Chalmers: Grant to establish centre for development of sustainable cities

The cities of the future must be designed to meet the great challenges of climate change, environmental destruction and many resource allocation issues. MISTRA, the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, has granted a substantial sum to Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg together with partners in the larger Gothenburg urban region and internationally, to fund the development of a world-leading centre for holistic development of sustainable communities.


“We are very excited that the Gothenburg region has been selected among several strong candidates to lead the nation in developing the communities of the future. It is our goal that the centre will serve as an international example,” said Karin Mark ides, President of Chalmers University of Technology. “It will be used to test new knowledge, methods and techniques that may benefit people locally and globally.” 


The two universities maintain a discussion on community development and on identifying what are important research areas from a user perspective, which is one reason why the centre will be built in Gothenburg. MISTRA also stressed the support from cooperation partners and the universities’ strong international networks for distributing and acquiring new knowledge, as another reason for its choice.


“One of the centre’s strengths is its broad approach – it engages researchers, businesses and decision makers. The combination of qualified scientific competence and political vision will make it possible to find new solutions for sustainable development,” says Pam Freedman, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg.
Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg will, together with the Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL), provide the scientific competence.

The City of Gothenburg, the Gothenburg region and the larger Astra Gotland region will provide the political vision and advanced projects and processes for sustainable development. Integration with institutes and businesses will make it possible to develop, apply and test new knowledge in real life, and therefore to make positive changes in society.


“As a representative of the City of Gothenburg, I am convinced that this will open up doors and intensify and inspire our work for a sustainable development of communities. It will also constitute a natural platform for cooperation with the rest of the world. This is immensely important for the City of Gothenburg,” says Gothenburg mayor Annelid Heathen.