Lund showcases climate work in Barcelona
An important element of Lund's participation in Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona Lund is one of the hundred Net Zero Cities in Europe. Malmö and Helsingborg are also among the hundred cities.
- We have three Net Zero Cities in Skåne and it is of course important for them to be part of this international context, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth, LU collaboration and CEO Future by Lund. Being a climate-neutral city is not something you do locally for yourself, but it is an international commitment. Another reflection is that it is interesting to have a fair with an urban theme, since it becomes an opportunity for experts in different fields to meet experts from other parts of the smart city. This will be a cross-border networking in areas that all relate to the transformation of a city.
The fair has approximately 25,000 visitors, over 1,000 exhibitors as well as more than 800 participating cities from 140 countries.
- When it comes to climate-smart cities, Lund's participation means putting the city on the map, at the same time making contacts in new areas and having the opportunity to monitor the outside world, says Peter Kisch, operations manager at Future by Lund.
Lund had two important activities as a climate-neutral city. On the one hand, Anders Almgren, Chairman of the Municipal Board of Lund, spoke during the program item Tomorrow Building - Innovation in the Race Towards Net-Zero, and on the other hand held Alfa Laval, The power ring and Lund Municipality in a workshop on district heating. Many homes in Europe need heating other than gas and district heating may be the solution of choice. The workshop was attended by cities from both Germany and the Netherlands.
- Lund has knowledge of how to plan and build district heating systems and this has been done in close cooperation between the municipality and other actors in Lund, says Peter Kisch. There is great potential in the field in Europe and now Dutch cities will visit Lund to see the work on site.
The cities of Lund and Barcelona have had contacts on the topic of innovation districts for a few years. Barcelona is a pioneer in the field and has been working for some time to develop the innovation district 22@.
- Barcelona has systematized and professionalized its work, creating a clearly packaged model, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth. In Barcelona, I see that there is a commitment, a connection is made and many cross-border collaborations are born. At the same time, an innovation district requires a connection with other cities so that it can be part of major partnerships and receive major innovation support from the EU — and Barcelona has done very well.
Barcelona's success in this area has inspired Lund and also led representatives from both cities to meet in connection with the fair.
- It would have been interesting to try to import and copy Barcelona's working methods to Lund, says Peter Kisch. We see Barcelona working differently than we do when developing their city. We are inspired by the fact that instead of starting with planning, they look for end actors and connect them around a specific theme or a specific geography. They identify who are the players of interest - this can be anything from universities and tech companies to incubators and social housing, for example. Then, when the actors are gathered, they enter into their city-building process. It can be said that from the beginning it does not start as an urban planning project, but rather a negotiation project. In order to add new content, they think both about who will be there in the future but also who already live and work there.
In Barcelona, the city and all its actors have created a model of how to work together, which is an effective basis in any new negotiation.
- Once a basic model is agreed, actors can concentrate on contributing to it. This makes it easier to put energy and focus on constructive negotiations where everyone works for the collective mission and takes responsibility for the whole,” says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth.
At the same time as the smart city fair, there was also a food fair, which was mainly attracted as an opportunity to scan innovative solutions in the food sector.
- The most interesting thing for me was to see how designers were also involved in the design and experience of food, says Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth. As we work with the food of the future in Lund, it will be important to also think about how the products will be designed and consumed. For me, this showed that when sustainability, innovation and design intersect, it can provide interesting solutions for, for example, the food industry.
This summer Charlotte Lorentz Hjorth was one of the speakers at the start of Spain's presidency of the European Union. At the time, she presented the major European project EKIP, which deals with policies in the creative and cultural industries. During the last visit, discussions continued on the follow-up to Spain's draft strategy for the KKN area. In addition, meetings were held with companies for future collaborations, for example in the textile field.
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About district heating at Brunnshög