SWEDEN:A state-of-the-art green housing development in Stockholm is provoking controversy over the scope of its regulations, which some say are an intrusion into residents' private affairs, writes ISABEL CONWAY

WELCOME TO Sweden’s “green residents-only” district – a revolutionary housing project being developed in Stockholm. In it, a sustainable lifestyle will not just be encouraged, but will be actively “taught”, and householders’ lifestyle and exercise habits will also be closely monitored.

It all sounds a little too much like one of the ideas expounded in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, or even a quote from a Communist handbook, according to critics, who are questioning how exactly city officials plan to monitor unhealthy eating habits or the purchase of eco-friendly products. Yet many Swedes are excited by the new project, the plan for which has been passed unanimously by Stockholm City Council, calling it ambitious but workable.

The environmental programme for the city’s state-of-the-art Norra Djurgårdsstaden (Royal Seaport) – one of Europe’s largest urban development projects, and described as a model for the future of Stockholm – sets out a raft of stringent regulations concerning future residents’ environmental and lifestyle responsibilities.

These include sorting waste, engaging in healthy eating habits, buying eco-friendly brands, exercising, using public transport, walking or cycling to work and even “socialising” with other residents.

If all that sounds daunting to those interested in residing in the district (which has a mix of private and public housing on offer) but who may doubt their “green credentials”, help is on the way.

Prospective residents will be offered special courses on green living techniques, it was reported. A “residents’ school” (Bosskolan) – part of the powerful Swedish tenants association/co-operative system, which draws up and enforces regulations and can even force residents who persistently break the rules to move – will provide instruction and guidelines. Area ambassador networks, to promote the environmental profile of the project, are also being established.

Residents can expect to receive a personalised itinerary to help them on their eco-friendly way to and from work. And in their leisure time they will be offered health-oriented activities in adjoining nature and waterside areas.

The project initiators believe it has a better chance of working in Sweden than in most other countries because people there are already so environmentally conscious and interested in sustainable lifestyles. Visitors to Stockholm and other Swedish cities may notice how provocative littering can be to locals.

Throw an empty package or sweet wrapper on the street and the chances are that a passerby, who would normally not get involved in what was happening around them, will scold you or deliver a lecture on the importance of keeping the country clean.

A total of 5,000 homes will be constructed between now and 2025 on the former brownfield industrial area at Norra Djurgårdsstaden. There will be an average of half a parking space per apartment to discourage car ownership and encourage car pooling.

But it will not be enough to simply build energy efficient homes and supply an excellent public transport system to drastically reduce car use, all part of the City Council’s ambitious plan.

“When you buy a technical gadget you expect a comprehensive instruction book,” explains Swedish environmental and sustainability strategist Tomas Gustafsson, one of those who drew up the guidelines for Norra Djurgårdsstaden. “But it usually does not come [when you buy] a new apartment. Now this help will be available.”

Practical skills, such as how to use a garbage disposer, and manage water conservation and rubbish disposal will be taught, and there will be presentations on eco-friendly goods.

More controversially, the residents’ school will branch out into sustainable lifestyles for residents, teaching healthy eating and exercise, car pooling and how to socialise with neighbours.

With a reputation for being rather formal and reserved – and indeed comfortable with solitude – Swedes in general do not make friends easily.

“Although green lifestyles will be the priority there is a social dimension to this project. Creating a sense of connection, and arranging meeting places where people can get to know the community, is part of the overall concept,” says Gustafsson.

The ‘socialising with the neighbours’ part of the project is bound to fail for the sole reason that most Swedes do not make friends easily with strangers, one reader of a Swedish newspaper commented, adding that informal contacts were usually enhanced when Swedes were already “sauced up” after a few drinks.

However, the track record of the establishment of eco-communities suggests that the project has a strong chance of success.

The forerunner to Norra Djurgårdsstaden, Hammarby Sjöstad, one of the first eco-communities developed anywhere, emanated from Richard Register’s “eco-city” theory on building cities for a healthy future. It was the Swedish capital’s largest and most ambitious urban development project in recent times: a brownfield transformation built on top of a vast, formerly badly polluted, industrial and harbour area.

The desire to create “eco-profile” communities which use less energy, water and food, and produce less waste and CO2 emissions, has been a driving force in Swedish urban planning and development for decades.

Stockholm’s holistic approach to metropolitan living in Hammarby Sjöstad, a suburb of 25,000-plus residents, works extremely well. Contributing to its success is a pervasive social code in Sweden, known as Jante law, whereby everyone has equal position and opportunity. According to Jante law, public institutions are generally trusted and respected, and honesty is valued.

Hammarby Sjöstad, one of Europe’s most successful examples of sustainable living projects, uses 40 per cent less energy and water than a typical community elsewhere on the continent, and has seen a 40 per cent reduction in local traffic. The project construction costs amounted to only 2 per cent more than those of a non eco-community and property values there are up by nearly 30 per cent, indicating the popularity and desirability of such eco-communities.

Hammarby Sjöstad’s household waste is taken to a waste-to-energy plant and used to heat its buildings. Solar panels produce hot water, while triple-pane windows keep out the cold, even in the Arctic winter conditions which are the norm in Sweden.

Grey water from domestic use is converted to biogas and used to fuel community buses – running perfectly on time, according to Scandinavian schedules. In Norra Djurgårdsstaden, meanwhile, planned district rail and boat services will aim to eradicate the need for cars in the future.

What the Swedes call the “Hammarby model” outlines environmental solutions for waste, energy, water and sewage and encourages citizens to take an active part in eco-friendly living by using an integrated waste, water and energy system.

According to planners, technology has advanced to the stage where Stockholm’s Royal Seaport should become energy neutral within 20 years. The new suburb aims to reduce carbon emissions to 1.5 tons per person per year, a twofold improvement over Hammarby Sjöstad. As Swedish newspapers recently proclaimed: “The goal is to make this new district a showcase, and entirely fossil-fuel free by 2030. Such an accomplishment would be another milestone in the eco-city movement in Stockholm.” The city was awarded Europe’s first Green Capital award in 2010.

The public reaction to the green residents-only new district is typically Swedish: live and let live, with most believing people should have the choice to live within stringent green residency rules if they want to be truly environmentally friendly. However, the developers do not have an answer to the concerns of those who argue that, while parents may adhere to the model, their future children could rebel against the philosophy and dismantle it.

A reader of The Local, Stockholm's online newspaper, which carried reports on the project, said: "It is seriously scary. Will renegades from the dictated norm be converted into green manure and will your children be sent for re-education to the Pol Pot memorial college?"

According to a Stockholm City Council spokesman, the answer is no.

"A hypothetical individual could ignore the guidelines, but people here do not work like that," Stockholm vice mayor for urban development Joakim Larsson, chairman of the development committee co-ordinating the project told The Local. "Stockholmers are very environmentally conscious and many are interested in such a lifestyle."