The Swedish political week in Almedalen, Visby, is the annual meeting place of policy makers, lobbyists, researchers, public service, NGOs and private companies. From a scientific community perspective, this year’s meetings are particularly interesting as the Swedish government is preparing a four-year research proposition, to be presented late October. Three key words for the cross-cutting challenges that are identified are climate, health and digitalisation, all of which relate quite closely to sustainable urban development. The links between climate change and urbanisation are well explored...