Culture in the city planning

The working session of the Commission of Culture took place in Umeå on 21 - 24 October. The role of culture in city planning was the theme of the conference.

Umeå Arts Campus

Sustainable city development with the concrete example of the Sustainable Ålidhem project in Umeå was among the cases dis cussed by the conference participants. The city of Umeå is one of the pioneers in sustainable planning and construction, especially in the cold climate. Sustainable Ålidhem is an interesting example of how sustainable solutions which spare the environment can be used in residential areas.The aim is to make the whole Ålidhem city district sustainable with safe and pleasant living environments and to halve the total energy use in the district.

Another subject concerned the Umeå university Artistic Campus, a joint public-private investment in knowledge development. The unique conditions are to be created where education, science, en-trepreneurship and artistic development meet within the frame work of architecture, design and art. The aim is to make Umeå a unique centre of creativity in the world. There will be conditions for a creative environment which can be unique in Sweden, Europe and maybe in the whole world.