Designing Urban Sustainability Regeneration Projects: Case-study: Augustenborg, Malmö

Abstract: The use of area-based approaches in urban regeneration is widely accepted in the European community. As these projects are based on the context of the focal area, there is no one-size-fits-all solution on how to design and implement those. The Eco-city Augustenborg project is an environmentally-led urban regeneration project initiated in Malmö in 1998. Today, fifteen years after the project was introduced, the project has earned itself a reputation as an unusually successful one, with hundreds of urban planners visiting the area on an annual basis. It seems, however, that the experiences gained through the process are not being communicated in an effective way within the city of Malmö. By analysing the Eco-city project from two frameworks, one based on guidelines available and the other on networking theory for sustainable development, this research aimed at bringing together knowledge from the experiences of the project. When the Eco-city initiative was lined up with the analytical frameworks applied in this research, certain factors influencing the success and sustainability seemed to repeatedly come up in the discussion. These were the basis for the development of the following six recommendations for future regeneration projects: 1) identify project leader and hub organisation, 2) include the private sector and the local community in the idea selection, 3) create a strong identity, 4) define common goals, 5) ensure external finance, and 6) apply innovative solutions. These general recommendations expect to enhance discussion about how a regeneration project can be designed successfully as in order to ensure for environmental quality and well-being in urban areas.