The ‘C/O City’ project

Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Strategy, plan or policy development

“The purpose of C/O City is to create tools for assessment, planning and use of ecosystem services in urban development to maximise benefits for society. The project is a response to the challenge “Sustainable, Attractive Cities” within Vinnova’s “Challenge-driven Innovation” programme. The vision was to raise awareness of the potential of ecosystem services to increase the resilience of cities while contributing to world-class sustainable urban development in Sweden. The goals were to make visible and quantify urban ecosystem services, to develop concrete planning and monitoring tools, and to produce data to demonstrate the connections between urban ecosystem services and resilience.” (Ref. 2) Also, the goal of the sub-project "The Biotope Area Factor (for e.g. Norra Djurgården, Stockholm Royal Seaport, was developed to identify ecosystem services and to encourage the strengthening of local ecosystems and creation of climate-adapted courtyards with high social values." (Ref. 2)

Sub-projects such as The biotope Area Factor (BAF) which has been mentioned, has been developed in line with the requirements formulated in the sustainability programme for the Stockholm Royal Seaport (sv. Norra Djurgårdsstaden). A cooperative pilot study has been done by Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, and the C/O City project (called Pollination Potential in The Stockholm Royal Seaport) which "illustrate importance of taking into account the placement of city blocks with resources for pollinators." Furthermore, the intervention has evaluated various solutions for green roofs and walls to see how they influence moisture protection in the building envelope and energy consumption, through e.g. interviews. Also, developed a method for monitoring ecosystem service functions, (inspired by the Cities Biodiversity Index (CBI)). (Ref. 2) The purpose of the C / O City project is to highlight and make visible the value of nature in the city, create planning documents and develop concrete solutions that make it easier for various societal actors to work with ecosystem services in urban planning. The long-term goal is for ecosystem services to become a natural and integrated part of planning in all community building. The values ​​developed within C / O City will form an important basis for both builders and architects to be able to calculate the benefits and gains from new construction and restoration. The C / O City project has been completed, but the results and lessons are continued by a non-profit association. The purpose of the association is to draw attention to and highlight the value of urban ecosystem services and contribute to increased knowledge in the public construction sector. (Ref 7, 8)

• Local government/Municipality
• Other