The climate adaptation of a park in Malmö

Subject Case studie

In 2014, Malmö experienced extreme precipitation, causing widespread damage and financial losses, and such events are expected to happen more frequently as a result of climate change. The design of the new city park in Hyllie is an example of how the City of Malmö has incorporated the consideration of climate issues into its planning and implementation work.

Översvämning med bilar i vattnet
Flooded streets in Malmö during the heavy rain in 2014. Foto Stefan Milotti Enlarge Image

Climate adaptation in the planning stage

A changed climate means that we can expect rising sea levels and more periods of heavy precipitation, as well as more heatwaves. This represents an increased risk of flooding, which could destroy buildings, roads and public communications in towns. Following the cloudburst events of 2014, several thousand instances of flood damage were reported to insurance companies, at a cost of more than SEK 1 billion. The City of Malmö’s final bill for the 2014 cloudbursts is expected to total around SEK 160 million. The costs incurred as a result of various types of weather events are expected to increase in the changed climate of the future.

By adapting towns and cities to cope with the effects of a changed climate, the risks will be significantly reduced – with regard both to public safety and to the economy. Following the cloudbursts of 2014, the City of Malmö now incorporates the management of surface runoff into its daily planning work. More room is allocated for green areas and vegetation, which help to cleanse runoff water, slow down water flows in the event of cloudbursts and reduce the intensity of heatwaves, while also being beneficial for biodiversity. By having a large, well-planned green park in the middle of the new Hyllie urban district to the south of Malmö, consideration has been shown to the changed climate.

Konceptbild av multifunktionell klimatanpassad park
Multifunctional rain water pond in the middle of the park. Green house in the background. Concept image. Illustration Nyréns Arkitektkontor Enlarge Image

A park as a climate adaptation measure

A major depression in the ground provides the opportunity for risk-spreading, with room to accommodate 1,000 m3 of surface runoff water, and a further 6,000 m3 of water could be delayed in the event of a sudden cloudburst event. The surfaces in Hyllie’s urban park that have been designed to manage cloudbursts can also be used for other purposes when there is no such heavy rain. This means that the same area can be used both for the management of surface runoff and for recreation.

More examples of climate adaptation

This is one of many examples of climate adaptation. There are more in the collection of ideas being built up by the Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). The collection of examples has the aim of sharing experiences and providing ideas to everyone who works with climate adaptation. Examples describe concrete measures and challenges in several subject areas. They show how different actors have worked to adapt their activities to the climate changes that are already being noticed today and those that we cannot prevent in the future.