Green Space Factor and Green Points System - Malmö

The Green Space Factor and the Green Points System are two integrated green planning instruments adopted in the Västra Hamnen District in Malmö, Sweden for the Bo01 neighborhood. They are based on similar instruments in place in Berlin, Germany, and were part of a larger scheme to regenerate the Malmö district following its post-industrial decline by applying environmental concerns to urban planning. Each development in the neighborhood is required to achieve a green space factor of 0.6, which is calculated based on an equation that assigns factors to environmental features based on their ecologic benefits. Specifically, the green space factor is the sum of each surface type factor multiplied by the area of each surface type within the courtyard, divided by the courtyard area. A 0.6 factor translates into a requirement that sixty percent of the surface of new developments should be covered with high-quality green space. Landscape architects in Malmö's city planning office confirm that developers meet the required green space factor. While a green space factor requirement leads to more green space, it does not necessarily lead to more biodiversity, since developers can introduce green space less favorable to biodiversity though still received a satisfactory score. Thus, the Green Points System was introduced as a checklist for developers to choose one biotope and three animal housing or habitats. They are also asked to plant species that are rich in "nectar and/or berries, seeds and nuts." While the instrument is successful in promoting green space, its long-term impact on biodiversity is ambiguous. However, many see the instrument as successful, and consequently, policymakers in other regions or municipalities have adopted similar schemes, for example, in Malmö (as a whole), Lund, North West England, Southampton, and London.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Urban planning mechanisms

Challenges addressed

Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The Green Space Factor and Green Points System have several nature-based solution-related goals. For example, they attempt to (1) improve human health and well-being through access to green space, (2) promote biodiversity, (3) prevent flooding and minimize storm-water run-off, and (4) mitigate heat and provide cooler micro-climates. They do so by requiring that all new developments in the Bo01 neighborhood in Malmö achieve a green space factor of 0.6 and include at least 10 green points (such as shelters for birds/bats) from a list of 35.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Malmö City Government

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The Malmö municipal government owned the land for the Bo01 neighborhood and financed seventeen developers to construct the neighborhood. The developers appointed Klas Tham, a well-known architect, to head the project. Tham collaborated with the City of Malmö Planning Office to determine the philosophy for the Bo01 neighborhood. As a part of the planning process, the Malmö municipal government hosted a "Creative Dialogue" with various city officials, departments, and developers to co-develop legally binding requirements (i.e., the 'Quality Program') for the new developments. Both the Green Space Factor and the Green Points system requirements emerged from this "Creative Dialogue."

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Private sector, corporate, business

Type of actor involvement:

Co-planning or co-design of instrument (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The Malmö government funded most of the first developments, allowing the government to directly influence the developers. The municipal government and developers co-designed a 'Quality Program' for the neighborhood. The municipal government ultimately sold the land and earned profit from its investments that contributed to its municipal budget.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Developers determined legally-binding requirements in consultation with the Malmö municipal government.

Targeted actors:

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Corporate investment

Details about instrument financing:

The instrument does not require an implementation budget, though an ecologist evaluating the instruments was financed by a Swedish environmental program. Initial developments in the Bo01 neighborhood were, however, predominantly financed by the Malmö municipal government; subsequent developments near the Bo01 neighborhood in the broader Västra Hamnen District were privately financed.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Yes

Following the construction of the Bo01 neighborhood, a Swedish environmental program financed an ecologist to evaluate the Bo01 neighborhood from the perspective of green infrastructure. Link: https://www.redfrogforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/125-GRaBS-Expert-Paper-6-the-green-space-factor-and-the-green-points-system.pdf (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

A year after the housing expo, an ecologist evaluated the outcomes of the Bo01 and determined that almost all completed developments reached/almost reached the mandated green space factor. In terms of biodiversity, no baseline survey for biodiversity in the neighborhood exists, and therefore, the biodiversity impacts of the two instruments are ambiguous. However, the policy instruments have been reworked since 2001 and improved. Consequently, the instruments have been replicated in several other municipalities and regions, including cities as large as London. However, due to abundant green and blue space, the Bo01 neighborhood has become a popular neighborhood for Malmö residents and tourists to visit.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The key elements of success for the instruments include their effectiveness in ensuring the development of green space (though their effect on biodiversity are ambiguous) in a cost effective manner, since in terms of transaction costs, the instruments are easy to understand and greenery is least expensive if accounted for early in the planning process. Furthermore, the instruments are also locally appropriate due to collaboration between various stakeholders in the Malmö municipal government and developers. They are also easily applicable to other municipalities and regions, as several Green Space Factor tool-kits are available online, and several major cities and municipalities have replicated the original Berlin system and Malmö's later system. A few challenges were that the initial developments were not affordable, leading to some local resentment as the neighborhood provided housing to a white and wealthy community that did not represent Malmö's diversity. Correspondingly, developers considered multiple dimensions of sustainability (i.e. high quality architecture, social sustainability, economic sustainability, and ecological sustainability) to improve future developments. Moreover, the long-term biodiversity benefits are hard to determine, and thus it can be assumed that implementation of these instruments would benefit from other complementary policy instruments. For example, various developers later covered up green space or found shortcuts to receive a higher green space factor (e.g. sedum roofs) that did not necessarily benefit biodiversity. Therefore, the policy instruments should be carefully monitored as to not permit 'greenwashing' in urban developments and be updated to respond to emerging research, as recent research shows that the factor ratings no longer correspond to the scientific state-of-the-art.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Ponsford, M. (2021). "Swede dreams: can Malmö’s green points system help rewild London?" Available at: https://www.theguardian.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/05/malmo-sweden-success-rewild-london-aoe://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/05/malmo-sweden-success-rewild-london-aoe/environment/2021/feb/05/malmo-sweden-success-rewild-london-aoe (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Malmö stad. (2021). "The Green City." Available at: https://malmo.se/Welcome-to-Malmo/Sustainable-Malmo/Sustainable-Urban-Development/Western-Harbour/Green-City.html (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Vartholomaios et al. (2013). "The green space factor as a tool for regulating the urban microclimate in vegetation-deprived Greek cities." Available at: https://ugl.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/green-space-factor.pdf (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Delshammer, T. (2018). "NBS case study: Malmö." Available at: https://www.think-nature.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/15a-Case-studies-Malm%C3%B6-NBS-MS-workshop.pdf (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Massini, P, and Smith, H. "Planning for green infrastructure - the green space factor and learning from europe." Available at: https://projects2014-2020.interregeurope.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/tx_tevprojects/library/file_1551105810.pdf (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Kruuse, A. (2020). "The green space factor and the green points system." Available at: https://www.redfrogforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/125-GRaBS-Expert-Paper-6-the-green-space-factor-and-the-green-points-system.pdf (Accessed: 2 August 2022).

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://www.redfrogforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/125-GRaBS-Expert-Paper-6…

Photos

@I.Kruklitis