Sustainability resources in Swedish townscape neighbourhoods: Results from the model project Hågaby and comparisons with three common residential areas

Abstract

Seven dynamic aspects of sustainability— resources—were described and monitored thoroughly in a small model community—Hågaby—in west Uppsala, Sweden. The residents’ use of local and distant physical resources, such as heat, electricity, fuel and clean water or production of solid waste and wastewater in the model project were lower than the Swedish average, while the utilisation of local material resources like soil and ground water was higher. Economic resources like houses, equipment, greenery and technical infrastructure were administered and used to minimise costs for construction, maintenance, rents and fees. Social and organisational resources were outlined and managed to facilitate relations between residents and between local professionals in the area. Other goals in the planning of Hågaby, were to facilitate an efficient local as well as distant mobility (transportation and communication) and to organise space for social contact as well as for privacy for individuals and households. Biological, cultural and aesthetic resources were important indirect factors affecting the inhabitants’ feeling of rootedness and their sense of place. All seven resources were managed in its site context to optimise the sustainability of the unique local community. The results from Hågaby were also compared with preliminary data from a new research project investigating sustainability conditions in three common Swedish townscape types in four municipalities. Preliminary results showed that sustainability strengths and weaknesses in several cases indeed differ quantitatively and qualitatively between different typical parts of the city. The results support that the dynamic resource model presented in this paper, should be helpful in establishing place and situation adapted sustainability strategies in any type of Swedish local community.