Towns making names for themselves by taking the green path

Hammarby Sjöstad, on the outskirts of Stockholm, is at the forefront of the ecotown movement - but it is about to find itself facing stiff competition from the other side of the Swedish capital. Stockholm Royal Seaport, a new area in the city, has raised the energy efficiency bar even higher: it hopes to be able to go completely fossil fuel-free by 2030.

What makes Hammarby special is that its community of around 25,000 residents uses 40% less energy than those of similarly sized towns, and has also reduced traffic density by 40%.

The comprehensive approach the town takes to the design of the urban environment means, amongst other things, that its household waste is transported to a waste power station to heat the community's buildings. Solar panels provide the town with hot water, and the biogas obtained from effluent fuels its buses. Excellent train and boat connections also reduce the need for cars. Moreover, an innovative 'suction station' has been launched in the Swedish capital which no longer sees household waste being collected by garbage trucks, but instead sucked through vacuum power from the courtyard of apartment buildings directly into a sub-station.