1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Malmö
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
BiodiverCity project
Short description of the intervention
The BiodiverCity-project aimed to develop products, services and processes which support and enhance the city’s biodiversity and thus contribute to a vision of a green, attractive and healthy city (ref. 1). The project had been divided in three steps, step 1 involving preliminary studies and step 2 was practical work for two years. During step 2 different cases were identified to test new ways to e.g. increase the city's biodiversity. Step 3 included spreading to other sectors through seminars, education and exhibition activities. It also included the commercialization of green solutions (ref. 2).
Address

Malmö
Sweden

Location
The NBS is a city-wide initiative, the GIS point marks the centre of the city
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Other
Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS
Malmo city (ref. 2)
Website of the intervention
https://malmo.se/Sa-arbetar-vi-med.../Malmo-stads-miljoarbete/Oversikt-avslutad…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2012
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2012
End date of the intervention
2018
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
The project “BiodiverCity” was carried out in Malmö, in 2012-2014. (Ref. 3)
New application for grants has been made (Vinnova) for 2015-2016 (to e.g. applying large-scale solutions in existing residential areas). (Ref. 4)
The final conference for the project is in November 2017. (Ref. 2)
Goals of the intervention
BiodiverCity worked for the development of a green and healthy city. BiodiverCity worked to design and test new ways to increase the city's biodiversity, improve the conditions for urban ecosystem services and exploit the city's greenery in active health work. Through this, the project aimed to create a permanent demonstration for the dissemination of green solutions.
There had been new and innovative ways to design greenery in six different product groups:
• Green roofs
• Green facades and walls
• Mobile plant systems
• Urban biotopes
• Three-dimensional greenery
• Trees in streets
(ref. 5)
Quantitative targets
Unknown.
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving physical health
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Create new habitats
Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Means for conservation governance
Capacity building
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Ecosystem-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
Implementation activities
Study projects included:
Green roofs have on e.g. residential housing and on Malmö Service Administration (building).
Green walls on a commercial building on Västra Hamnen as well as a green and edible wall (a green wall with edible plants).
By using mobile plant systems, Hauschild-Siegel has managed to improve the handling of storm water in the Västra Hamnen.
At the Malmö City Bike Center (Västra Hamnen) there are 130 bicycle locations. MKB (company) wants to complete the bicycle standard with smart, safe and stylish bike solutions integrated with three-dimensional greenery.(Ref. 5)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Ecological restoration of ecosystems
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green roofs
Green walls or facades
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Green areas for water management
Sustainable urban drainage systems
Type of Green Wall
Substrate / soil-based living wall
Type of Green Roof
Semi-intensive Green Roof: depth 5 - 7 inches; plants: Selected Perennials, Sedums, ornamental Grasses, Herbs and little Shrubs; Medium maintenance and costs
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Low: Simple rain water collection intervention (rain garden, local seepage pit) or simple permeable areas
Vegetation Type
Grass
Shrubs
Trees
Flower beds
Garden beds
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS
Walkways, bicycle spaces (ref. 2)
Amenities offered by the NBS
Other
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Noise reduction
Flood regulation
Water purification / filtration
Pollination
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Recreation
Mental and physical health and wellbeing
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Private sector/Corporate/Company
Researchers/University
Citizens or community groups
Please specify other local relevant strategy
The environmental programme for Malmö City 2009-2020. (Ref. 7)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Coalition with multiple of the above
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The project has a multi-disciplinary approach with ecologists, landscape architects, scientists, entrepreneurs, developers, all of them working closely together in realizing individual greenery projects. (Ref. 6)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Other
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Regional government
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Researchers/university
Land owners
Other
Please specify other land owner
Around the city of Malmo (ref. 3)
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Please specify other landowner
Around the city of Malmo (ref. 3)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Yes
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
However the EU Regional Development Fund is partly responsible for financing the project (eg, step 3). (Ref. 2)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
The city of Malmö which one of the collaborating partners of the project has a environmental programme for 2009-2020 for the whole city. (Ref. 7)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Environmental regulation
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
The environmental programme for Malmö City 2009-2020. (Ref. 7)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Partners in the project include: partners are SLU Alnarp (University), MKB (municipal housing company), Skanska, Briggen, Hauschild + Siegel, ByggVesta, Peab, Markkompaniet, IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, Southwest Archives, Watreco, Green Roof Institute and White. (Ref. 8)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Study conducted by Haaland, C. (2017) 'Butterflies and bumblebees in green structures in Malmö', at the Swedish university of agricultural sciences, Alnarp. (Ref. 9)
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
the EU Regional Development Fund is partly responsible for financing the project (eg, step 3). (Ref. 2)
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Yes
Co-governance arrangement
A fund / grant
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Already in place
Financing
Total cost
€500,000 - €2,000,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
The project is partly financed by contributions from Vinnova's "Challenging Innovation" program and by the EU Regional Development Fund. (Ref. 2) The project budget was 9.995 million SEK (~1.18 million USD), funded by the Swedish innovation agency VINNOVA [Ref 3).
Source(s) of funding
EU funds
Public national budget
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Green densification model
Urban offsetting model (biodiversity or water)
Vacant space model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Process innovation
Social
Cultural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
Creation of e.g. green roofs and green walls and mobile plant systems that improve the handling of storm water in Västra Hamnen. (Ref. 5)
Please specify social innovation
Utilize the city's greenery in active health work. (Ref. 5)
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
BiodiverCity works to design and test new ways to increase the city's biodiversity, improve the conditions for urban ecosystem services and utilize the city's greenery in active health work. (Ref. 5)
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Project manager from MKB (municipal housing company) wants to include the ideas from the BiodiverCity project to the MKB million programme areas (through including e.g. more greenery). (Ref. 2, The video.)
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present
Description of environmental benefits
- Green roofs increase biodiversity in cities by offering green spaces, replaces the area lost when giving space for buildings and by mimicking the original habitat, supporting local biodiversity. By increasing the biodiversity, the area can serve more ecosystem services (ref. 6)

- The project has tested a number of solutions of green roofs, green walls and facades, mobile vegetation systems and urban habitats (ref. 6):
- Green roofs are popular, but the uniqueness of “BiodiverCity” is to create green roofs with greater biodiversity than is common today. On the roof of the apartment building “Klippern” in the Western Harbour e.g., many local plants like viper's bugloss and thyme have been planted, thereby attempting to recreate the habitat that existed on the site before the house was built. This type of roof greening has also proved better at taking up water and reducing noise, thus in comparison to usual types of roof greening currently available on the market (ref. 3)
- Several different types of vertical gardens/green walls have also been built in residential areas in Malmö, in some cases including edible plants. Clearly not many plants are able to survive the climate all year round in modules on the walls of Sweden, but during the project the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences [3] has been able to document some 20 plants that can. The project has also been based on conditions at the site. Wire systems ready to be covered by climbing plants, different methods for planting trees in streets and mobile gardening areas at pre-Page | 2schools have also been tested in the project. Yet another example is a forest habitat with trees, ferns and other typical woodland plants created in a residential yard (ref. 3)

In BiodiverCity, new methods were tested to make the city's facades greener (e.g. new support for climbing plants, park-like balconies or green systems mounted on the wall). BiodiverCity had also investigated the use of removable devices that make the use of greenery more flexible. These units had been, among other things, been used to embellish an area that is waiting to be built or to grow plants on top of a paved surface. (Ref 5)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Description of social and cultural benefits
- Innovation for three-dimensional plant systems MKB creates concepts for three-dimensional greenery at bicycle spaces. At MKB's block Koggen 1 in Västra Hamnen, there must be room for 130 bicycle spaces according to the City of Malmö's bicycle standard. MKB wants to supplement the bicycle norm with smart, safe and stylish bicycle solutions integrated with three-dimensional greenery (ref. 2).
- In November 2013, approximately one third of the wall's 795 plants were replaced with kale, which is both winter - hardy and edible. The basic idea of the project was to extend the concept of community gardens to also include this type of vertical community cultivation where residents in the area jointly take care of the lowest square meters of the plant wall. The upper parts of the wall are taken care of by the company Odla i stan. The plant wall in Seved is the first edible wall in Sweden and was created to protect both social and green values (ref. 2).
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Water management (SDG 6)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
This project information was updated on 5 August 2020. No information was available on the current impacts of COVID-19 on the NBS area.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Conduct a baseline survey before and after NBS implementation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
http://malmo.se/download/18.15427088148388d0d314a43e/1491302585525/biodivercity…
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
http://malmo.se/download/18.15427088148388d0d314a43e/1491302585525/biodivercity…
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Study conducted by Haaland, C. (2017) 'Butterflies and bumblebees in green structures in Malmö', at the Swedish university of agricultural sciences, Alnarp. (Ref. 9)

Link to the output of assessments
http://malmo.se/download/18.3c0b3b6f15965118c0e33a89/1491303701666/Fj%C3%A4rila…
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1
Ref. 2
Ref. 3
Ref. 4
Ref. 5
Ref. 6
Ref. 7
Ref. 8
Ref. 9
Ref. 10
Ref. 11
List of references
1. ResearchGate. (2017). BiodiverCity. Project. Haaland, C., Fransson, A-M. & Emilsson, T. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/project/BiodiverCity (Accessed 5 August 2020)
2. Malmö Stad. (2017). BiodiverCity - Om grön innovation i det urbana rummet. Miljöarbete i Malmö. Available at: https://malmo.se/Sa-arbetar-vi-med.../Malmo-stads-miljoarbete/Oversikt-avslutade-projekt/BiodiverCity.html (Accessed 5 August 2020)
3. Pocacito. (2015). BiodiverCity - green city project. Malmö, Sweden. Buildings, land use, biodiversity. European post-carbon cities of tomorrow. Available at: https://pocacito.eu/sites/default/files/BiodiverCity_Malm%C3%B6.pdf (Accessed 5 August 2020)
4. Slide Player. (n.d.) BiodiverCity. Annika Kruuse, miljöförvaltningen Malmö Stad, Projektledare. Available at: http://slideplayer.se/slide/2681931/ (Accessed 5 August 2020)
5. Malmö Stad. (2014). BiodiverCity - om grön innovation i det urbana rummet. Final. Malmö stad, Vinnova. Available at: https://malmo.se/download/18.15427088148388d0d314a43e/1491302585525/biodivercity_final.pdf (Accessed 5 August 2020)
6. Smart City Sweden. (n.d.) BioDiverCity – green innovation in urban environments. Available at: https://smartcitysweden.com/best-practice/342/biodivercity-green-innovation-in-urban-environments/ (Accessed 5 August 2020)
7. Malmö Stad (2009) Miljöprogram för Malmö stad 2009-2020. Malmö Stad. Available at: https://malmo.se/Sa-arbetar-vi-med.../Malmo-stads-miljoarbete/Miljoprogram-for-Malmo-stad.html (Accessed 5 August 2020)
8. Stadsbyggnad. (2014). Urban grönska - från arkitektdröm till verklighet. Föreningen Sveriges Stadsbyggare. Available at: https://stadsbyggnad.org/2014/urban-gronska-fran-arkitektdrom-till-verklighet/ (Accessed 5 August 2020)
9. Haaland, C. (2017). Fjärilar och humlor i grönstrukturer i Malmö (Butterflies and bumblebees in green structures in Malmö). SLU, Alnarp. Available at: https://malmo.se/download/18.3c0b3b6f15965118c0e33a89/1491303701666/Fj%C3%A4rilar+och+humlor+i+gr%C3%B6nstrukturer+i+Malm%C3%B6+SLU.pdf (Accessed 5 August 2020)
10. Vinnova. (2017). BiodiverCity steg 3. Vinnova. Available at: https://www.vinnova.se/p/biodivercity--den-tata-staden-med-hog-biologisk-mangfald/ (Accessed 5 August 2020)
11. Vinnova. (2013). BiodiverCity Den täta staden med hög biologisk mångfald. Vinnova. Available at: https://www.vinnova.se/p/biodivercity--den-tata-staden-med-hog-biologisk-mangfald/ (Accessed 5 August 2020)
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/Biodivercity.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/Biodivercity_0.jpg
Public Images
BiodiverCity (2015)
BiodiverCity (2015)
Annika Kruuse, retrieved 08/24/2018