The work of the Swedish Board of Housing, Building and Planning, on all issues concerning housing, is informed by a vision of energy and climate based on a sustainability perspective, says Janna Valik who is a member of the Government Delegation for Sustainable Cities. The journal Sustainability has been granted an interview.
What is your vision of a future long term sustainable city? Is it free of noise, airborne pollutants, desolate places and segregation?
- I am convinced that we will increasingly work and live in such a way that we achieve long term sustainability in cities, quite simply because our insight about the necessity of this has grown in all of us. - It is exciting that we are now talking more and more often of people's living conditions in the form of comfort and perceptions of the environment, and the way this affects stability and sustainability. I am absolutely convinced that if we begin to define sustainability from this perspective, a lot will happen.
Janna Valik cites as an example the developments in Gårdsten outside Göteborg. There, a suburb that had not been regarded as attractive has been made attractive through public participation. The opportunities the public and the inhabitants have to influence their environment is a recipe for success, says Janna Valik.
- We must not forget measures against noise and air pollution. But a rigid approach can create feelings of powerlessness in ordinary people who need the car to make sense of their daily juggling with family and work. What we must do is to help people develop sound self confidence instead of giving them a guilty conscience for using the car. We must invest in technical solutions which make it easier for people to travel environmentally, for example by providing a frequent electric bus service. I believe that if we want to achieve good results we must have the public with us.
- The attitude of the public is extremely important for development in a district. Remember all the recent reports in the media about trouble in Rosenberg which many people who live in the area did not recognise at all.
What trends and tendencies do you see regarding housing in the next few years?
- I think that I can see people becoming increasingly aware of how the way they themselves live affects the environment. For example, people are trying to find solutions to energy use so as to reduce their expenditure. One interesting alternative is the "zero energy house" where no energy input is needed apart from what the inhabitants and the house itself generate. At present, such houses are expensive to build, but they are examples of alternative solutions to the energy problem which have the potential to be developed for wider production.
Janna Valik thinks that, from the perspective of sustainability, housing that is suitable for all ages is an idea worth considering. – We can see that different phases in life demand different types of housing. And if we can create environments suitable for all ages which make it possible for people to remain in the same housing irrespective of what phase of their life they are in, this will have sustainability effects. One good example is Hammarby Sjöstad which is an excellent environment for both families with small children and for retired people.
From the perspective of sustainability, it is important to look after the existing building stock. What developments do you want to see in this area?
- It is not so difficult to get the public and the construction sector to embrace a sustainability approach with regard to new buildings. But the challenge we have is to make the existing housing stock attractive from the standpoint of sustainability.
- I believe that this is a field of development with scope for research, planning and new ideas. I know that the industry wants help in solving the problems. This is an extremely important issue for the delegation to discuss!
Is there a housing environment in Sweden or somewhere in the world that you are completely pleased with? Or want to highlight as an example?
- Hammarby Sjöstad which I have just mentioned is a good example. More must be done here, but it is proceeding in the righ direction!
How does the Board make use of the research results in its spheres of responsibility?
- Since the Board is an authority which must often compile reports for the Government, we must keep up to date with the research that concerns our spheres of responsibility. What is most important is to continuously update the Board's building regulations. These are based on "science and sound experience". The building regulations are the minimum requirements which the public specifies for fire safety, energy management and so on. As and when research produces new results, the building regulations are amended
In what areas do you think that more research is needed?
- If I ask my colleagues, I sometimes hear that there is no coherent research on how people live in our society. Of course there are statistics, but here also there has been retrenchment – it is for example almost 20 years ago that the last population and housing census was held. I therefore wish there were more social research, but also research on urban planning.
- More research is needed concerning the existing housing stock and long term sustainable development. It is a huge field to tackle.