Urban Insight

A global knowledge initiative

Expert knowledge, innovative thinking

Urban Insight is Sweco’s international knowledge platform, where experts come together to develop and share insights, facts and solutions for how to plan and design sustainable cities and societies of the future. Global and local initiatives will be organised throughout the year to inspire and open up discussions about sustainable urban planning.

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Discover the reports and themes

The reports, trend analysis and articles provide you with the latest practices in sustainable urban development.

The initiative is based on a cross-collaboration between experts, from different disciplines and fields, in which they generate insights and continuously publish insight reports in different formats. These insights will be shared throughout the year in a series on Urban Insight website.

Together with specialists, we explore topics within sustainable mobility and transport, energy transition, climate measures, health and well-being, circularity and resilience – highlighting the key measures for achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

How to build heatwave resilience – A study of European cities’ preparedness

Europe, the continent where warming is accelerating at the most alarming rate, faces a critical challenge: urban heatwave adaptation. A new Sweco study highlights this critical issue, revealing that European cities are struggling to keep pace with adaptation measures for the escalating heatwaves.

Sweco conducted a study of adaptation and resilience practices across 24 European cities — including six primary case study cities (Brussels, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Oslo, Stockholm) — analysing climate resilience policies and heatwave data and preparedness. Each of these cities is set to experience at least twice as many heatwave days in 2100 compared with 2020.

Urgent action is needed to mitigate heatwave impacts, build resilience, and create sustainable environments for all residents.

Download the latest report

Resilience

To become resilient special measures to ready our environments and communities need to be taken. Experts share insights on steps towards resilience – going from reactive to proactive.

Mobility and transport

Countless movements are done every day, putting pressure on cities, citizens and the environment. Explore key actions to reduce pollution and initiate sustainable modes of travel.

Energy

Citizens of Europe need energy to move around, be safe and to live their daily lives. As cities expand, so does the demand for energy. Discover solutions on how to meet the new demands.

Health and well-being

The theme highlights three main areas of interest. Healthy mobility, healthy buildings and cities, and healthy water systems. Specialists present key measures towards a healthy society.

Circularity

Increased circularity – a vital consideration to tackle the climate crisis, prevent biodiversity loss and address crucial social needs. In this series specialists identify key actions.

Climate action

Climate change increasingly brings flood warnings and more extreme weather conditions. In this report series Sweco presents special measures to ready our urban environments and societies.

About Urban Insight

Sweco is working with our clients and partners to create a more sustainable future. To enable us to share the knowledge we acquire and the lessons we learn – in terms of both local knowledge and global capacity – in the development of towns and cities throughout Europe, Sweco has launched a global initiative we call Urban Insight. The initiative takes a multidisciplinary approach and aims to develop insights into the development of towns, cities and societies, focusing on the citizen.

Podcast series

Welcome to the Urban Insight podcast – where science, facts, data and expertise mix with entertainment and an interest in planning and developing future sustainable societies.

We invite guests from the world of science as well as the business community, citizens, and political decision-makers. We focus on the biggest challenges of our time, exploring the citizens perspective and highlighting best practises from frontrunner cities and organisations around the globe. We discuss the best solutions and how to scale up together.

How to plan and design sustainable cities and societies of the future? Sweco guides the way.

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Stay informed. Urban Insight, straight to your inbox – subscribe and get latest news about sustainable urban development. Urban Insight offers key learnings based on data, facts and the accumulated expert knowledge from Sweco. As the leading architecture and engineering consultancy in Europe, we draw on an unparalleled knowledge base within our industry.