Preserving and enhancing biodiversity in urban areas: Edge and trampling effects in preserved nature in housing areas
Clas Florgård (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from Department of Urban and Rural Development, SLU
Email: clas.florgard@sol.slu.se
Järvafältet, Stockholm.
Preservation of the existing nature as green spaces has a long history in the Nordic countries, but it is necessary to have knowledge of how the vegetation stands up to the transition it is subjected to. In Finland and Canada, studies have been made of the effects in vegetation due to trampling and the establishment of new forest edges. The same was done for Stockholm in this study.
A survey was made of sample plots in forests in built-up areas in the Stockholm region. No relationship could be noted as regards distance from the forest edge or distance from paths. The impact on vegetation was similar. Wear due to trampling cannot be excluded, but if it occurred it was uniformly distributed without any relationship to the paths. It is also known from previous studies that children move about without regard to paths. These results are markedly different from similar studies in Helsinki and Edmonton. One of the reasons may be the way the forests were formerly managed.
Shall we pay compensation for damage to nature, and if so, how?
Jesper Persson (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from SLU.
Email: jesper.persson@lt.slu.se
Environmental compensation for damage to nature in connection with building and construction can be considered justifiable, and it is regarded by many people as necessary. The intention of such compensation is to maintain the quality of the environment, and is made at present when new housing areas or roads are built. A problem that is becoming of increasing topicality is that many people advocate compensation while others see it as provocative. The objective of this study was to investigate what different actors think of environmental compensation and to describe how it functions as a planning tool.
The results of a questionnaire survey show that value judgments differ between different scientific disciplines. Two groups are prominent. Biologists want to avoid excessive manipulation of nature, while landscape architects want to maximise utility and create natural surroundings. As regards social aspects, landscape architects are also different. They are the group who absolutely consider that compensation should be given for recreation, landscape image loss and cultural-historical natural environments. They also consider that recreational interests should influence the choice of compensation measures. What is however most interesting is that the overall values do not agree with the values that underlie the guidelines and legislation in Sweden.
Model City – Community and sustainability
Mark Graham (project leader)
Summary of results and list of publications from Stockholm University
Email: mark.graham@socat.su.se
In most official publications on sustainable urban development it is stressed that there must be a feeling of community which provides a common identity, a feeling of belonging and engagement. In this project, an investigation has been made of how this kind of community developed in the area Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm. The work comprised participant observation and interviews with all the actors involved in planning and construction, and questionnaire surveys among the residents.
It appears that in planning the residents were chiefly envisaged as individuals rather than as members of a recognisable social community or grouping. A prominent feature of this vision was that the area should be "City-like" – an extension of the inner city and not a suburb. This idea comprised an assumption that it would create a specific form of urban sociality that, in the long run, would promote sustainability. However, likeness to the City, the ecocyclic approach and accessibility are not clearly related to one another and their influence on sustainability is not made clear.
The original plan for Hammarby Sjöstad ignores the social dimension of sustainability. There are very few practical opportunities for the resdidents to influence development, since the system/model takes care of almost everything. The question is whether, on the whole, we need community to promote or encourage sustainability? The results of the investigation highlight the need for greater flexibility in designing the area, more opportunities for the residents to participate and influence the development of the area, and urban planning that incorporates the proposals and needs of the residents.
Responsible for this page: Birgitta Bruzelius