Creating liveable cities

We should enjoy the winter while we can. By 2100, scientists assume that the summer will be twice as long.

How can the construction industry create economic growth and lead urban development while at the same time minimise biodiversity decline and accelerate nature recovery? BNG could be the tool to help solve the challenges.

In a series of videos, we explain how, together with Letbek A/S, we are working towards closing the loop of all our end-of-life products containing plastic.

Liveable cities are not only more enjoyable to live in - they can also play a key part to reduce our carbon footprint. In this article, you can read about the five different ways a Liveable City contributes to sustainability and plays an important role in mitigating climate changes.

An innovation process initiated by the development project ‘Blue Green City lab’ in collaboration with Scandinavian Green Roof Institute has led to the further development of Milford’s passive irrigation system, CoreBlue. The result is a whole new product – Oasis™, an innovative green-blue SUDS-solution for harvesting and managing rainwater from urban roofs.

The Danish-based and internationally renowned landscape architect company, SLA, has a unique perspective on security measures in public spaces to prevent potential terrorist attacks. Rather than adding anti-terror barriers as a visible layer, SLA works with implementing security measures in the design-process from the start. We had a talk with Monica Galiana Rodriguez about the design approach to urban security within SLA.

The knowledge center Scandinavian Green Roof Institute develops blue-green solutions in collaboration with builders, architects, and private companies. We had a talk with Project Leader Tanja Hasselmark Mason about the initiative and creating more resilient cities for the future.

The 3-30-300 Rule for urban forestry and greener cities focuses on the positive impacts of urban forests and other urban nature. Applying the rule can help improve and expand city greening and promote health, wellbeing, and resilience.

On top of our cities lies the key to the future of urban design. Green roofs make up an important part of a growing effort to meet the challenges of climate change and ensure greener and more liveable cities.

As our cities grow, increased rainfall is becoming a bigger problem - putting pressure on both infrastructure and health. In the near future, cities will experience problems with flooding, issues with water quality, stormwater runoff, and damage to buildings, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Furthermore, extreme weather can create major local challenges with flooding and potential environmental problems if sewers are overloaded. These are just some of the severe consequences caused by heavy precipitation that, according to scientists, will continue to impact the future climate.

In current years, we see an increased focus not only on the appearance but also on the heritage and quality of trees and plants. It’s parameters like these that are crucial in order to benefit from green spaces in the city. The nursery plays an essential role in securing high-quality plants but is an overlooked part of the green value chain. Milford had a talk with Birkholm nursery about their new quality trademark Norðîc.

How do we make sure to create cities that enhance our health and well-being? And how does the future city look like? We have collected a selection of talks and podcasts on the green, liveable city.

Contrast Freestyle is a flexible system with endless opportunities. Wyatt Harding, CEO at Milford, shares a selection of his favorites projects with Contrast Freestyle, where Milford – in close collaboration with landscape architects – managed to combine design and functionality.

Copenhagen has been named the world’s safest city, according to a new ranking from The Economist Intelligence Unit. A ranking that has been under the influence of the pandemic, changing the concept of urban safety. We give an overview of the elements that according to the EIU make Copenhagen the safest city in the world.

The new Plusbus route in Aalborg is thought to combine functionality, sustainability, and urban development. It will solve an infrastructure problem and offer green and inviting urban spaces to the joy of the many commuters taking the bus on a daily basis. We had a chat with members of the Plusbus team.

Infrastructure is a central part of our society and a gathering place for many people, especially commuters and tourists. As the number of urban citizens is increasing, the need for recreational urban spaces is expanding. The solution is to take a more holistic approach to urban development and improve the lives of the many people living in the city.

The number of people living in cities and urban centers is rapidly growing and future urban mobility is under pressure. At Milford, we see the city as a place where a growing number of people should have access to nature, feel safe, and have calm spaces in perfect balance with a diverse transportation system and infrastructure.

Not only are sports fields suitable for playing football or similar sports activities. In fact, they can help us prepare for a future with more heavy rains due to climate change. The secret lies underneath the field in the form of underground stormwater retention systems.

Green Cities encourage the greening of public spaces and work for political influence and to add and maintain green public spaces throughout Europe. They believe that city nature is the answer to many of the current problems faced in the city. We had a talk with Green Cities Denmark about their work and why they see a green mindset as an important part of the future city.

As physical distancing and isolation have become necessary measures under the pandemic, many citizens have within the last year used public and outdoor spaces as opportunities to escape confinement. Researchers point to how COVID19 might make a shift towards healthier cities.

Our first solution for physical security provides security and protection and allows for urban spaces, where people can interact and play safely.

Solutions developed to keep our cities safe have become a normal sight in the everyday cityscape. But how do urban safety solutions resonate with liveable cities? And how do we prevent the city from closing in on itself, due to the increased need for securing our cities and keeping those who wish to harm us out? The solution can be found in a “security-by-design” mindset and a more holistic approach to urban safety.

Greening the city can be done in many ways, both horizontally and vertically – only the imagination sets the limit. Besides saving some of the horizontal meters – high in demand as they are – here are the benefits of adding some vertical greenery to your city.

Public spaces in the city are essential to people’s health and well-being. However, good public spaces just don’t happen in a vacuum. The report "Inclusive Healthy Spaces" by Gehl Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation aims to show how communities around the world are using their public spaces to improve the well-being and the health of their citizens.

We are launching our first solution for physical security from terrorist attacks, which is the first product of its kind, allowing you to design beautiful solutions which promote well-being and security.

The threat of climate change requires all of us to rethink the way we're producing and make the most of our resources. That's why we're introducing a new initiative with products made from plastic that would have otherwise become ocean waste.

The Danish company Letbek has been up- and recycling plastic since 1973. We have partnered with them to make sure no Milford product is wasted.‍

We're rethinking the design of our products to be 100 % recyclable. With a holistic view on the life-cycle of each product, we're moving towards a fully circular system. Because taking care of nature and planet is second nature to us.