CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION THE GREENEST CITY? Jonathan Metzger and Amy Rader Olsson THE EUROPEAN UNION inaugurated the European Green Capital Award in 2010. The annual prize recognizes the consistent record of high envi- ronmental standards and commitment to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement of one city within the European Union, which can then function as a role model to inspire and “promote best practice experiences in all other European cities” (European Green Capital, 2009). The first city to receive this award was Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Positioned on the Baltic rim, on the northern outskirts of Europe, Stockholm has long been renowned for its distinctive waterfront and exten- sive foliage, truly making this “Venice of the North” worthy of the moniker Green (and blue!) Capital in the literal sense of the term. But of course, in relation to urban development the adjective “green” also implies so much more, functioning as a synonym for sustainability, or sustainable develop- ment. The classic definition of sustainable development, as formulated in the Brundtland Report (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987), states that sustainable development is development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In many contexts, the term is also used in a broad sense to denote action toward securing, sustaining, and developing the global preconditions for human life across multiple generations, while simultaneously paying attention to human well-being and prosperity, as well as safeguarding sensitive ecosystems and finite natural resources (for a more detailed discussion, see Chapter 3). Cities and urban areas are increasingly in focus regarding questions of sustainable development. The United Nations estimates that in 2008 more Copyright © 2013. Routledge. All rights reserved. © 2013. Routledge. Copyright than 50 percent of the world’s population lived in cities. This share is steadily rising, and in many parts of the world the pace of urbanization is still rapidly accelerating – especially in the so-called Global South. Over 75 percent of EU 1 Sustainable Stockholm : Exploring Urban Sustainability in Europe's Greenest City, edited by Jonathan Metzger, and Olsson, Amy Rader, Routledge, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kth/detail.action?docID=1323345. Created from kth on 2018-08-20 05:33:39. J. METZGER AND A. R. OLSSON citizens already live in urban areas. Cities themselves are not only distin- guishable places that can be easily pinpointed on a world map, but also nodes, or rather bundles of nodes, within networks that both constitute and are constituted by innumerable flows of people, ideas, and resources – flows at the intersections of which the phenomenon of conurbation is generated. These networked relations sometimes span the globe: what happens in one city can have effects on other places that may physically be located on the other side of the earth. Hence, the city can be conceptualized as both a local phenomenon and a global one that has geographically distributed effects. What we do in one city – how we build, how we consume, how we act – often has repercussions globally (in terms of climate change, ozone, etc.) and also very concretely for other specific, sometimes distant, places. Historically, cities have generally been associated with adverse environmental effects and therefore primarily have been seen as a problem that must be dealt with. Today, the vast bulk of environmentally detrimental production and consumption is still concentrated in urban areas. However, increasingly, urbanization and city development are also beginning to be seen not only as problems but also as important parts of the solution in the quest towards reaching worldwide sustainable development – for instance, in relation to issues such as climate change mitigation, energy conservation, protection of arable land, and water management. This is reflected in the ten key indicators of sustainable urban development used to determine the winner of the EU Green Capital Award: local contribution to global climate change, local transport, availability of local public open areas and green areas, quality of local ambient air, noise pollution, waste production and manage- ment, water consumption, wastewater treatment, environmental manage- ment by the local authority, and sustainable land use. As a factor in motivating its choice to award Stockholm the Green Capital Award, the jury noted that Stockholm has an “outstanding, long historical track record of integrated urban management also confirmed by its ongoing credible green credentials,” and, further, that “ambitious plans for the future clearly demonstrate continuity” (European Green Capital, 2009). The independent expert panel that made an in-depth evaluation of the applications for the award chose to highlight a handful of areas in which Stockholm was judged to excel. To begin with, the panel underscored overarching policy structures and practices, such as the city council’s holistic vision with ambitious long-term targets and performance indicators, as well as the solidly budgeted environmental program with its focus on combining economic growth with an environmental sensibility. A further area lauded by the panel was Stockholm’s integrated city management system, which includes environmental factors and goals as an integral part of the city Copyright © 2013. Routledge. All rights reserved. © 2013. Routledge. Copyright administration’s management routines, and makes environmental issues constantly visible and present in the city’s budget, operational planning, reporting, and monitoring. 2 Sustainable Stockholm : Exploring Urban Sustainability in Europe's Greenest City, edited by Jonathan Metzger, and Olsson, Amy Rader, Routledge, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kth/detail.action?docID=1323345. Created from kth on 2018-08-20 05:33:39. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION After pointing out the history of good results in relation to executed environmental policies, the evaluation panel turned to more concrete and delimited systems and structures, such as the green structure of the city, with 95 percent of the population living only 300 meters or less from green areas; its integrated waste management, with a high level of recycling, particularly of bio-waste; and its transport system, with congestion charging to reduce car use, well-functioning public transportation, and pro-cycling policies. Finally, the panel emphasized an aspect of Stockholm’s application that is of a somewhat different nature than the other performance areas: namely, the communication strategy of the city in relation to sustainability efforts. The panel was impressed by the level of commitment and eagerness on behalf of the city to “share its experiences and act as an inspiration to other cities” (European Green Capital, 2009). The selection of Stockholm as the inaugural award winner probably did not surprise many in the international community of urban policy experts and planners, where the association between the terms “Stockholm” and “sustainable development” has been firmly established for decades. Even before receiving the recognition and publicity associated with the award, Stockholm has in professional circles been considered one of the few major metropolitan areas in the world that is on a path toward sustainable develop- ment. Stockholm has been recognized for its innovative take on urban sustainability, supported across the political spectrum and combining grand visions and goals (such as becoming 100 percent fossil-fuel-free by 2050) with practical interventions and measures (such as congestion charging and eco-profiled major redevelopment areas). For sure, not all of Stockholm’s sustainability scores are exemplary. It is no surprise that Stockholm does an excellent job of managing its scarce or expensive resources, such as energy for heating homes in its cold climate. However, Stockholm is well behind other European cities in areas where its resources are abundant and effects less costly in the near term. For example, Stockholm produces more municipal waste per capita than many other European cities, and also compares very poorly to other cities with regard to water-use efficiency. Nevertheless, it can be argued that environmental sustainability has become one of Stockholm’s defining characteristics and is considered a major source of its attractiveness to residents, tourists, and firms. Some of the roots of Stockholm’s commitment to sustainable urban development can be traced to the social engineering approach of the Swedish modernist urban planning tradition – although this is a somewhat contested legacy, as the high modernist vision of the city also built upon ideas such as the car-based society, the physical separation of urban functions, and Copyright © 2013. Routledge. All rights reserved. © 2013. Routledge. Copyright other notions that are today considered directly counterproductive to sustain- ability. Further, it can be speculated that the firm association between sustainable development and Stockholm that exists today might not originally 3 Sustainable Stockholm : Exploring Urban Sustainability in Europe's Greenest City, edited by Jonathan Metzger, and Olsson, Amy Rader, Routledge, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kth/detail.action?docID=1323345. Created from kth on 2018-08-20 05:33:39. J. METZGER