid down in the plan (e.g. targets for sorting at source, utilisation, and expected decrease in annual amounts of waste). Over a ten year-period waste reduction targets set extremely high. By preventive measures the amount of waste which goes to landfilling or incineration is to decrease by 75%. Therefore, waste reduction activities have been initiated in various areas:

• composting has been a major problem as many people used their waste in their gardens. Since 1992 the composting of even kitchen waste has been forbidden, and inhabitants are advised on the topic of waste separation and composting by two special municipal waste advisors;
• with the help of a new collection system the collection of hazardous waste has increased by 50% over three years since 1992. Seven environmental deposits have been installed and 25,000 'free' environment boxes (plastic boxes with a child-proof lid) handed out to households in order to collect ecologically harmful wastes. If the box is filled it is collected by the normal domestic waste refuse collection system;
• a special collection system has been set up for garden waste which is deposited at a big municipal composting site next to the city’s refuse plant;
• at the local landfill site methane (CH4) is extracted and is used to deliver gas to two food processing companies for the production of steam and heating. The extra energy is 4.5 MW.

Traffic and transport

Reduction in the volume of traffic is a major task in a city that on the one hand depends on tourism and on the other hand is the hub of the Örebro region. During the 1990s the city has started to take several steps into the direction of reducing private car use:

• the use of the bicycle is strongly promoted as the relatively flat urban terrain favours this means of transport. A number of measures and services has been put into operation: the city’s special cycle-lane network has been extended to a total length of 150 kilometres. Future plans will designate particularly completion of local networks (e.g. next to schools or in the suburbs). Main streets in the city centre are restricted areas for cars. A cycle hire service run by an employment scheme is offered by the city’s Labour Market Office. It is open to everybody (local residents, tourists, companies, employees of local administration). Most bikes are rented on an annul contract and during summer an additional seasonal service is offered;
• a programme called "Green Traffic" has been set up in order to bring about traffic calming and revitalisation of urban places. The key areas of action are building more roundabouts, restriction of stops, and creation of green space on former streets;
• the programme is being supported by proclamation of what are called "environmental zones" which limit through traffic by special restrictions (according to exhaust, weight and noise level);
• public transport services will be improved by the use of more and smaller buses which will better serve the special needs of passengers (e.g. low entrances, lift for wheelchairs). The bus stops will be provided with weather-protected facilities. Future plans are to extend the bus fleet by including electric driven busses;
• two cars pools are existing in the medium-sized city of Örebro. They have been set up a financial union as this policy allows a better cost-ration. Currently, approximately 35 households or companies are sharing five cars.

Built Environment

In 1988 planning of the new neighbourhood of Ladugårdsängen started. The new settlement was planned on the basis of ecological principles in order to demonstrate environmentally sensitive lifestyles. In 1992 the new ecological living project was completed and at an area on 110 acres a neighbourhood of 13 blocks with a total of 950 dwellings was planned by 22 private as well as public housing associations. Currently, it is the largest 'ecological' residential area in Sweden with 2,200 inhabitants and 500 work places.

The cycle of nature is adapted at various levels of implementation from the municipal master plan via technical design to the individual lifestyles of the residents. The following distinctive features have been given prominence:

• the area was chosen because of its nearness to the city centre (approximately 1 kilometre);
• the area was planned as a mixture of living and working;
• roads with separate traffic increased safety and improved the ecological position;
• the number of car parks was limited to 50%;
• 'green' gardens with allotments make use of green outdoor areas in residential areas easier and, in addition, increase the real estate value of the property;
• waste separation was a key element with a variety of solutions and extensive source separation as well as composting;
• surface water is collected for allow soil infiltration and channelled to ponds for local rain water management;
• proximity to recreational facilities and excellent parks makes it possible for inhabitants to take part in sports and outdoor activities without the need of a car;
• a car-sharing project was opened as a consequence of the advantages of the central location and local infrastructure;
• a shop for 'green' products, in particular food and chemicals, was opened.

Local Agenda 21

After the 1992 Rio Earth Summit the City of Örebro approved a broader approach to the solution of environmental problems in 1994. The grass-route element was to be strengthened in order to establish active set-up of local Agenda 21 issues. Currently, the process of policy formulation is under way. Dialogue between the city departments and the inhabitants was to last until spring 1997 when the final platform of the Local Agenda 21 would be approved. The dialogue should ensure the participation of all levels of urban society and, therefore, kindergardens, schools, work places, company meetings, neighbourhood meetings, and sport clubs are involved in the exchange of information. At the outset the environmental department produced a pamphlet on the state of the urban environment in order to show the alternative directions for a sustainable future.

Financing and resources used

Public transport is subsidised to the amount 55 million Swedish crowns per year.

Results and impacts

Although the implementation of urban environmental plans is an on-going process some remarkable progress has been already achieved.

In the air quality management the test project at the crematory proved to be a great success. Mercury output has been reduced from an annual 8 kilogramme to a mere 0.5 kilogramme per year.

In traffic and transport sector bicycle use has steadily increased to a high percentage of 40%. The next goal is to reach 50 %. Especially in the public service sector the cycles hire is welcomed as approximately 700 cycles are loaned to employees from the city government for official use.

By 1995, 126,000 visitors had studied the ecological achievements in the Ladugårdsänden settlement. A study by the University of Örebro on the residents' view of ecological lifestyles underlines the importance of ecological planning and building. 42% of the inhabitants stressed that they have changed their environment-related behaviour due to the accessibility of ecologically compatible infrastructure. In particular, waste separation and composting has become a popular field of activity and in some buildings waste amounts have been reduced by 30%. Another new sphere of activity is setting-up a co-operative for jointly-owned cars. This project is supported by 40 households.

Source of Information

National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, (ed.) 1995: The Ecological City, Karlskrona

Nyström, Louise 1996: Living in Sweden - between Tradition and Vision, Karlskrona

Swedish Ministry of Industry and Commerce, (ed.) 1996: Shaping Sustainable Homes in an urbanizing World - Swedish National Report for Habitat II, Stockholm

Personal contact with the environmental department of the City of Örebro

Contact:

Cities:

Örebro:

The City of Örebro is located in the south of Sweden and is the capital of Örebro County. It has a population of approximately 120,000 and covers an area of 2,117 square kilometres. The major industry of the city is the manufacturing of shoes. Örebro is the administrative centre of the region and has had a university since 1967. It is also a centre of tourism as the city is surrounded by many lakes which are connected by an extensive system of canals. The trade and services sector is thus another economic stronghold in the municipality. Örebro is one of the oldest settlements in Sweden and some medieval structures are still present. However, after a great fire in 1854 the city was mainly rebuilt according to modern principles of town planning.

Population:

Project was added at 23.11.1998
Project was changed at 23.11.1998

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