ARTICLES
When work becomes passion and passion becomes reality / Interview Jacob Bundsgaard, mayor of Aarhus & alderman Marc pera Christensen / Go Green Aarhus 2017 / Theory U / The Yes! Municipality / Godsbanen Trailerpark / Furture Practice- Knowledge & Experiments / Entrepreneurial Portraits /City of ceres : How to build a City / Hope is Green / Aarhus University: Student Incubator / Let's Go Co-Create / Steps toward a Sustainable Future / Green Entrepreneurial portraits / Sustainable Footprint / Eco System /The Thornico Building / Spot a Wealthy Investor
ALL TRANSLATED BY :
HESTER CALLAGHAN
Go Green Aarhus 2017
In 2017 Aarhus will bear the title of European Capitalof Culture. A title that has been won following four years of intense preparations in collaboration with the whole of the Central Denmark Region. One of Aarhus 2017’s core values is sustainability, which expresses a positive beliefin culture and sustainability as absolute necessities in the development of a future modern urban society.
Around 50% of the world’s populationlives in cities and urbanisationstoday. This figure will rise to75% by the year 2050. A majority of the world’s resources are used, consumed and over consumed in cities. At the same time, cities are the hub of much of the knowledge and technology that we will need in dealing with environmental and resource challenges in the future. Sustainability is therefore especially relevant in an urban context and has come into particular focus in recent decades on the European political agenda as an objective for a whole new way of living, working and organising ourselves with the goal of global responsibility. Aarhus 2017 is therefore not just about music, film, theatre, art and literature. We define culture much more broadly – as our way of using, consuming and experiencing the city; as our way of interacting with the city and each other in public spaces. Aarhus 2017 is just as much about drawing, forming and drafting scenarios for our shared future. We wish to rethink our existing knowledge, habits and experiences with an aim to creating a modern city society that does not exploit neither human nor environmental resources.For this reason RETHINK is the central theme of Aarhus 2017.
GREENING AARHUS 2017
Why not go a step further and use our year as capital of culture to become the first European Green Capital of Culture? Aarhus and the Central Denmark Region are already strong players in the fields of clean tech, circular economy, food innovation and green ntrepreneurship and therefore have much of the knowledge, the partners and not least the ambitions to become Europe’s first green and sustainable city of culture. Aarhus 2017 wishes to be an open and favourable place to try out new solutions for the challenges of the city of the future at the crossroads between art, creativity and sustainability. Our vision is for Aarhus and the Region to be visible from the Moon in 2017. Everyone that visits the cultural capital should find a city and a region with an unmistakeable blue and green identity with beehives in backyards, floating parks in the harbour, urban farming on the city’s roofs as well as herbs, trees and flowers on the streets, walls, plazas and squares. They should visit green art and cultural institutions that focus on eco-aesthetics and circular economy and they should experience the first steps being taken towards Aarhus’ and the Region’s ambitious goals regarding CO2 neutrality and the use of renewable energy. Aarhus 2017 is therefore working towardsestablishing Aarhus Green Living Lab in Mejlgade. A 1:1 platform for developing and exchanging ideas, knowledge and nextpractice for the sustainable city of the future in the field between art and culture, creativity and business, education and entrepreneurship, with a strong sense of local ownership and global responsibility at its core. The work is already underway – we encourage all green and sustainable people in the city and in the Region to join our venture to develop a common green strategy for Aarhus and the Central Denmark Region.