Gritty port city of Malmo reborn as a seaside idyll

The Life: Malmo in Sweden has transformed itself from a dirty industrial town into green city that is offering inspiration to planners worldwide

Malmo, a Swedish port city that once belonged to Denmark, is transforming itself from a grimy industrial hub into a spick-and-span centre for eco-design.

Q&A: Malmo, a green machine at work.

Last Updated: May 23, 2011

What makes a green city tick? Malmo takes pride in its comprehensive waste management system, which works through extensive recycling, incineration for district heating and microbial treatment of organic waste to yield biogas. Littering and haphazard waste disposal are cardinal sins here. Do take note of the compartmentalised litter bins you are likely to find in your hotel room and in public spaces.

How do I get around? Public transport is provided by biogas-fuelled buses for commuter hops and electric trains for longer journeys. Information on bus frequencies and routes is clearly posted at bus shelters. On crowded roads, buses breeze past traffic jams in special lanes. Malmo buses are in electronic communication with traffic lights, enabling them to receive a priority green light before other traffic and for a few seconds longer when the signal is about to turn red. Bus journeys within Malmo can be faster than taxi trips.

Isn't there a healthier option? Another option in good weather is to rent a bike from one of the many public stands around the city. Free maps of Malmo's bike routes are widely available. Malmo's flat terrain makes it a cycling city to rival Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Dedicated bike paths and lanes are plentiful.

Success in reclaiming contaminated land has brought the community a spruced-up reputation as Sweden's "park city", as well as an unexpected flow of visitors.

They come to experience the new look and feel of the community whose name was once synonymous with Swedish heavy industry. Urban planners flock here, and visitors this month included a delegation from Masdar City, the Abu Dhabi Government's flagship green community development.

Malmo's metamorphosis began after the 1980s recession closed down its shipyards.

An iconic 138-metre-high crane, built by Kockums Industries in the 1970s for lifting ships, no longer towers over the city's Western Harbour. Its last European job, in 1997, was to lift the foundations of the high pillars of the Oresund Bridge, the visually stunning fixed link between southern Sweden and Denmark.

"The symbol of the old wharf, the Kockums crane, is now standing tall in South Korea," Malmo's municipal environment department comments in its guide to the West Harbour district. In its place, the port community has gained a new landmark: HSB Turning Torso, an award-winning office and residential tower created by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

This tower, at the heart of Western Harbour's first redevelopment project, is extensively equipped with energy-saving appliances and controls. The building has its own intranet, on which residents can check their energy and water consumption and view conservation tips.

Malmo also has its share of Gothic architecture and statues of past Swedish monarchs, but its unique attractions are as modern as Turning Torso.

Top 5: Malmo modern landmarks

1 Oresund Bridge.

2 Turning Torsotower.

3 Tragos Fountain.

4 Optimistorkestern sculpture.

5 Malmo Mosque.

Visitors venturing out on foot or bicycle in Western Harbour are in for a treat. Between the low-rise apartment buildings are pocket gardens, streams, small ponds and fountains fringed with rushes and wild flowers. Children run and laugh in playgrounds well shielded from commercial streets. Even urban wildlife has been taken into account, with wooden boxes for birds to nest and bats to roost adorning many exterior walls.

The boardwalk is a popular venue for residents and visitors to relax by the sea. In summer, hardy Swedes jump from the dock into Baltic waters no warmer than 18°C.

The Quote: "A Scanian is only Swedish during the ice hockey world championships." A modern proverb from the region around Malmo