Burlington and Växjö: Taking an ecosystem approach to planning and design
We all know that trees provide shade and we’ve all been grateful for the relief they give on a hot sunny day. But trees and other components of green spaces give us much more than shade. Green spaces provide us with cleaner air, reduce the dangerous impacts of very hot weather, and filter and clean rainwater. We benefit from these services that green spaces provide in several different ways. When rainwater filters through the ground it relieves pressure on our urban wastewater systems. When we breathe the cleaner air near our urban parks our rates of respiratory illnesses are lower, alleviating health care costs. When trees and rooftop gardens provide shade and keep buildings cooler, we lower our air conditioning costs and our risk of illness or death during heat waves. Our physical and spiritual wellbeing is enhanced when we spend time in healthy natural spaces. All these benefits that we gain from the natural environment can be understood as services that healthy ecosystems provide to us. Some municipalities are starting to apply an ecosystem services approach to land use planning, urban design, and the design of parks and green spaces to maximize these benefits.
The pursuit of an ecosystem services approach to planning is one area where the cities of Burlington in Canada (Ontario) and Växjö in Sweden are collaborating. The city pair is linked through the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) program of the European Union. The IUC program provides a platform for cities to share solutions to common problems facing urban areas and is part of a long-term strategy by the European Union to foster sustainable urban development.
The Burlington-Växjö city pair has been very active in the IUC program with staff from each city visiting their counterparts on three different occasions. “The cities are very different,” says Bo Hjälmefjord, International Project Director, International Affairs at the City of Växjö. “Burlington is a suburban city and Växjö is a provincial capital in the south of Sweden but we found that we had similar interests.”
Teams from each city also connected virtually and hosted six webinars to discuss projects and support each other’s efforts. In addition to the ecosystems approach to planning, webinar topics included moving towards fossil free cities, stormwater management, wood building construction, community engagement, and transportation planning.
The core team members of Burlington and Växjö recently met again for a final workshop in October 2019 in Valencia, Spain just before attending the 13th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability. This event allowed the group to make final presentations in person and provide each other with updates on the progress they’ve made since their last staff exchange.
Hjälmefjord reflected on the partnership by acknowledging that each city was able to learn from the other while focusing on their own particular priorities. “We each developed our own projects but with input from each other and with motivation from the program. For instance, we had technical exchanges with one expert from Burlington coming to Växjö and working around lake restoration issues and one landscape architect going to Burlington to help design a park. Those are really tangible exchanges really added a lot of value to the cooperation”.
Revitalization of industrial lands in Växjö
Close to the centre of Växjö is Västra Mark, a previously industrial area that is being transformed into a mixed used area. With new sports arenas, shopping malls and office hubs, the neighbourhood is starting to attract new residents and more residential buildings are planned. Like most previously industrial areas, there is a lack of green space and the public realm did not invite walking or other forms of active transportation. Working together with colleagues in Burlington, Växjö staff created a green infrastructure plan for the area based an ecosystem services approach.
The plan involves preserving and enhancing the existing green areas and adding new ones along with improved public spaces, walkways and bike lanes. The vision emphasizes the need to consider ecosystem services to develop a balanced and resilient district. While the revitalization of Västra Mark is a long-term project, the visioning work provided the basis for future planning decisions and is an input to the master plan of Växjö. According to Maria Elmdahl Arvidsson of Växjö, collaborating with Burlington colleagues while developing the vision for Västra Mark has allowed the team to increase its knowledge about ecosystem services and to try out methods for creating an inventory of these services.
Växjö staff have also benefited from having their Burlington counterparts offer a peer review of a parks strategy and stormwater management plan.
Climate action planning in Burlington
Lynn Robichaud of Burlington found the perspective of the Swedes invaluable: “Our council has declared a climate emergency and has asked staff to develop a Climate Action Plan and apply a climate lens to all our decision making. Working with the city of Växjö and their staff is really helping us with our direction. European cities are much more advanced in applying the UN sustainable development goals. That’s something that we need to take a stronger look at and apply to the work we’re doing in Burlington.”
As part of its climate action planning, Burlington will be applying an ecosystem services approach when updating its Parks Master Plan next year. With the support of landscape architect Ida Karlsson from Växjö, Burlington piloted its new ecosystems services approach in designing a new park. “We were fortunate to have [Karlsson] come and pay us a technical visit,” says Rob Peachy, Manager of Parks and Open Space at the City of Burlington. “She came and worked closely with our staff to apply ecosystem services principles to a site where development is happening in one of our new mobility hubs. She moved us so much further along in the design than if we hadn’t had that visit.”
For Karlsson, who traveled to Burlington as the technical advisor during the park’s design stage, the exchange was also a learning opportunity. “It is good to explain your own work and then you get a deeper understanding of what you’re doing yourself,” she said. “My visit to Burlington was really good because we had to deepen our common knowledge about ecosystem services and actually practice it from the start in a new project. And we had to lay out the design according to the ecosystem services that we wanted to build on.”
The benefits of the collaboration will filter through all of Burlington’s open space planning processes. “At the end of the day we’ll be developing an urban parks strategy with an ecosystem services approach. That will make our Parks Master Plan that much more solid,” says Peachy.
“I can’t say enough about how valuable this partnership has been,” says Lynn Robichaud of Burlington. “The partnership with Växjö has opened our eyes to other possibilities. We work really well together. We’re always interested in sharing information and learning from each other and hopefully we can continue this relationship in the future.”
For more information about ecosystem services, see https://biodiversity.europa.eu/topics/ecosystem-services.
Written by Leah Birnbaum for the International Urban Cooperation Program
For more information on the IUC program with Canadian cities, contact lcavicchia@iuc-eu.na
