On the meeting agenda was to consider two pressing sustainability challenges of urban areas – supporting biodiversity in the city, and tackling urban heat. To help us we had a very knowledgeable and passionate crew of ecologists, conservationists and architects from Helsingborg municipality sharing the realities of working with biodiversity in a real-life setting. They and we weathered the first intense rainy snap of the season during an afternoon excursion that took us from the more concrete parts of the city to the greener parts, including a final cleansing walk through the aesthetic ravine Jordbodalen.
To discuss the topic of urban heat and social impact, Dr Maryam Nastar from LUCSUS held a lecture at the Helsingborg Innovation Centre called Parken on 27 September. There we considered the distinctions between climate mitigation and heat relief efforts that can either be reflective of the social realities of cities or exacerbate inequalities already there.
Camilla King, Xiangrui Kong and I are grateful for the generous contributions from Helsingborg municipality through Fredrik Bengtsson, Annika Kruuse, Linda Hellberg, Åsa and Andrée Olsson. Thank you to Parken and Elin Lundblad for hosting us at this cool facility. Mostly though, thanks to the participating ClimBEco students! You showed your grit through the rain and some initial hotel room issues. You showed your curiosity through asking engaging questions and discussing with each other in formal and informal settings. We thank you for your time and effort you put into this research school forum, making us all collectively better at understanding complex environmental and societal challenges, and understanding we are in it together.
Cheryl Sjöström, ClimBEco coordinator
