Loading

Monthly archives: May 2009

Allotment gardening — a growing trend

7 comments

Today I am in the city of Freiburg in southern Germany, studying ideas for constructing sustainable cities.
Something which makes me feel quite at home here in Germany are the many allotment gardens that I have seen in residential areas and along the railway tracks. The idea of renting a small piece of land where you grow vegetables and flowers actually was exported from Germany to Sweden in the beginning of last century and has ever since been a vivid movement in Sweden.  Now almost every Swedish city has at least one allotment garden area and there are around 300 local organizations for allotment growers.
In its early times the allotments represented an important part of food production, especially in periods of crisis. For example, in the year of 1917 the allotment growers in Stockholm harvested 870 000 kilos of potatoes. At that time even parks in central Stockholm were covered with cultivations.

Allotments were also seen as a way of recreation for urban dwellers who could not afford a house in the countryside. Situated not too far from the city, you could walk there or go by bike.

Now the interest for growing vegetables is once again increasing steadily. In April the sale of vegetable plants and seeds rose with 30 per cent compared to same month last year. On Swedish television there has been an explosion of practical gardening programs. Waiting lists for allotments can be several years in many parts of the country, and what used to be something that mainly people above a certain age dedicated themselves to is suddenly attracting a growing group of young people.
Maybe we are seeing a revival of urban agriculture?

allotments-in-stockholm
Allotment gardens in the south of Stockholm.

Sara Jeswani - Sustainability

May 29, 2009

Passive houses for a better climate

14 comments

 passive-houses
Renovated houses in front, old houses on the right. Photo: Passivhuscentrum.

The houses in this photo are not – only – famous for me taking piano lessons here about 20 years ago, but for something a bit more connected to the future (well, my career as a pianist never really get that far…).

It may look like any ordinary old block of flats from the 1970:s, but actually it is better described as a new generation of residential blocks: passive houses.

Uses body heat

When I recently visited the town of Alingsås, I took the opportunity to take a look at the Passive House Centre that the municipality have opened.

Passive houses are buildings where heat loss has been reduced to such an extent that no radiators or under-floor heating are necessary. The house simply uses for example heat coming from its inhabitants and household machines, and thick insulation keeps the heat in the building.

Half of global carbon emissions

The need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in combination with higher prices on energy have made reducing energy use in buildings an important mission for a sustainable society. On a global scale, energy used in buildings represents 40% of total energy use and 50% of carbon emissions, contributing to global warming.

This technology can be used for private houses as well as on a block of flats, and on both new and old buildings. For example, in Alingsås 300 apartments from the 1970:s are now being renovated with the passive house technique to reduce energy use. New residential areas are also being constructed with the same technique, and soon 100 children will start using their new passive house nursery school in Alingsås.

Read more about how a passive house works here.

passive-house-centre
Passive houses have thick walls to keep the heat inside the building. Photo: Sara Jeswani.

Sara Jeswani - Sustainability

May 27, 2009

Following the railway tracks of old masters

2 comments

Train by a lake
Photo: Kasper Dudzik

Once again I am on a train. This week I am off to the German green city of Freiburg, taking an environmental course for journalists. Going by train is part of the course, but actually two years have passed since I last entered an airplane.

In many countries flying is the fastest growing source of greenhouse-gas emissions. Not just carbon dioxide, but steam and other pollutants add to global warming.
I realize that me not flying won’t save the planet. I see it more as a way of adapting to a life less dependent on fossil fuels, since we won’t be able to consume oil and other finite forms of energy in the way we are doing now for very much longer. So why not try this way of living now?

After being used to traveling rather a lot one could imagine that abstaining from flying would be a hard thing to do, but strangely enough I don’t miss it nearly as much as I thought I would. Maybe I can’t go away as far and as often as I used to, but going by train has made traveling a new experience. Falling asleep in the south of Sweden and waking up in Berlin is a wonderful feeling. And going somewhere by train means you don’t just tumble down at your destination, but arrive there prepared in all senses.

It has worked before

Recently I read a book with diary texts and letters by one of Sweden’s greatest journalists, Barbro Alving (1909–1987). In the beginning of her career she reported from all parts of Europe. Furiously describing the 1936 Olympic Games in a Germany lead by Hitler, hiding from snipers in a Barcelona ravaged by civil war or reporting from the front of the Finnish winter war, her work is unique and historic. But one of the things that struck me the most is that she went everywhere by train – flying wasn’t even an option at that time. I won’t romanticize it, since she did not really have a choice, but  the sheer fact that she managed to tell so many stories from abroad traveling by train inspires me a lot.

Sara Jeswani - Sustainability

May 25, 2009

Fewer ridiculous car journeys in Umeå

5 comments

Waiting for green light in Stockholm.
Waiting for green light in Stockholm. Photo: Sara Jeswani 

Today I read that that half of all car journeys in Sweden are no longer than five kilometers. A study in the city of Malmö in the south of Sweden shows that for distances this short, going by bike is actually faster than taking the car, if you include driving out of the garage and looking for a parking space. Adding the fact that almost half of all Swedes live less than 15 minutes away from where they work, it doesn’t really make sense that so many go by car.

Several Swedish cities are now running campaigns to encourage people to go by bike instead of taking the car. In Umeå in the north of the country, the campaign “What’s your most ridiculous car journey?” hands out cinnamon buns to everyone who cycles to work in the morning. Bicycles can be won by those who have the best examples of a ridiculous car journey.

Here some of the stories:

“Once we played football. I missed the goal and took my car to fetch the ball 50 meters away”

“That must be when one of my friends drove to a shop, although the car was parked further away in one direction than the shop was in the other direction.”

“I take my car to the gym 400 meters away and then I warm up at the exercise bike there. That’s a really ridiculous car journey”.

Go for a bike ride in Umeå:

Sara Jeswani - Sustainability

May 22, 2009

Falköping goes slow

4 comments

Falköping-view
Photo: Municipality of Falköping.

Surely I’m not the only one who sometimes thinks the world spins a bit too fast, longing for a place where the rhythm is just a little bit slower than the average.

This urge is taken seriously is Falköping, a city with about 30 000 inhabitants – and 40 000 cows! – in the southwest of Sweden. Falköping has now been certified Sweden’s first “Cittaslow”.

Worldwide movement

The Cittaslow movement was founded in Italy 1999 and by now it has expanded to 100 towns and 10 countries all over the world. In their manifesto they explain that Cittaslows are towns where people “are still curious of the old times, towns rich of theatres, squares, cafes, workshops, restaurants and spiritual places, towns with untouched landscapes and charming craftsman where people are still able to recognize the slow course of the Seasons and their genuine products respecting tastes, health and spontaneous customs….”

Their hopes are that this will lead to a more human society, environmentally correct and sensible for present and future generations, where small realities can be respected in a more and more globally connected world. 

Time for sustainability

To become a certified Cittaslow the town binds itself to live up to about 50 criteria, for example composting and recycling of waste, supporting locally and ecologically produced food and taking care of historical buildings.

I don’t know if this will reduce stress on the inhabitants of Falköping, but if it works it would be a great thing. At least my own experience is that not being stressed actually makes it a lot easier to live a sustainable life; having the time to go by bike to work instead of taking the car, taking the extra minutes to sort out the garbage and leave it at the recycling station or repair something that is broken instead of buying new. Sustainability can take its time.

Falköping-fountain 

Sara Jeswani - Sustainability

May 20, 2009