The EU’s first two ‘European green capitals’ — Stockholm (photo), which holds the title for 2010, and Hamburg, which will follow in 2011 — provide best-practice examples of just what can be done to cut carbon at city level. Brian Baker reports.

As we reflect on the findings of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, it seems appropriate to look at the progress made by two European cities — Stockholm and Hamburg — in reducing their carbon footprint.

Stockholm — the EU’s first-ever European Green Capital — reduced its CO2 emissions by 25% between 1990 and 2009. It is committed to net zero emissions by 2050, but it is also projecting an increase in the population of 200,000 by 2030.

The city’s new Hammarby Sjostad district (photo) has set high sustainable-development standards and Stockholm city council has now announced two further districts are to be developed as eco-quarters. In the north east of the city, Stockholm Royal Seaport, which will be developed over 15 years on 267 ha, is being planned as an international showpiece for sustainability.

The masterplan envisages around 20,000 residents and up to 30,000 employees. The city council owns most of the land and is selling it in parcels to several developers. The major commercial developments will be located in the central area of Royal Seaport, but the initial construction will be in the predominantly residential northern section, which will provide around 5,000 homes in 10 years’ time. Construction begins this year with around 670 dwellings, and a small number of workplace and public-service units. Another 1,200 dwellings are set for a 2011 start.

A tramway line is to be extended to the Royal Seaport district, which will also benefit from its proximity to the Royal National Urban Park and the new northern ring road.

Stockholm’s vice-mayor responsible for city planning and real estate, Kristina Alvendal, says that the European Green Capital award is a tribute not only to the progress already made by Stockholm, but also to “what we plan to do next. We now feel we have to do more to live up to the title.”

The second new eco-quarter in western Liljeholmen in the south west of the city will set new challenges, she adds: “This area is different. Some people 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 being a collaboration with the property-owners. It will test out whether and how we can achieve a framework for high-energy efficiency standards when land and property is entirely in private ownership.”

Alvendal reports that Stockholm has a robust real-estate market. “We have good collaboration with a lot of investors and developers,” she adds. “Our city is environmentally friendly, which is attractive to a lot of investors.”

In Germany, Hamburg has set itself the task of reducing its CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by 40% by 2020, and 80% by 2050. Since 1990, emissions per person have been reduced by about 15%. District heating systems are being introduced across the city and will eventually provide for around 490,000 households.

The HafenCity masterplanned re-development has set high environmental standards. Construction began in 2007 on 157 ha close to the waterfront, which will increase the size of the city centre by 40%. Around 2 million sq m of gross floor space will be constructed at HafenCity. Its residential population will exceed 12,000 and the commercial buildings are expected to provide around 40,000 work spaces. From 2012, it will be served by two stations on the €324m U4 subway.

“We have around 125,000 sq m of development starting construction during 2010,” says HafenCity Hamburg’s CEO, Jurgen Bruns-Berentelg. “At the end of 2009, we had 340,000 sq m under construction and some of that will extend through 2010 into 2011. The 25,000 sq m HafenCity University went on site at the beginning of 2010.

” Bruns-Berentelg says that HafenCity has continued to attract investment during the global recession because it is structured to spread risk via many market participants. It has already worked with over 60 developers.

“Our prime target is to achieve a premium in terms of conceptual quality rather than price,” Bruns-Berentelg adds. “We chose to buy the land that the city did not already own. This enables us to have a high-quality, low-risk approach, using a fixed-price mechanism for disposals to allow us to generate a diversity of offers.”

The aim, according to Bruns-Berentelg, is for all the residential buildings “to meet the gold HafenCity eco label from 2011”. HafenCity introduced its own sustainable construction standards in 2007.

During 2010, HafenCity will be bringing to the market the first three building sites, which overlook the district’s central park. The 3.5 ha Am Lohsepark will be built in two phases, with the first completed in 2013. The three sites — of an eventual total of 14 around the park — will include 350 units of innovative housing development with a focus on ecological concepts, such as smart metering and car sharing.
Hamburg’s population is increasing, so it is now beginning the ambitious ‘leap across the Elbe’, which will allow it to grow without infringing on its greenbelt land. A compact new city on the island of Wilhelmsburg is proposed and future development will extend the city southwards to the Harburg inland port.