Creative collisions for an attractive city

VIDEO CLIP: Innovation happens through creative collisions between people with different views. That is the core of Älvstaden Innovation Lab, which uses a new method for generating ideas for sustainable city development.

At the final pitch for the innovation lab, 13 groups of 65 people from companies, city and academia present one concept each, meant to solve a challenge for future Gothenburg. For example reducing traffic jams, making shabby areas attractive and turning rain into an asset.

– Interesting ideas are presented, big and small: a floating food market on the canal, central goods transports on the river and public toilets designed by artists. The chance of these ideas becoming real increase with the fact that they are generated by people in the business, says Amanda Termén, strategic communications counsultant at IMCG, present at the final pitch.

The concepts have been developed in six workshops this spring, where competences from construction companies, transport firms, university and others have been merged to contribute to the future Gothenburg. To improve the concepts even further, the so called loop method has been deployed.

– It is common that for example architects sit at home and develop new concepts, but using the loop method means alternating between developing ideas internally and reaching out and asking the target group: is this good, are we on the right way? Otherwise you go back to your desk and change it. It’s about interactivity, says Lina Lundgren, project manager of the innovation lab at Älvstranden Utveckling.

Here you can see the creator of the loop method, Mariah ben Salem Dynehäll, tell about how the method improves innovation (in Swedish).

The innovation lab is part of Gothenburg’s new innovation platform for sustainable city development.

Photo: Beatrice Törnros/Mediabank Göteborg & Co