Stockholm mayor to outline holistic sustainability approach at Mipim

Stockholm mayor Sten Nordin is to outline his vision of a 'holistic approach' for sustainable urban development during a keynote address at the Mipim property fair on 17 March. He will also explain the importance of identifying the synergies between urban functions and the best-adapted technical solutions.

The city of Stockholm is a pioneer in sustainable urban (re)development as it was one of the first municipalities worldwide to build the Hammarby Sjöstad eco-district with a fully-integrated infrastructure in the early 1990s.

Following the success of Hammarby Sjöstad, another eco-district is now under construction in Stockholm. This second new eco-quarter in western Liljeholmen, in the southwest of the city, will set new challenges. Kristina Alvendal, Stockholm's deputy mayor responsible for city planning and real estate, said: 'Some say it is easy to put up a framework when the land is publicly owned but, in western Liljeholmen, the land is privately owned. We see this proposed eco-quarter as a collaboration with the property owners. It will test how we can achieve a framework for high-energy efficiency standards when land and property is entirely in private ownership.'

Swedish companies don’t have a monopoly on sustainable development. At Mipim, Ralph DiNola, Principal of the US Green Building Services company, will deliver a keynote speech on 'Living Buildings and Living Communities: the Needed Quantum Leap for a Sustainable Built Environment.'

According to DiNola, 'We must make a quantum shift in our approach to and maintenance of the built environment to head off the looming environmental crisis.' In his speech, DiNola will discuss possible new angles and approaches for the international real estate community to take the next step in realising a sustainable built environment.

Another panel in the programme of conferences, 'Sustainability sans frontières,' will examine the importance of establishing consistent international standards and criteria for green buildings. Investors and end-users need to know what they are getting when they acquire a so-called 'green' building, but there is currently little harmonisation between the different 'green building' labels that exist throughout the world.