Kristina Björnberg - Sweden
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I - PERSONAL
- education: Education and training: Degree in Landscape Architecture 1975
Swedish University of Agriculture, Alnarp and Uppsala, Sweden
- professional back ground:
Landscape Architect
25 years in the field of Urban and Regional Planning with special emphasis on natural resourse management and landscape architecture.Practical experience of long term physical planning, urban development plans and rural development projects on the local and regional levels in Sweden and also in Southern Africa.
- fields of specialisation:
Experience from national level preparing planning and design guidelines, surveys and investigations, especially concerning natural resources, ecological and agricultural matters.
Experience from the research field by initiating, coordinating and supporting R&D programs and projects concerning urban development planning related to natural resource management and development of green areas.
- present work
Since 1989 working as a Senior Research Officer at the Swedish Council for Building Research, Stockholm.
- possible contribution to the network
Personal network, knowledge and experience of research environments and activities, development projects and the state of art in Sweden within the field of the action. An overall knowledge and network also concerning other areas related to the build-up environment. e.g technical infrastructure, social and cultural development, environmental issues, architecture, planning processes, building and design issues.
II - INSTITUTION
The Swedish Council for
Building Research-
a sectorial research agency under the Ministry of the
Environment.
- present work in connection with the action subject
The overall aim of the activities of the Council is to contribute to enhancing and developing the quality of the built environment in order to support sustainable development and to strengthen the economy, welfare and international competitiveness of Sweden. The activities are focused on the change, design and management of the built environment.
The Council initiates, co-ordinates and finances research and development. The area of responsibility spans over the whole planning, building and management process, covering everything from strategic physical planning via building design, building technology, energy technology and production methods to operations and management. The work is performed in close co-operation with the actors involved in the built environment. The Council co-operates and exchange experience and information with research bodies, institutions and individual researchers in Sweden and internationally.The Council conductedfor a long period a R&D programme "Urban Green Areas" with the aim to establish and consolidate a new research area. The programme focused on different aspects i.e health and public use, ecology and biology, history and culture, climate and air quality, green technology, management of green areas and related planning issues. Special emphasis was given to multi-disciplinary projects.The programme ensured the creation of considerable competence and knowledge within specific aspects of the urban green areas and the results are recognised internationally.
Today the main focus of the research on green areas, being financed by the Council, is on planning concepts and policy instruments for integration of and application of knowledge about the green areas in strategies for a sustainable urban development. The multifunctional aspects of the green areas are considered. Further in-depth knowledge about different aspects is being financed mainly by the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research. The two Councils will merge from January 1st 2001.
- support, facilities offered to the action
Among several programmes and projects connected to C11 there are some of special interest:
The project "Green Structure and Development of Urban Environment", Dep of Landscape Planning Agriculture Univeristy, Alnarp, aims to identify such aspects and crucial points in the physical planning process, which are relevant for development of communicative planning with special reference to green structure issues.
The R&D Programme "The Sustainable City" (1997-2003) aims at developing new tools, methods, and new processes as needed to change entire regions and towns in the direction of sustainability. (The project Sustainable Urban Deveopment and Urban Structures-SUUS, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg is financed by that programme. The thematic project within SUUS "Greenstructures in urban design and planning processes" is co-funded by the programme and EU¥s 5th Framework Research Programme (the GREENSCOM project.) The R&D Programme "Liveable Cities" (1997-2003) aims to improve knowledge on how to regain the habitable town as a pleasant living environment that can better serve the needs of its inhabitants. Considering that the spatial structure of multifuctional urban green areas may contribute significantly to sustainable economic and ecological development and the quality of urban life, that makes the gren issues part of both programmes.
The Programme "Infrasystem for Sustainable Cities" developes e.g. knowledge and methods for landscape-ecological planning and assessments, analyses potentials for increased sustainability at local level -one factor studied being the green areas- and tests to reduce the travelling distances by increasing the density of the built-up areas by building on green areas.