Sustainable cities can become real - if we work together
Imagine that all streets in Sweden would be healthy and sustainable. That they would give place for people and not just for cars. Imagine nature is coming closer through urban agriculture. Imagine trees and flowers would cool off on hot days and paint the street's usual grey in beautiful colors. That transportation would take place with bicycles instead of trucks, and that children get room and space to play.
This picture of the streets of the future was painted by 20 participants from 16 different sectors during a workshop led by Vinnova's mission team last week. The room included representatives from Volvo M, Voi, Urban Sharing, The Swedish Transport Agency, Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
It may sound like a utopia, but the fact is that even today, all over the world, there are solutions that show that the picture we just painted can become a reality. The technology and solutions already exist. But despite hundreds of strategies, projects, directions and action plans that all intend to improve the environment in the streets and in the cities, the development is going in the wrong direction. Emissions are increasing, people are more sedentary than before, and alienation is growing.
Vinnova wants to be a part of changing this!
In order to reduce emissions and promote health, we must work in new ways and collaborate between sectors. Therefore, Vinnova this spring gathered nearly 75 different actors to a workshop, with the purpose to gain a broader understanding of the entire mobility system, and to understand what measures are needed to transform it.
The mobility sector is a vast and complex sector. To make big changes, you have to start with a small one, so the workshop we had last week focused on a limited area: The streets. The city street is a definite place where all the challenges of society meet and all actors must work towards the same goal in order to succeed.
During the workshop, several wise proposals and ideas were presented, and now the team together with the participating players will decide what the next step in the process will be.
Follow us here on the Missions Blog - great things will happen in the future!
Text: Sara Hugosson
Last updated 17 October 2019
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