no car neighborhood in the middle of the city?

at the moment I am a little surprised that no one is talking about this place.  maybe it's illegal.  maybe it's a secret.  I could be breaking some sort of sacred code of silence.  I don't even know what its called.  I just know that all of the sudden I took a "wrong turn" on my bike while looking for a soccer field and I was in the middle of a neighborhood in Malmo proper that has only one street.  hundreds of houses but no streets to speak of anywhere.  I was on the main road, a busy one, looking left and right and I saw this street.  something pulled me toward it, even though it didn't look like there'd be a field alongside it.  I rode my bike down this small, one lane street and saw to my left and to my right what I can only describe as gravel paths that led off to people's houses.

a backyard in the magic neighborhood just south of Malmo Stadium

the houses all have yards, some with picnic tables, some with benches, others with Swedish flags, most with gardens, mailboxes, etc.  it was, for all intents and purposes, just like any other neighborhood in the city, except there were no roads.  no cars.  no traffic.  no noise.  just birds chirping, greenery everywhere.  it almost didn't seem real.  I rode to the end of the one street (under 200 meters) and stopped.  there was a little church/ general store looking building and another smaller shed like building and a small parking lot with perhaps 50 cars in it.

"street" in a carless neighborhood in Malmo.  you can see where the regular neighborhood begins again because there is a higher apartment building.  that building is on a main street.

I turned around back toward the street I had come down into the heart of this unknown territory. the road I was on was definitely paved.  I wasn't hallucinating or imaging it.  I retraced my way back toward the main (busy) street on my bike, very slowly.  along the way I stopped and snapped a couple of quick pictures, mostly looking down the gravel paths toward the front doors of the houses in the neighborhood.  I felt like I was disturbing some amazing historical monument or some sanctuary.

carless street in Malmo

I left pretty quickly in search of my soccer game.  the whole experience was probably about 4 minutes of awe spent gawking as if I'd seen something that might never have been seen before and could well never be seen again.  I felt like the westerner who stumbles into the native tribal village and the place is empty.  I wanted to take a million pictures and videos and scoop up a piece of dirt to take with me to show others that this place is real, but I didn't want to be caught in the middle of somewhere I didn't belong.  I can't really say too much about it except I was there and it is real.  these pictures are the only evidence...

this "street" had high shrubs on both sides.  most of the other streets had smaller shrubs and or flowers along the street.  maybe this is the freeway and those are the sound attenuators?

European Village in Bo01

I can't even tell you how awesome yesterday afternoon was.  I don't even think I can put it into words.  but since this is a blog I guess I have to try (but I will use pictures too).  and, I must warn you in advance, there is so much to say that this story will need to be broken into several parts.  the first part is the European Village in Bo01 in Vastra Hamnen.

european village in Bo01 in Vastra Hamnen, Malmo looking north along the canal

I must start my story by first thanking Roland Zinkernagel, EU Coordinator and Sustainability Strategist who works for the city of Malmo on Urban Development and Climate issues in the Envrionment Department.  Roland was my tireless tour guide and walked me through Bo01, Bo02, Bo03, and Bo04 which is most of Vastra Hamnen.  he showed me what has been done over the last decade and what is ongoing now.  he explained every little detail and answered all of my questions.  he did all of this in perfect english and with a smile for three hours!  he was an excellent tour guide and a great guy to talk with about the past, the present, and the future of Malmo and of sustainable cities and neighborhoods.

European Village looking south along the canal

Bo01 was dubbed "the city of tomorrow" by Malmo planners at the tail end of the 1990's as they prepared to showcase their new masterplan for Vastra Hamnen (the western harbor) and a tiny piece of it (called Bo01) developed as housing.  with it's narrow carfree streets twisting and turning like a medieval maze, water features cleaning rainwater and depositing it calmly back into the sea, and beautifully crafted houses of all shapes, sizes, and colors, Bo01 is a truly unique experiment.

European Village looking east

the goal of this neighborhood, sponsored in part by the European Union, in part by the country of Sweden, and in part by the city of Malmo, was to showcase how neighborhoods could be in the city of tomorrow, how comfort and convenience and healthy living could be primary and how sustainable design, practices, and systems could make it all possible.  the place was based on ideals and built with more unknowns than ever before.  the goal was to make this showcase a permanent fixture in the brownfield Vastra Hamnen, a windy, desolate, crumbling shipyard and industrial neighborhood more than 20 years past its dying days.

European Village looking west

this neighborhood, of course, had many unique features making it, as is always the case, different than many others interested in applying identical strategies.  first, and most importantly, the city had slowly bought back the land of Vastra Hamnen from the industrial and shipbuilding companies as they retreated or simply vanished.  so the land was mostly owned by the city.  because of this land ownership, the city had the opportunity to create a masterplan and develop the requirements for the request for proposals to be as they wanted, as strict and cutting edge as anything that had been done before anywhere in the world.  they created the masterplan and the RFPs with direct involvement of myriad of experts across many disciplines, including architects, planners, developers, land use specialists, engineers of all kinds, and landscape architects (just to name a few).

norwegian (?) house on the corner at the southeast end of the European Village.  inside there are moveable walls that can be adjusted by hand, dividing the house plan into a grid of four sectors.  the south wall is completely transparent.

what emerged was a grand vision, a new idea about how a city neighborhood could be, unique in style, in strategy, and in statement.  the statements were clear and strong.  this was to be a place of limited car access, an experimental neighborhood rich with untested ideas and methods.  it would be more holistic, integrated, and more energy conscious than anything that had ever been done in Malmo and beyond.  and they would sell these apartments at market rate to consumers looking to be part of something different, better.  looking for a chance to live in an undeveloped place, wanting to be part of the future instead of part of the past.

garden shed for each of the European Village houses.  people store bikes and gardening supplies in these little huts.  I was hoping that they were saunas!

the first piece in the heart of Vastra Hamnen and on the edge of Bo01, is the European Village.  in this area a famous or well known architect was selected from each of 15 countries to design a house/ apartment that showcased style, aesthetic, and architecture of his/ her country of origin.  the architects reflected regional characteristics from their homeland while adapting the buildings to the climate and conditions of the site and showcasing sustainable techniques and strategies.  each house was to have access to a view of the water and because this area was not on the ocean, a canal was built running through the village.

one of the "filler" houses (not one of the original 15 show houses)

because there were only 15 showcase houses built in the European Village, the empty plots in between were filled after the 2001 European Housing Exposition with series houses adjoining each other and connecting to the show houses.  finally, the north end of the Village was capped with a larger, more typical apartment building.  besides the houses themselves, each plot of land has a little yard facing the canal, a garden shed, and some outdoor amenities such as furniture, flowers, and in one case, a deck that sits out on the canal itself.

climbing vines along a more newly built "filler" building at the north end of the European Village

that's all the time I have now.  I will write more about other parts of Bo01 and the rest of Vastra Hamnen when I can.  oh, and just in case you were wondering what I think of this little area.  yes, I think it is awesome.

the rest of it (restavfall)

I asked tamara about recycling in the building and she explained that the system for recycling here is like any other.  you collect cans and bottles and bring them down once a week (or so) to a recycling/ trash room.  someone comes along and empties that room once a week (or so).  the same key (assa abloy by the way) that gets you in the front door of her building and her apartment also gives access to the recycling room.

recycling room for my building complex (around the entire courtyard).

smartly put a locking system on the glass collection.  no unnecessary cuts or accidents here.

I can't say it smelled very pleasant inside, but most trash rooms are not exactly appealing places to hang out and enjoy a cocktail or a nice meal.

cardboard recycling

paper recycling

the room has motion sensor lights, as pretty much everything does in the entire apartment complex.  it has cement board walls and ceilings, plastic recycling and trash bins, and signs on the walls corresponding to each bin.  again, very simple and very functional.

clear glass recycling

colored glass recycling

they separate the recycling here in the room, which is something it seems most american cities are going away from (maybe this is not the case for apartment buildings, but it definitely seems as though individual point collection at houses is becoming more of a "throw everything into one bin" approach as opposed to having it all presorted as it was in the 1990's and early 2000's).

plastic recycling (except plastic bags)

lighting recycling/ disposal

tamara says that its a pretty easy system for her except for the fact that she needs several different containers in the house.  in fact, I count that she has six (6) separate containers, which seems a little much from my perspective, especially when living in a small apartment.

  

battery recycling

electronics recycling

(1) she has a tiny (I repeat... TINY) trash bin under the sink that is about the size of a toaster.  it seems to always have almost nothing in it.  (2) behind that she has a metal bin, equally as small (I have been putting beer cans and mackerel in tomato tins into this bin quite frequently).  she has a larger cardboard bin (3) and a larger plastics bin (4) in the kitchen on the floor.  she has a batteries/ glass bin (5) under the sink.  then outside of her apartment door she has a mini metal trashcan that has more bottles (6).  wow.

metal recycling

yes, the word they use for trash in Swedish is RESTAVFALL and as you would guess, it basically means "the rest of it".  actual translation seems to be "residual waste", which is an extremely accurate description of what goes into that one bin.  go figure, they first dispose of everything else to be reused, turned into energy, or recycled.  then they have a bin for the rest of it. 

residual waste... the rest of it

green roofs are... awesome!

most of the buildings in Vastra Hamnen have either a solar thermal collector, solar panels, a green roof, or a combination of all of these things.  all of the neighborhood either creates its own energy or gets it from 100% renewable sources such as a wind turbine in the nearby harbor that supplies the electricity for approximately 600-800 apartment units.  more on energy when I really have time to sit down and get into it, but for now, just imagine that this is awesome.

there is a plot coverage quota here that needs to achieve a certain level per plot to be allowed to build on the site.  the system is pretty simple: you need to reach a certain level of "green" surfaces with the goal of improving the quality of the nearby environment and micro climate.  Strategies that are rated highest (1 point) are ones that mitigate stormwater through absorption, collection, and retention and also collect CO2 and promote biodiversity and improve ecosystems in the neighborhood.  Strategies that score bad (0 points) are "sealed" or completely impermeable.  In the middle is everything else (like semi permeable and water)  I haven't seen the actual chart but I believe it looks something like this:

• 0.0 - impermeable/ sealed
• 0.4 - gravel or sand
• 0.8 - green roof
• 1.0 - ground level vegetation
• 1.0 - water

this scoring system has been very successful in helping keep the local area from producing too much runoff and from getting too burdened by the heat island effect that plagues most major cities in the world.  the neighborhood, according to residents, stays quite cool even on hot summer days thanks to a light sea breeze and an extensive (pun intended) network of green roofs and other permeable spaces.

I woke up this morning and looked out the window and saw a bird on my roof.  then I noticed a bird on the next roof over.  rinse and repeat.  lots of birds.  lots of green roofs...

bird on the green roof across to the west of mine

view over green roof to the sea

access walkway to reach mechanical equipment without walking on vegetation

extensive green roof.  zero maintenance.

bird on the roof outside my window

looking across the courtyard to the south

looking southwest toward the middle of Vastra Hamnen

pickup soccer in Malmo

for an evening delight I decided to roll around on my new (used) scott bicycle in search of a pickup soccer game.  I need some exercise and I have been spending too much time emailing and sitting in front of the computer.  So... I set out to where I had seen some fields along Ribersborgsstranden on the western coast of the city below Vastra Hamnen.  even though there were several beach soccer courts and even more regular soccer fields in the area, there was not one single pickup game.  time was passing by.  I picked up the pace on the bike and flew through the city, up and down random streets looking for something.  after nearly an hour, I was getting frantic.  yes I was exercising by riding the bike, but I wanted a game.

finally, as things were starting to look grim, I came across an artificial turf field that turned out to be a city soccer field called Malmo Idrottsplats.  there was a small group of guys playing so I rode over and asked to play.  they invited me into the game and I had a great time.  after an hour or so the sun started to go down and the game ended.  they decided to play a penalty shooting game that I had never played before.

the rules were (sort of) simple and the game reminded me of a soccer version of "horse".  each player gets three strikes and takes turns in order shooting and then being goalie and then getting back in line.  when you are in goal and someone scores, you get a strike.  three strikes and you are out.  last person left with less than three strikes wins (you'll see what winning means in the last video below).  if you shoot and miss the net/ goalie completely, you have to run and touch three goalposts (one twice) before you can save the next shot.  if you hit the goal or the goalie you just go to the net and its your turn to be goalie.

my mission was not to be the first one out.  I succeeded and was the second one out.  it takes a little getting used to with the rules but I think if I play again I will do better.  it seems losing in this game involves potential pain (although I think it's more pride than actual pain).

these guys play every tuesday night so hopefully I will get in another game with them, maybe next week...

Hyllie neighborhood: traveling further abroad

today I had the opportunity to ride around the city for awhile in between sending emails, making contacts, and setting up meetings.  I made it a mission to get to at least a couple of neighborhoods that I hadn't seen yet.  I decided to ride southwest along the coast to check out a couple of places and neighborhoods along the way.

leaving Vastra Hamnen behind along the coast along the Ribersborg "beach"

the first official stop was Linhamn.  Limhamn is a sleepy outskirt of Malmo about halfway between the city center and the Oresund Bridge.  it saw some growth about 50 years ago with some new apartments but sat quietly for some time after.  recently there have been some upgrades including several new apartment buildings.  one piece of Limhamn sticks out into the ocean as an island and it was there that I found some neat places such as this constructed water inlet amphitheater.

water "amphitheater" on the Or of Limhamn

for a little fishing village so close to Malmo city center, it was surprising how empty the place felt, but it was a weekday during business hours.  I saw an older man being pushed in a wheelchair and said hej.  he said hej hej.  I saw some older european village style houses and ran into a woman with a stroller picking wild blackberries.  besides the houses, I also liked this gabion wall set in front of the one cafe on the island.

gabion wall on the Or of Limhamn with cafe and new apartment building in the background

after Limhamn I went through Bellevue on my way toward Hyllie, one of the neighborhoods of Malmo that has seen immense change in the last ten years.  Bellevue is basically like a suburb.  single family houses with winding side streets and main boulevards connecting major areas.  one point of interest to me has been the schools here.  in this case I stopped to snap a quick picture because I was impressed at how many kids bike to school.  I have noticed in the morning and in the afternoon a lot of parents ride with their kids to school and then continue on to work or elsewhere.  even little kids.

elementary school in Bellevue with plenty of bike parking for the kids

after Bellevue I headed toward Hyllie.  on the way I had to stop and take a picture of this poured in place concrete bridge.  for some reason this kind of construction always makes me happy.  this specific bridge creates an underpass for the bike path to continue south from Bellevue to Hyllie.

underpass for the bike path made of cast in place concrete

after the underpass I made quick progress to the heart of the new center of Hyllie.  Hyllie is southwest of the city center and was once mostly farmland but has recently gained prominence as a development area for Malmo due to the newly constructed Hyllie station (built as part of the major Malmo City Tunnel project), which is just two stops from Copenhagen and two from Malmo center.

before the Oresund Bridge was constructed linking Sweden to Denmark (Malmo to Copenhagen) one needed to take a ferry for the 6 mile crossing.  In 1999 the bridge was completed linking the two countries and creating opportunity for growth in Malmo and job access across the Oresund Strait, which serves as both the physical border between the two countries and a psychological divide due to the time and effort it took to get from one side to the other.  now a commute from Malmo to Copenhagen is a mere 25 minutes and about $15.

view from Vastra Hamnen toward Oresund Bridge

Hyllie's new station has made the pasture into a soon to be bustling city connecting point.  in fact, the largest mall in Scandanavia is about to open within 100 meters of the station.  besides the mall, there are office buildings and several restaurants, a new museum of Malmo, and the Malmo Arena, which must be important because Lady Gaga played there last year.  my major interest in Hyllie is the new residential complexes that are just breaking ground.  they are going to be in the same ballpark of sustainable excellence as Augustenborg and Vastra Hamnen in terms of energy use reduction, sustainable strategies, water conservation, land use, waste management, and energy efficiency.  there's nothing really to see yet except architectural renderings.

I talk to a local construction worker about the happenings in Malmo and Hyllie and then set off back north on a fantastic bike path toward the city center.  when I pass the soccer stadium (where Malmo FF plays) I stop dead in my tracks.  the bike parking at the stadium is like nothing I've ever seen.  I count 2000 bike parking spaces just on my side of the stadium along the bike path.  I repeat.  2000 bike parking spaces at an international soccer stadium.

Malmo stadium

stadium bike parking.  2000 spots on one side of the stadium alone

I leave the stadium and continue north, stopping at the city bibliotek to get a library card.  the library is awesome, a new giant glass box juxtaposed against an historic brick building.  the most intriguing thing to me about the space inside is that the first thing you see when you enter is stairs.  no sign of an elevator anywhere.  oh, you want to go to the second level, there are the stairs.  nuff said.

entry to the Malmo city library 

main stacks of the library from the second floor 

the other notable about the library is the help/ info desk (right when you enter the building).  they give out tickets like Americans get at the deli counter.  now serving... 

main entry to library serves as a helpdesk, information center, and meeting place.  cafe in background.

oh.  did I mention the bicycle routes that are mainly closed to through traffic of cars?  and what about the street signs that aim bike travelers from one area of the city to the next?  and of course, the bicycle roundabout...

street is open for cars to park but through traffic is for bikes only.  a couple of simple bollards deter cars.

the bicycle roundabout.  a fan favorite.  note the signs directing to different neighborhoods and landmarks in the city.

these streets were made for bikin'

tamara knows that I haven't been to the grocery store so she offers me "leftover" breakfast.  it's better than anything I could have whipped up... homemade rolls, scrambled eggs, and cheese.  the cheese is amazing.  strong coffee too.

typical swedish cheese.  mild, 26% milkfat.  from a cow

homemade breakfast sandwich by my hostess, tamara

I decided last night that today I would explore the city but not do anything specifically related to my research.  Just one full day to cruise around town to get my bearings.  I did make a small list of things I hope to accomplish today like find a bike shop, buy some groceries, and take some pictures.  nothing ambitious, I know.  I make my way into the courtyard to borrow tamara's old beat up bike.

the internal courtyard has benches, picnic tables, a sand box. people leave their personal grills out under the pergola

as I enter the courtyard and aim toward the bike parking, I notice it has a green roof.  wow.  it's just that simple.  put some grass up there and call it a day.  I'd love to look out my balcony into the courtyard and see grass growing instead of pavement or metal seams...

courtyard looking toward bike parking

I unlock the bike, which is obviously worthy of a picture.  single speed, as it seems most bikes in sweden are.  rusted out everywhere.  duct taped seat.  wobbly wheels.  grannie handlebars.  kickstand.  and of course, coaster brakes like the kind I had on my huffy when I was a kid.  simple.  pure. dependable.  and no one will steal it.

tamara's bike.  perfect for rolling through malmo

I don't even roll 10 meters before I realize that I am in the middle of a massive and ongoing construction project.  I couldn't really see any of this too well last night in the dark, but literally 50% of what I can see are apartment buildings under construction.

construction "trailers" are simply stacked shipping containers.  this is the "courtyard" directly south of where I just was with the green roof bike parking.

everywhere I turn there is something to see.  the building adjacent to our complex that appears to be mostly complete has a rainscreen wall system.

north face of apartment under construction.  rain screen.

one side of the building has grey cementious clapboards that are likely blind nailed, except around the windows where it switches to a screwed in black panel that also looks like the hardie material I have used before.  the other side of the building has lighter green panels that are also screwed to the runners.

north window in rainscreen before clapboard application

rubber strip applied to 1x3 strapping runner.  flashing above window.

strapping held 2" off above north window

Gerber would be proud that the first thing I noticed and the first pictures I took were of the details of the exterior cladding system.

looking up to the clapboards

east side of the building with screwed in panels and larger operable windows

I hop on the bike and go another hundred meters and enter a park that runs east/ west from my area of the neighborhood toward turning torso.  it has constructed "natural" areas, art and sculptures, various fun looking contraptions for kids to play on and climb, and a boardwalk with benches.  I can imagine being a young child spending days in the sun playing in this park.

park and kids play area near Bo02 and Bo03

boardwalk in the park with constructed "natural" areas and play areas for kids

and of course, santiago calatrava's turning torso is a centerpoint to Vastra Hamnen and can be seen from most areas in and around northern and western Malmo.

I head towards town on... a bike path that is right alongside the street and immediately adjacent to the sidewalk.  imagine that.  pedestrians have a path.  cars have a path.  and... bikes have a path.

bike lanes have their own stoplights and pedestrians walk alongside the bike path in the... pedestrian path

bike stoplights go from red to red/ yellow to green so you know when the light is changing

finally get to the main center of town where the shops, restaurants, bars, and offices are... only to be completely amazed at the city bike culture.  the whole place is functioning around pedestrians and bikes.  cars have lanes, but there are streets that are closed to cars during certain hours and other streets that are permanently closed to cars!  everyone seems to be riding.  most major streets have bike signs as well as car signs.  there are signals for the bikes and pedestrians and cars.  there are bikes locked or unlocked on every corner.  no one is wearing a helmet because bikes are like treated like people here.  pedestrians don't wear helmets because why should they...?

for some reason this reminds me of the "if you lived here you'd be home now" sign in Boston but really its just showing how many bikes can equal one car parking spot.

I ride around town for a little while checking out the scene.  it's about lunchtime and people are moving about in the central part of the city, some eating lunch in the sunlight on benches or at outside tables at cafes.  I can't help but take pictures of the bikes and the signs and the people.  it's all so simple.

this sign says something about how people should be allowed to walk in the street without fearing for their lives.  I think the red x means please be nice to pedestrians.

I love cargo shorts but I love cargo bikes even more!  I can only imagine how many pizzas could be delivered with this bike...

catching sunshine near city center along the canal.  those stripes down the steps are a water feature that creates the sound of rushing water without the mess. at the bottom the water pours into a little drain.

#maildelivery

I leave downtown in pursuit of a rentable bike for the next couple of weeks.  after a couple of tries, I find a bike shop called Cykelaffar that has some used bikes for sale.  anders (the owner) is not really selling what I am looking for, but after some convincing, he decides to rent me a bike he was selling.  1000 sek for 18 days is pretty good considering what else I have seen so far.  anders also gives me a kryptonite lock, a helmet (Lauren will be very happy) and a water bottle cage.  now I can commute, hop across town, or go for a longer ride for exercise or to Lund for a day.  now I just have to ghost the beater home (easier said than done)...

my transport for the next couple of weeks

I head back to Vastra Hamnen to drop off the borrowed bike and explore.  cruising around see lots of little italian themed coffee shops along the water before I arrive at the base of the torso to Green, the local high end sustainable minded grocery store.

high end grocery store in Vastra Hamnen in the shadow of the turning torso

after a lap around the store to check it out, I take a second lap and pick up some necessities which include fresh local vegetables, eggs, milk, butter, apple juice, fresh baked bread, pasta and sauce, some (not local) fruit, and of course, smoked salmon and capers.  when in rome...

yes... Green (the grocery store) delivers by bike to your door

one key thing I have learned during this grocery trip.  apple juice is apple juice but appelsin is orange juice and beer here is 2,1% alcohol on average.  and we complain about watered down budweisers!