As more and more people move to urban areas, the development of greener cities becomes increasingly vital to build a more climate friendly society. In this issue of Nordregio Magazine, you can read about two of the projects we are involved in to help shape a sustainable future.
Buildings account for 40 per cent of the European energy consumption and around 36 per cent of CO2-emissions. Speeding up energy retrofitting of existing buildings is vital to achieving European targets for CO2-reductions.
The EU funded project Social Green is looking at ways to speed up the greening of the social housing sector in a number of ways, ranging from improving access to funding to initiating renovation projects. The project has revealed a competency gap with regards to obtaining EU-funding and works to empower potential applicants to make better use of available resources.
Another key area in terms of greening our cities is the development of brownfields – old industrial sites within cities – into attractive areas for living and recreational activities. Baltic Urban Lab has looked at ways to develop these often attractively located sites in a sustainable manner, replacing industrial activity with lively and dynamic neighbourhoods and urban spaces.
