PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Until recently, only small municipalities and communities tended to adopt sustainable development policies. By contrast, large urban administrations have been less geared towards implementing policies that demand a bottom-up strategy and the active participation of local players. Most of Europe's population live in urban areas, which account for the lion's share of resource consumption, pollution and waste. It is essential, then, that sustainable development becomes a concern of urban administrations. A step in this direction was taken in the 1990s, when experiments involving the administrations of large urban areas from all over Europe were carried out.
OBJECTIVES
The main task of the ECO-City project was to demonstrate a series of measures supporting sustainable development in an area (30 000 inhabitants) of central Copenhagen, Denmark, through cooperation between the local district council and grassroots organisations The goal was to increase environmental awareness and shared responsibility for sustainable development in densely populated urban areas. The project involved collaboration between two local urban districts: Indre Nørrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Lundby, Gothenburg, Sweden.
RESULTS
The eco-city project supported a wide variety of projects concerning the environment and the quality of life in the district, and a number of visible, practical results were achieved: - A number of pilot projects eventually led to the creation of recycling centres throughout the district. - The district kept green accounts, and this concept found its way into institutions and housing associations. - The project also tested ways of integrating environmental parameters into local planning and administration, and supporting the development of local environmentally-friendly production and activities. - The eco-city project demonstrated the environmentally-friendly establishment of nature playgrounds/ outdoor areas. - A waste management project proved that it is possible to increase waste sorting and recycling considerably. Waste production was reduced by 40 %, in line with the original target. - The project also delivered a practical framework for increasing the amount of construction waste that is recycled. - Green training/education programmes and new jobs and businesses were created under the project. This shows new scope for a green approach to production and business. A major achievement was the development of a model of cooperation between NGOs, citizens, and the district council, in which all parties have the opportunity to use their resources optimally in working for a sustainable district. Project results, innovations and resulting new knowledge have been summarised and synthesised in a green manual, which acts as a guide to building an eco-city. The green manual has been made available to the public on the Internet. It also functions as a link between the project, local users and the outside world. The eco-city project supported a wide variety of projects concerning the environment and the quality of life in the district, and a number of visible, practical results were achieved: - A number of pilot projects eventually led to the creation of recycling centres throughout the district. - The district kept green accounts, and this concept found its way into institutions and housing associations. - The project also tested ways of integrating environmental parameters into local planning and administration, and supporting the development of local environmentally-friendly production and activities. - The eco-city project demonstrated the environmentally-friendly establishment of nature playgrounds/ outdoor areas. - A waste management project proved that it is possible to increase waste sorting and recycling considerably. Waste production was reduced by 40 %, in line with the original target. - The project also delivered a practical framework for increasing the amount of construction waste that is recycled. - Green training/education programmes and new jobs and businesses were created under the project. This shows new scope for a green approach to production and business. A major achievement was the development of a model of cooperation between NGOs, citizens, and the district council, in which all parties have the opportunity to use their resources optimally in working for a sustainable district. Project results, innovations and resulting new knowledge have been summarised and synthesised in a green manual, which acts as a guide to building an eco-city. The green manual has been made available to the public on the Internet. It also functions as a link between the project, local users and the outside world.
