During the Swedish presidency of the European Commission, Boverket (The Swedish National Agency for Planning, Building, and Housing) hosted three events in mid June related to the EU initiative New European Bauhaus (NEB), the EU Urban Agenda and the national architecture policies of the member states. The events were arranged in Malmö and gathered foremost personally invited high level civil servants from the 27 member states.
The NEB National Contact points (NCP) gathered on June 12th. The NCPs bridge between the various initiatives in the member states and the central EU institutions. They also serve as a gateway for contact with NEB initiatives in other member states and with national stakeholders. The meeting was co-organized with the central NEB unit i Brussels. On the day after, June 13th, the European Directors of Architecture gathered for discussions on the theme “From policy to practice”. The network consists of civil servants at the national level, who in ministries or governmental agencies work with questions concerning architecture and the designed living environment on a strategic level. A guided tour in two Malmö districts, Rosengård and Varvsstaden, and a joint dinner brought the participants of the two meetings together for common discussions and sharing of experiences.
Both days were characterized by an open and constructive dialogue about how the work within and between the member states can be developed further. Amongst other topics, the interconnections between various EU initiatives and how they can be strengthened were discussed. Tools and methods for raising the quality of the designed living environment, and how these can be further developed, combined and shared between countries were other topics. With many fruitful and inspiring contributions from these two meetings, Sweden is now passing the baton to Spain who is hosting the next NEB NCP and European Directors of Architecture meetings in October 2023.
On June 14-15th, a conference on the theme Creating Green Cities was co-organized with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and the think tank Movium. Departing from the EU Urban Agenda and related EU policies and initiatives striving for greener cities, the various conference sessions and events were highlighting the benefits of integrating multiple perspectives in the pursuit of more sustainable urban environments.
