Consultation and learning

Stockholm Royal Seaport is a testbed and a role model in sustainable urban development. Several research and innovation projects drive knowledge development to address future challenges. To enable more people to participate and become active in urban development, new approaches to dialogues are being tested.

Engage and involve citizens

It should be easy and transparent to follow how Stockholm Royal Seaport develops. To ensure broader inclusion in the process and to involve various stakeholders, different methods, processes, and locations are employed for dialogues and participation. The aim is to communicate with and engage local forces and stakeholders while being where people are. Encouraging residents of both newer and older parts to meet and interact contributes to and strengthens local affiliation and identity. Trust – as well as a sense of security – increases when people meet and become visible to one another.

By using different methods, processes and places for dialogues and participation, more people, irrespective of gender, age and backgrounds can get involved in the process.

Early in the development process, street walks were carried out in conjunction with the development of the in-depth programme for Hjorthagen. Street walks are a way to be present and note one’s perceptions of surroundings. The street walks were supplemented, among other things, with the first residents’ survey, which provided important feedback on how residents viewed the development and their thoughts about living close to construction sites. School children were also asked about their favourite places in the district – the places they liked and those they felt were unsafe.

A physical model of the urban development area that provides an overview, sets contexts and underpins various meetings and events. Personal meetings and conversations are supplemented with digital map-based dialogue tools that often reach wider and younger target groups. Personal encounters and conversations are complemented by digital map-based dialogue tools that often reach wider and younger audiences. In order to include more people in the planning process, dialogues and open houses have been arranged for different groups and ages.

Collaborating with local resources

Many in civil society are involved in different ways or affected by urban development. In addition to Värtans IK, there are other local organisations and associations that the urban development project collaborates with in various events and communication initiatives as well. Several business improvement networks, such as Stadsutvecklarna i Värtahamnen, conduct site development activities. There is also residents’ networks in Hjorthagen.

All new residents receive information about services and other functions within the neighbourhood. In addition to the project website and various newsletters, there is an active and project-related Facebook page with several hundred posts per year. Sometimes, more targeted information and communication campaigns are needed to highlight specific issues. Most feedback from residents in 2022 concerned noise from ongoing construction work, fallen trees or broken branches, and questions about the completion of Bobergsgatan.

Examples of local activities in 2022 include:

• More than 10 housing cooperatives were active in the "Citizen Engagement for Reduced Climate Impact" research project to decrease energy consumption.
• 60 households participated in the "Engagement for Circular Economy" research project to increase waste recycling rates and promote reuse and the sharing economy.
• The "Triumphal Arch for the Disabled" art installation by Jockum Nordström was unveiled, with around a hundred people attending.
• More than 4,000 visitors engaged in activities, guided tours, and seminars about the Gasworks' history, transformation, and future. The development project participated in the Stockholm Open House architecture festival, offering guided tours of Gasverket.
• The urban gardening initiative expanded with 25 temporary planter boxes in the pop-up park, bringing the total to 115 in the area.
• Preschool children and residents participated in tours of beehives in the area, and a local preschool contributed by designing the label for this year's local honey harvest.
• Preschool children were encouraged to paint pictures for display on a shipping container in the pop-up park. On Children's Rights Day, preschool children painted pictures on the theme of children's rights, which were subsequently exhibited in Hjortgläntans park play area and the library.
• QR codes linking to videos and images, highlighting various aspects of the project, from insect inventories to the industrial heritage, were introduced.
• In collaboration with Stadsutvecklarna i Värtahamnen, a photo exhibition featuring historical images and vision photos was inaugurated. Coffee meetings were held on-site, and a car boot sale was arranged.
• Residents initiated a local flea market in the pop-up park.

Stockholm Royal Seaport as a test bed

Stockholm Royal Seaport’s mission is to be a role model and pioneer in sustainable urban development by building knowledge, driving innovation, and taking over the baton from Hammarby Sjöstad, another major urban development project in Stockholm. To achieve the visionary and ambitious goals, future workshops were conducted, supported by KTH (Royal Institute of Technology). This laid the foundation for collaborations between different stakeholders and the identification of innovative solutions.

Subsequently, the ambitions for Stockholm Royal Seaport's sustainability work were manifested through the so-called "world-class agreement" between construction actors, property developers, and the city. This marked the beginning of the sustainability profiling of Stockholm Royal Seaport, which has been established as a test bed where innovative technologies, system solutions, and working methods are developed and validated. The aim is for good experiences that contribute to a more sustainable future to be scaled up and disseminated in Stockholm, as well as nationally and internationally.

Being a test bed attracts researchers and companies wanting to think in new directions. Initially, work was more stakeholder-driven. But over time, the City of Stockholm has taken on a more active role. Stockholm Royal Seaport is a collaborative project where joint learning drives innovation. This is achieved by including sustainability goals in early planning and collaborating across organisational boundaries.

The innovation work in Stockholm Royal Seaport has, among other things, contributed to putting ecosystem services and the green space factor on the national agenda, and the roadmap for a climate-positive district on the international agenda. Technology and organisational development has taken place in the implementation process within land remediation as well as construction and mass logistics. Research and innovation projects carried out include digitalisation, source-separated wastewater systems, closed-loop models, and positive energy areas.

Capacity development and knowledge building

Early in the process, the sustainability requirements were questioned, and in response, a capacity development programme was established – a tailored seminar series aimed at land-allocated developers and their consultants, as well as City of Stockholm employees. Ambitious sustainability goals and requirements necessitate new knowledge, along with shared visions and frameworks. Capacity development, combined with this, is essential to the mission as a pioneer and testbed within sustainable urban development. There is a significant need for forums for discussion and learning. During the pandemic, these seminars were conducted digitally, allowing for increased participation. Since then, seminars have continued in a hybrid format. To date, approximately 100 seminars have been held, attracting a total of 1,900 participants.

Online seminars, which delve into various topics and experiences from a decade of sustainable urban work, have garnered considerable interest both internally and externally. Thus far, six seminars have been held, attracting 550 participants.

Monitoring and evaluating the goals have yielded unique insights into new working methods and technical solutions. This has facilitated a shift from operating in vertical silos to adopting more horizontal processes and working groups. This change has fostered a shared vision within and between administrations and municipal companies, while providing a broader, more deeply-rooted learning process and encouraging networking.

The city has widely embraced requirements for energy performance, digitalisation, the inverted traffic hierarchy, Green Space Index, and stormwater management. The follow-up process methodology has also been adopted within the city.

Stockholm Royal Seaport as a visitor destination

Stockholm has a long history in sustainable urban development. Visitor activities received a significant boost 20 years ago with Hammarby Sjöstad and the environmental information centre GlashusEtt. Hammarby Sjöstad remains a strong example of good Swedish urban planning and environmental adaptation. Today, Stockholm Royal Seaport attracts the most visitors, with over half of the groups coming there to learn about the city's systematic work where innovations and new thinking drive sustainability, monitoring, and development.

For several years, Stockholm Royal Seaport has taken over the baton from Hammarby Sjöstad as one of the urban development projects within the city that drives knowledge development and tests what is possible, and then shares the experiences further.

Most visitors are civil servants and decision-makers from other cities and municipalities, students and researchers, as well as interest groups and companies. The topics of greatest interest are various aspects of sustainable urban development, such as climate adaptation, stormwater and waste management, and social sustainability. As a result of the pandemic, the number of international visitors has decreased, and some choose digital visits. Of the long-distance international visitors, most come from the US and American universities, while others are mainly from other Nordic countries and Germany. Every other visit is a student group from universities or secondary schools, and visits to Stockholm Royal Seaport are a foundation in many educational programmes.

The comprehensive approach in Stockholm Royal Seaport is what inspires visitors. It's not only a low-energy area or only a climate-adapted area; the breadth of issues being addressed is what makes it unique and interesting.

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Key events in 2022

• Three new R&D projects were launched.
• Developers, contractors, and professionals attend a web-based introductory course on topics including sustainability aspects; roughly 1,000 people have participated to date.
• 250 people participated in the capacity development seminars on topics such as soil remediation, urban streets as public spaces, and housing for all.
• Stockholm Royal Seaport participated in several national and international conferences, seminars, and exhibitions, such as Smart City Barcelona, Urban Future @H22, Stockholm 50+, and Stockholm H₂O.
• 4,250 visitors in 220 study visit groups visited the area.
• Four digital seminars were held with the aim of disseminating learnings and experiences. More than 400 people have participated.