Eco-Cycle Model 2.0. of Stockholm Royal Seaport
Development of the Eco-Cycle Model 2.0. is one of a total of five sub-projects in the city of Stockholm which have been granted economic support from the Swedish Delegation of Sustainable Cities in order to contribute to making the Royal Seaport in Stockholm a world-class environmental profiling urban area. The purpose of this pre-study is to investigate the options for developing an eco-cycle model that grasps more dimensions than the Hammarby Model, including overall and detailed descriptions of resource flows in different time perspectives. Important starting points for the pre-study are
• Global and local challenges concerning our use of resources with specific relevance for urban development
• Available models which visualise functions, resource flows and resource synergies in the eco-cycle in a qualitative way
• Available accounts of material, energy and water which quantify functions and resource flows
In order to involve stakeholders in the development process, representatives from different organisations were invited to two workshops where ideas were developed and combined. These workshops are documented in two separate reports (in Swedish).
The primary objective of the eco-cycle model is to contribute to drawing attention to and explaining important connections and synergies between resource flows. Secondary objectives that can be fulfilled after supplementing the development work are: to be a tool for monitoring and follow-up of environmental objectives, to serve as a a dynamic tool for analysis of resource flows and to be more comprehensive.
The proposed eco-cycle model 2.0. is not only a general map of functions and flows related to the eco-cycle which characterised the Hammarby Model, but also a line of arguments supported by illustrations on four different levels:
• Level 0 Established theories and concepts for sustainable societal and urban development constituting the basis of the eco-cycle model
• Level 1 Anchoring of the eco-cycle model in a more comprehensive sustainability concept
• Level 2 General Map of functions and flows related to the eco-cycle model including optional systems solutions both within and outside the city district (outside the defined systems boundary). Conceptual future image for 2030 with a perspective towards 2050.
• Level 3 Resource flow analysis related to accounting systems for energy, material and water eco-cycles. Conceptual future image for 2030 with a perspective towards 2050.
This proposal for a conceptual eco-cycle model 2.0. should be considered as a basis for future R&D work and applications. The presented desirable situation for 2030 with a perspective towards 2050, in line with the applied back-casting methodology, may be used as a basis for defining different stages in a short-term and mid-term perspective. A number of possible development projects which should be initiated as follow-up of the pre-study are defined. One example is the need for developing pedagogical descriptions and presentations supported by visualisation and animation tools. The international perspective is also important, as there is an increasing interest in The Royal Seaport City District in a rapidly urbanising world where many cities are preparing for – or have already started –planning of city districts with high sustainability ambitions.