56 Publications
Local energy production in action: Igelbodaplatån
How a Swedish housing cooperative turned apartments into energy-saving hubs. In Saltsjöbaden, just outside Stockholm, the housing cooperative Igelbodaplatån has significantly reduced its energy consumption. This accomplishment results from implementing geothermal heating systems, installing solar panels and upgrading the windows. These measures have not only earned the cooperative an energy class C rating but also substantially lowered energy expenses for its tenants. Impressively, Igelbodaplatån ranked as Sweden’s 52nd-largest solar energy producer in 2021 and produces up to 500,000-540,000 kWh per year. Discover how local energy production can bring about wide-ranging benefits.
- 2024 February
- Storymap
- Nordic Region
- Green transition
- Sustainable development
Fragile communities finding strength from the inside
Discover Dalir, Iceland, where co-creation has breathed new life into the community focusing on involving diverse social groups. This storymap highlights the Fragile Communities project in Búðardalur, a small town in Dalir, Iceland. The project aimed to prevent the decline of remote municipalities through community empowerment and tourism development. It encourages local participation in addressing issues like housing and infrastructure, and seeks to improve local well-being and identity through workshops, grants, and cooperative projects. It also details Dalir’s unique approach to adapting to population decline and the importance of community mobilization and identity rediscovery.
- 2024 February
- Storymap
- Nordic Region
- Rural development
- Tourism
Visualizing Future Migration Scenarios for Europe
The FUME project investigated how migration has shaped Amsterdam, Rome, Copenhagen, and Krakow, using data to understand segregation patterns. The findings indicate that despite variations in size, foreign population structure, and migration history, residential segregation, measured using grid cell level data, is surprisingly similar in three cities – Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Rome. However, Krakow stands out as an exception due to its recent immigrant influx and a smaller migrant population. Even in Krakow, there’s a noticeable downward trend in the dissimilarity index, reflecting a more even allocation of migrants across the city. The storymap includes population estimates and projections by foreign status for cities, which allows decision-makers to use the data in a very flexible way. To achieve this, cutting-edge methods were used such as machine learning and the most available spatially detailed data that is available is collected. The harmonized set of historical data and results of multi-scenario demographic projections allows researchers to study not only past spatial distribution, but also possible futures of spatial processes in cities under different national and regional scenarios; not only those related to population and migration (e.g., changes in the size and structure of mobility flows), but also scenarios of urban development (e.g., investments in infrastructure, housing, transport).
- 2023 November
- Storymap
- Europe
- Global
- Integration
- Migration
- Urban planning
The OECD Rural Agenda for Climate Action Compendium of Best Practices: Peatland ACTION
Peatland ACTION is a programme delivering peatland restoration projects across Scotland to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. Peatlands are terrestrial wetland environments where the peat – a dark brown substance like soil – is waterlogged for most of the year. 80% of the UK’s peatlands, the majority of which are in Scotland, are estimated to be in poor condition. In their natural state, peatlands represent the single most important terrestrial soil carbon store. Yet, activities such as artificial drainage, forestry, over-grazing and extraction, result in the peatlands emitting carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases (GHG), thereby contributing to climate change. In addition, other benefits of healthy peatlands such as source-water quality, flood management and addressing wildfire risks are much reduced. The UK’s GHG inventory estimates that degraded peatlands are contributing over 15% of Scotland’s GHG emissions. To reverse this trend and ensure that peatlands act as a carbon storage, Peatland ACTION provides funding to land managers to restore peatlands as well as advisory services, project design and restoration management. This storymap was produced as a collaboration between Nordregio and the OECD Rural Agenda for Climate Action.
- 2023 September
- Storymap
- Europe
- Sustainable development
No longer solid: how thawing permafrost affects people’s lives in the Arctic
Rapid shifts in the environment caused by climate change impact people’s live in the Arctic. The changes challenge food availability, cause safety concerns, and in some cases deteriorate people’s health. Arctic air temperatures are rising up to four times as fast as the global average, and this causes dramatic changes to all components of the cryosphere, including permafrost. By 2050 permafrost will degrade and ultimately disappear in many areas of the Arctic and this will impact the lives of 3.3 million inhabitants. This storymap tells about local people and how they experience permafrost thaw. What challenges and impacts related to permafrost thaw do they recognize? How do local inhabitants deal with permafrost thaw and how does it affect their possibility to support themselves? The story presents the situation in three permafrost communities: Aklavik (Northwest Territories, Canada), Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway), and Qeqertarsuaq (Qeqertalik Municipality, Greenland).
- 2022 October
- Storymap
- Arctic
- Arctic issues