Lessons & Experiences from Ekostaden Augustenborg- An Anthology

The story of the housing area Augustenborg in Malmö is in many ways a story about Swedish housing history and how sustainability is increasingly becoming an integral part of local urban development. Starting with the development of public housing and neighborhood units at the end of the 1940s, to a period of socioeconomic decline in the 1970s, followed by ecocity initiatives in the late 1990s, the housing area of Augustenborg is still being transformed through the innovative “Greenhouse” housing development project which aims towards greener, more climate-smart everyday living.

Today, Augustenborg is known as Ekostaden Augustenborg- a unique and successful example of socio-economic transformation in combination with ecological rehabilitation. However, there is no publication that sums up Augustenborg’s transformation. The lessons and experience from Augustenborg can provide valuable insights on local implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, "Sustainable Cities and Communities", not only for Malmö, but also for other Swedish and foreign cities. Thus, an anthology is being planned by the municipality of Malmö, in collaboration with partners including Mistra Urban Futures Skåne Local Interaction Platform. The anthology will summarize and evaluate the experiences from the transformation of Augustenborg to Ekostaden Augustenborg, elucidating what the experiences mean today and how they can be used for the future to develop more sustainable and attractive cities, and how this links to the SDG goal 11.

As the anthology on Ekostaden Augustenborg seeks to reach a wide audience, it will be written in both Swedish and English, and include a variety of texts, ranging from internationally peer-reviewed research, to dedicated chapters on specific sub-topics, to journalistic writing, taking an anecdotal or personal approach. This format allows for a number of different angles on the same themes, and for a variety of voices to be heard. It will also provide a unique and an often sought access to Swedish scientific research to persons outside the research community.