The resilient park that never will be finished

A big, new park in the Malmö area, Hyllie, focuses on stormwater, ecosystem services and social sustainability and is constantly evolving. The park is one of the City of Malmö’s many resilience projects, which was initiated in the green plan for Bo01, the world-famous European housing exposition in 2001.

Hyllie – the Öresund regions most climate smart district – is being planned with a high density of buildings with different functions as well as parks for greenery, ecosystem services, recreation, and new places for people to meet. The largest of the parks, with 6.5 hectares is Hyllievångsparken situated in the middle of Hyllie. When Hyllie is completed in  2040, it will be home to 25,000 Malmö residents and will then have created 16,000 new jobs.

Dreams and dialogue about a new park

In 2017, residents and students of all ages from Hyllie and the surrounding area as well as a construction company with interest in Hyllie met to help shape the future of the park. Residents wanted to have a space where they could enjoy coffee surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature.

A request for proposal was developed based on residents’ feedback and it was put out to bid. The winning proposal was The park of the future is never finished, by Swedish architectural office Nyréns. It is now being implemented in stages.

Hyllievångsparken – participation and sustainability for real

The uniqueness of this approach calls for the participation of Malmö residents at all stages of the development. Malmö residents can take part in the work required to establish and manage the park and they are also able to eat from the fruit trees and pick the flowers that grow in the park. On the construction playground, young and old residents can help build the greenhouse with its café, which will be a welcoming and safe meeting place for everyone. In this way, Hyllievångsparken is an inclusive and playful park.

The park contributes both to the green and climate smart Hyllie as it acts as a rain garden to protect surrounding buildings from future climate change. Water seeps through the park, storm water is delayed and purified while providing habitat for insects, birds and other small animals. The park offers great biodiversity, in terms of both plants and wildlife.

Hyllievångsparken is one of several measures the City of Malmö is taking to create a resilient city. It is part of the city’s long-term strategic work linked to the environment, climate and urban planning – one of the reasons the city is now applying to become a Resilience Hub for the Baltic Sea Region.

The park of the future is never finished

Hyllievångsparken opened its first stage in June 2021. The first summer has been characterized by the temporary beach volleyball court, barbecue pits and a multicolored flower bloom that has attracted a lot of attention from residents and wildlife alike. Moving forward, the park can become the green oasis and meeting place it is intended to be.

New ways of working – new challenges

To live up to the vision set out by our residents, the process requires both dialogue and sensitivity. Eva Delshammar, project leader, City of Malmö, explains:

For Hyllievångsparken to grow and change over time with the participation of Malmö residents, new ways of working are required – it is challenging, but it’s a worthwhile endeavor. We are in the middle of the process, and we do not know exactly how it will turn out. We want Hyllievångsparken to meet the needs of the community in Hyllie at different times in the future.

Contacts:

Camille Ploujoux, camille.ploujoux@malmo.se , tel. 0703-13 28 25

Eva Delshammar, eva.delshammar@malmo.se, tel. 0709 – 34 15 86

Photo credit: Miriam Preis