One of Sweden's five new geographical transition labs will be based in Gothenburg, with Chalmers, through ACE, being one of the main players behind the initiative. The Lindholmen Transition Lab will serve as a testing ground for innovative solutions that can contribute to the creation of sustainable, inclusive and attractive urban environments.
On 2 September, it was announced that Lindholmen Transition Lab is one of five applications to receive funding from Swedish national funding agency Formas. The transition lab provides opportunities to explore, test and then scale up ideas and projects in real environments that can contribute to better places to live. The test environment is based on the 15-minute city, where activities are available within 15 minutes on foot or by bicycle from residential areas.
– Taking concrete steps to make transition possible is very important for society. For us at Chalmers, this is an opportunity to make a real contribution, but also to develop new knowledge about how transition can take place and what the living environments of the future might look like, says Henriette Söderberg, Head of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering.
Lindholmen Transition Lab is a collaboration between the City of Gothenburg, Lindholmen Science Park and Chalmers University of Technology.
– Lindholmen Transition Lab is an important part of the City of Gothenburg’s work to meet societal challenges related to climate, health and good living environments for all citizens. Joining forces will give us all great advantages in developing solutions together and with other actors, comments Henrik Kant, Director of Urban Development at the City of Gothenburg.
– This strategic collaboration with the City of Gothenburg and Chalmers is crucial to driving development forward. We are really looking forward to working together to achieve fantastic results and create real benefits, says Maria Oscott, Deputy CEO, Lindholmen Science Park.
Long-term approach provides good opportunities for evaluation
In Lindholmen Transition Lab, groups of actors will be able to apply for funding in upcoming calls for proposals to carry out innovation projects. These projects involve innovative solutions in areas such as policy, services, processes or products. The projects bring together actors from the municipality, academia, business and civil society in long-term collaborations.
– The fact that the initial work with the transition lab will continue until 2030 provides excellent opportunities to monitor and evaluate tests and prototypes for the transition of the built environment. Within the research project that will follow the work, we will primarily work on how experiences and knowledge from the concrete work can be included in the overall urban development process," says Nils Björling, senior lecturer at the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering and responsible researcher at Chalmers.
About Formas' initiative
Lindholmen Transition Lab is part of the ShiftSweden programme within the national innovation initiative Impact Innovation. The four other transition labs are located in Malmö, Lund, Karlstad and Sälenfjällen.
Contact:
- Senior Lecturer, Urban Design and Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering