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PRESS RELEASE DATE: 14th April2008
EMBARGO: Immediate Release
Quality of life and sustainable development a focus of
LivCom Awards Champions
In France, buildings and property are responsible for 40%
of energy consumption and 25% of greenhouse-gas emissions.
All efforts made in this sector will therefore have a real
impact on the environment in the medium term. For several
years now, the city of Lyon has positioned itself on the
national stage as one of the forerunners of a
cross-disciplinary approach to the problem.
Its objective now is to become a European pioneer in the
field of sustainable development and its achievements were
recognised at the 2007 LivCom Awards.
In Lyon, 96,000 sqm (net floor space) of offices either
already completed or under construction meet the specific
environmental requirements established for office premises.
Lyon celebrated being a double prize winner at the 2007
LivCom Awards collecing first prize for "enhancement of the
landscape" (category: towns and cities of all sizes) for the
Berges du Rhône project, and second prize for "overall
quality of living environment" (category: cities with
200,000 to 700,000 inhabitants), just behind Malmö in
Sweden.
Ilmar Reepalu, social democrat and Mayor of Malmö, has been
working since the mid-nineties to change Malmö from an
industrial town to a modern, green capital of the region.
And with great success – Malmö has received numerous prizes
for its green projects, most recently the prestigious 2007
‘LivCom’ award.
“The beginning of the nineties was a time of crisis for
traditional industry in Malmö and 26,000 people lost their
jobs. We needed to change the priorities of the town from
industrial production to knowledge economy and as a part of
this process we wanted to go green,” explains Reepalu.
For more than 15 years the city council has been working to
inspire a more eco-friendly mentality among the citizens of
Malmö. The approach is whole-hearted and grasps everything
from encouraging school children to plant trees to
introducing better public transportation. The flag-ship
project is the west harbour of Malmö – an old industrial
district which the city council has transformed into an
eco-friendly urban area. “We wanted to show that if you take
the best and most innovative knowledge you can actually
build a completely sustainable housing area,” says the
Swedish mayor.
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