The BiodiverCity project in Malmö demonstrates the benefits of green roofs and other green areas in urban environments. Not only do they promote wellbeing, but they also help increase biodiversity and other important ecosystem services. When it comes to biodiversity, cities today are like deserts because of the scarcity of green areas where wildlife can live. Cities also become heat traps during heatwaves, making it hard for many species to survive. Another urban problem is the lack of areas where rainwater can seep into the soil and be part of the natural water cycle.

In the Drottninghög neighbourhood of Helsingborg in southern Sweden a transformation is underway, from a run-down district to an attractive, sustainable part of the city. This change is based on close dialogue between residents, real-estate companies and the City of Helsingborg. The project started with numerous discussions with one-third of Drottninghög residents. More than 300 interviews were carried out, with the purpose of collecting and listening to people’s preferences, needs and hopes about their neighbourhood and environment.

By unlocking traditional business models within waste management, Verapark is an innovation platform in which the business sector, the public sector and universities collaborate to develop new ideas for recycling and upcycling waste. With a vision to become the leading European centre for the circular economy, Verapark is changing the way we think about waste. Verapark is an incubator organisation for environment-related development and innovation, aiming to develop new products from waste and residual material.

Helsingborg's international H22 City Expo in 2022, along with its preparatory work, is an ambitious investment that aims to lead the way to smarter, more sustainable urban life and planning. The goal is for Helsingborg to be one of Europe’s most innovative cities in 2022. By 2030, 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. In addition, alarming facts about climate change, as well as an increasing number of people with mental-health issues, require society to take action.

Urban ICT Arena is a co-creation hub in Kista Science City, one of the world’s leading ICT clusters, that believes in the importance of cooperation in meeting the goals set out in the UN’s Agenda 2030. Urban ICT Arena provides tools for ICT companies and the public sector to overcome tomorrow’s challenges today. Kista Science City is Urban ICT Arena’s ‘reality lab’. It has real people in real buildings, with real traffic and real conditions. This is where the Urban ICT Arena IoT (Internet of Things) test bed is located.

Vallastaden is an unusual city district whose new model for planning and building has led to an urban environment centred around the residents. With its strong focus on social, ecological and economic sustainability, Vallastaden is an inspiring example for future urban development. Vallastaden in Linköping, Sweden, is a newly built city district that’s unique in how it challenges the traditional way of building cities. The entire district has been planned and built with an emphasis on social and ecological sustainability, which includes listening to and involving residents.

Brf Viva was Sweden’s most sustainable and innovative housing project when it was built. Its many smart solutions in energy efficiency and building materials, as well as pioneering trialling of new ideas, make Viva an instructive and inspirational sustainable-living housing development. Solar-power systems, energy storage, heat recovery from ventilation (FTX), car and electric bike pools, remote workplaces and resource-efficient construction using low-carbon concrete.

KTH Live-In Lab is a platform for accelerated innovation in the real-estate sector with a focus on digitalisation and sustainability. The purpose of KTH Live-In Lab is to reduce lead times between research results and market introduction. Located in Stockholm on the campus of Sweden’s largest technical university, KTH Live-In Lab aims to help bring about the sustainable and resource-efficient buildings of the future. Most test beds in KTH Live-In Lab are operated in real environments for testing and researching new technologies and new methods.

A Working Lab is an innovative concept, combining office space and an arena for exchanging ideas, knowledge and experience between academia, business and society, with a strong focus on sustainability. A Working Lab is both a location and a concept, offering innovative environments for education, work and innovation in the centre of the university campus at Johanneberg Science Park in the Chalmers University area of Gothenburg.

Smart Housing Småland is an internationally leading innovation environment, developing smart and sustainable housing and construction solutions based on glass and timber. Amid ongoing global urbanisation, there is an urgent need to build sustainable cities using eco-friendly construction and energy solutions with optimal use of natural resources. This has put the spotlight on timber and bio-based materials.