Tuesdays at APA: SymbioCity and the Planning of Hammarby Sjöstad

Climate risks and sustainable growth are shared responsibilities
— engineers, architects, planners, and developers are uniquely
placed to improve the built environment. Sustainable development
can both reduce emissions and cities' vulnerability to climate
change and many impacts can be avoided, reduced, or delayed.
Cities have the right density, economic conditions, and
geographic scale for efficient public transport; recycling of
water, waste, and materials; and energy production, distribution,
and use. However, few cities have reached their full potential in
these areas. There are major benefits with creating cities with
substantial efficient use of resources, where transportation and
use of infrastructure is both effective and attractive, land is
used optimally, and the impacts on water and the natural
environment are limited.


Cooperation and synergies require more coordinated solutions, as
well as new construction with better environmental performance
and more energy efficient transport vehicles. In this program,
Stellan Fryxell from Tengbom architects, and Erik Freudenthal,
from GlashusEtt, presented an overview of SymbioCity, the Swedish
approach to fostering sustainable urban systems and processes.
And they used the Hammarby Sjöstad waterfront redevelopment
project in Stockholm, Sweden, to illustrate how the SymbioCity
approach has been applied at the district scale.