NEWS On Thursday 3 June, the environmental investment project titled Sustainable Ålidhem (Swedish: Hållbara Ålidhem!) officially opens at Matematikgränd 7-9 in the Ålidhem section of Umeå. Ålidhem is the home of many students of Umeå University, both domestic and international.
The kick off will include a speech by Peter Örn, Chair of the Government Delegation for sustainable cities, a sustainability walking tour in the area, and a bike race.
"Sustainable Ålidhem is an excellent example of how Swedish residential areas can work to create sustainable solutions that protect the environment in the long run," says Peter Örn. "Umeå is one of the pioneers in Sweden, and I hope they get a lot of followers."
In recent weeks, the housing company Bostaden has organised events at Ålidhem and the university to collect feedback about the Sustainable Ålidhem project. The feedback was predominately from their 4,000 tenants (of which 2000 are students) in Ålidhem, but also from other residents of the neighbourhood, including: business owners, associations, politicians and others. The opening on the 3rd of June will be something of a culmination of this initial dialogue.
"We are developing the sustainable district of Ålidhem together with the tenants and the municipality, Umeå Energi, our staff, associations, and residents of Umeå," says Elisabeth Lind, Head of Communication, Bostaden. "Therefore, it’s important that we get as many points of view as possible.
The opening begins on Thursday 3 June at 6:00 pm, at 7-9 on Matematikgränd 7-9 in Ålidhem. After the speech by Peter Örn and ceremony with the chairpersons of Bostaden, Umeå Municipality and a representative from Umeå Energi, there will be a sustainability walking tour with Carl Wangel, who has led the dialogue on Sustainable Ålidhem over the past few weeks.
"We will show you around and tell you about how the dialogue has gone, and what results it gave," says Carl Wangel. "It will include visits to the laundry rooms and other outdoor environment locations. On the whole, the opening will feature much more information than glamour. The kick off concludes with a bike race, in which folding end including a bike race in which foldable bicycles are used."
The Sustainable Ålidhem project applies to the entire district of Ålidhem and runs until the end of 2014. Umeå Municipality, Umeå Energi, and Bostaden have been received SEK 33 million from the national Delegation for Sustainable Cities project. The overall aim is to cut energy use by 50 per cent for a large proportion of Bostaden’s housing buildings, create more a pleasant and safer environment, and transform Ålidhem into a sustainable city district.
"It is a really exciting venture that will provide a boost for an environmentally oriented production of electricity," says Gun Blomquist Bergman, Communications Manager at Umeå Energi.
"Sustainable Ålidhem should also be seen as part of a larger effort to make Umeå even more effective," says Albert Edman, project coordinator for the Sustainable Ålidhem at Umeå Municipality. The project is linked to the goal of making Umeå a northern hub for modern environmental technologies and sustainable cities, in addition to Umeå being a European Capital of Culture in 2014.
Time: Thursday 3 June, 6:00 pm
Place: Matematikgränd 7-9, Ålidhem
Illustration: Johan Fjellström and David Kemmler
Source: www.umea.se
Editor: David Meyers