Spatial myopia: sustainability, urban politics and Malmö city

Abstract

When cities in the global north are considered environmental sustainable, this largely depends on how one measures emissions and understands space. Production-based and consumption-based approaches are two different ways of measuring emissions, but they are not simply measuring techniques: they relate also to different interests, they hide and reveal power relations, and they come with very different spatial implications. In this paper, we examine the Swedish city of Malmö, and the city district of Western Harbour in particular, which is often considered an environmental ‘role model’. We argue that this reputation depends precisely upon how we understand space and measure emissions. We argue that so-called sustainable cities and city districts in the global north can only be considered environmental role models if one chose to ignore the fact that they completely depend upon emissions being emitted elsewhere, and ignore any relation between affluence and emissions.

Keywords

• sustainability
• urban politics
• malmö
• ecological footprints
• place branding
• green fix
• climate change
• urban sustainable development
• production-based and consumption-based approaches to measuring emissions
• ecological modernisation