EU Green Capital Valencia will host 2024 edition of European Urban Resilience Forum
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
Stockholm's new 9-member city council led by Karin Wanngård (first row in the middle), Source: Karin Wanngård Facebook
The capital has opposed the current political tide in the country, and ex-mayor Karin Wanngård is back at the helm
Yesterday, Europe got its newest government sitting on the right spectrum – that of Sweden, headed by Ulf Kristersson, from the Moderates, heading a three-party coalition, also supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats. The news stream focused on that fact, considered unusual for the otherwise immigration-friendly Nordic country, but missed out on the more complex picture that the election results painted.
Parallel to the parliamentary elections, there were also municipal and regional ones, which showed that there is a caveat to the ascendance of the Sweden Democrats – it didn’t happen at all in the biggest city, Stockholm. In fact, there a new red-green coalition formed by the Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party has taken over the Moderates to form the new leadership of the national capital.
That also means that the new chair of the municipal board (the Swedish equivalent of the mayoral position) was taken by Karin Wanngård (SD), who had already occupied that position from 2014 to 2018.
Now that Mrs Wanngård is back at the helm of Stockholm’s government, she can pursue some of the policies from her previous term (back then the coalition composition was the same but also included the Feminist Initiative).
Chief among those policies are once again the climate initiatives. The stated purpose of the new coalition is the establishment of the so-called ‘environmental car zones’, where only sustainable mobility vehicles, such as e-cars and bicycles are allowed to enter. The scope and details of such zones are yet to be determined, though, but the stated horizon for their introduction is 2024.
Åsa Lindhagen (Greens), former social councillor 2014-2018 in Stockholm, is also making a comeback in municipal politics and will be one of the upcoming councillors in the new board. Previously, she has, among other things, been Minister for Gender Equality for the Green Party in the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament).
According to her, the city's environmental goals must now be further sharpened, and Stockholm must become a world leader in reducing its emissions.
The city was concerned about street noise and disturbances to residents
This, however, is likely to change soon
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
This is city twinning for the 21st century
You can find it in the capital Sofia, where it was installed upon the initiative of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
People in both cities got to sit together both in person and virtually
The city was concerned about street noise and disturbances to residents
And the current administration plans to make Jardin del Turia Europe’s largest city green space by extending it to the sea
The aim is to have the public be able to admire the architectural design without distractions
The installation has been thought out with the concept of letting people “talk” to their dearly departed
It’s an urban space that has undergone several large-scale transformations throughout its existence
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Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
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Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
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