Country | Name of initiative | Purpose | Responsible authority or organisation | Sector areas |
Norway | Urban Growth Agreements (Byvekstavtaler, belønningsordningen, og bymiljøavtaler) | To support municipalities/city-regions to achieve the zero-growth goal, by promoting the development of smarter and greener cities through the reallocation of road space to uses other than driving and parking private cars. Supported measures must be solutions that ensure better accessibility and facilitate the use of transport modes other than private cars. | Ministry of Transport | Transport infrastructure Mobility Environment Climate |
Norway | Klimasats | Financially supporting municipalities with cutting greenhouse gas emissions and engage in the transition to a low-emission society | Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet) | Environment |
Norway | Area-based initiatives (Områdesatsinger) | Improve local services and the quality of life in communities where it is needed the most. | Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (KDD) | Social urban development (inclusion, integration, and segregation) |
Norway | FutureBuilt | Focused on circular and green transitions in the building industry, by supporting pilot projects out as a strategy for changing the way buildings and urban areas are developed. | Local multistakeholder coordination in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (KDD) and other national agencies | Circular economy Building sector |
Norway | Gnist | Complement, reinforce and realize existing initiatives and plans in the municipalities, but also implement new development projects. The starting point is local needs, advantages and premises. A key part is the exchange of knowledge and experience in innovative local and business development across municipalities and regions. | DOGA (Design and architecture Norway) | Innovation Economic growth Built environment |
Norway | Cultural heritage | Funding to support preservation monuments and cultural environments in private ownership; ensuring restoration is being done in accordance with antiquarian guidelines | Directorate for Cultural Heritage | Cultural heritage |
Denmark | Partnership for living city centers (Partnerskab for levende bymidter) | A partnership with the aim to find solutions to the widespread challenges facing many town centres in small- and medium sized cities | Ministry of Finance, Business and Financial Affairs Realdania Danish Housing and Planning Authority | Economic growth Retail Development Planning |
Denmark | Closer to II: Cities with spaces for everyone (Tættere på II: Byer med plads til alle ) | Aims to support more affordable housing in Denmark, allocated for example through mixed-cites fund. | Ministry of Interior and Housing | Housing |
Denmark | Housing- and Planning agency subsidy pools Bolig- og plansstyrelsen tilskudspuljer (Byfornyelsespuljer, områdefornyelse, landdistriktspulje, nedrivningspulje) | In Denmark, several subsidy pools exist that support various sustainable local development initiatives. Under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing, the Danish Housing and Planning Authority oversees many of the funding pools targeting sustainable local development. Public and private actors can apply for project funding under specified criteria | The Danish Housing and Planning Authority (Bolig- og plansstyrelsen) | Cross-cutting |
Denmark | DK2020 | Supports a multistakeholder network with national reach and participation at local level. It targets local climate sustainability transitions. It has contributed to a commitment among the participating municipalities to develop climate action plans. | Realdania | Environment Climate |
Iceland | Transport agreement between the state and municipalities in the capital area | A contract between municipalities and state on development of transport infrastructure and public transport in the capital area. The aim is to increase safety, improve transport for all modes of transport and reduce delays, greatly increase public transport and reduce pollution caused by particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions by promoting a carbon-free society to meet the climate goals of governments and municipalities. | Association of municipalities in the Capital area Icelandic Road Administration (State) Ministry of infrastructure | Environment Climate Transport Planning Mobility |
Iceland | Equity Loans | A form of aid for those who need assistance to be able to enter the real estate property market. One of the justifications for introducing the remedy was also to contribute to a more socially sustainable urban development. | The Housing and Construction Authority (state) | Housing |
Iceland | Public housing support (Stofnframlög fyrir almennar íbúðir) | The state and local authorities are allowed to provide initial contributions for the construction and purchase of affordable rental apartments. The goals is to contribute to a more sustainable urban development, contribute to less segregated neighbourhoods and assist municipalities in securing a balanced socioeconomic mix in their neighbourhoods. | Reykjavik City Connected to BTR Borgarlína | Housing |
Iceland | Green Steps | The Green Plan is Reykjavík City's strategy which sets the scene for finance, investments and green key projects for the next 10 years. It summarizes in one place the main key projects and green investments in the city and is based on sustainable thinking and a clear vision of a carbon-neutral urban society. | Reykjavik City Connected to BRT Borgarlína | Climate Transport |
Iceland | 20-minute neighbourhood | The plan describes the 20-minute neighbourhood so that within it there is a good supply of diverse housing options and all the main services. It will be assumed that residents will have no further access to the central core than a 20-minute walk. Local services are spread so that the residents of each district have access to the most necessary services such as kindergartens, primary schools, sports and leisure activities and a grocery store within a 5–10-minute walk. The focus of the town's 20 minutes reduces the need for travel and should enable as many people as possible to go on their errands on foot or by bicycle. | The Housing and Construction Authority (state) Ministry for Social affairs Ministry of infrastructure | Climate Transport Planning Health |
Finland | Sustainable City Programme (Kestävä kaupunki –ohjelma) | Aim to increase and deepen the cooperation between municipal developers by applying pilot projects to solve common urban sustainability challenges and spread best practices to be incorporated into city management. | Ministry of the Environment | Low-carbon/Climate IoT Health Environment Social Sustainability |
Finland | Regional land use development tool (Alueidenkäytön kehityskuva) | The Regional land use development tool is meant to be used continuously in various public sectors to enable better planning and decision making. It produces information about the current state and future of Finnish regional and community structures (i.e. the location of housing, services and traffic). The tool is also used to gather scattered information on the state of the built environment in one place to make it more accessible for users. This tool differs from many other national support initiatives, since they do not consist of available funding, but they are developed by state funding in order to support local and regional planning authorities with SUD efforts. | Ministry of the Environment | Land use planning Transportation Climate Energy Service networks Housing |
Finland | Project ‘Ryhti’ (Ryhti-hanke) | The Ryhti database aims to gather information such as detailed plans, and permits for building, demolition and environmental measures. It targets users such as property owners, the residents, the business sector, researchers, and decision makers. | Ministry of the Environment Finnish Environment Institute SYKE | Buildings Planning Real estates Built environment |
Finland | Suburban programme (Lähiöohjelma) | The suburban programme aims to reinforce the comprehensive development of suburban areas and prevent segregation in the largest Finnish cities. The main objective is to facilitate the well-being of residents and promote the vitality of these areas by positive, long-term development. | Ministry of the Environment | Social inclusion/integration Segregation |
Finland | Municipal Climate Change Solutions Programme (Kuntien ilmastoratkaisut -ohjelma) | The programme aims to encourage and speed up the local and regional work with reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the most cost-efficient ways possible. This is done through enhanced partnership and cooperation between the state and municipalities on environmental initiatives, funding of local and regional environmentally friendly solutions and spreading of best practices. | Ministry of the Environment | Cross-sectoral environment and climate cooperation Low-carbon transport Energy efficiency |
Finland | Ecosystem agreements (Ekosysteemisopimukset) | Agreements on the strategic allocation of public and private financing to local research and innovation programs in 16 university cities were signed in 2021 to promote competitive ecosystems. The working programme is founded on the main themes of low-carbon, digital technology, and welfare and health. The objective of the agreements is to build innovation ecosystems, in other words, to intensify cooperation within networks, strengthen key competences and increase effectiveness. | Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment | Nature environment Nature Protection Biodiversity Environment Climate |
Finland | MAL-agreements: Land use, housing and transport agreements | The intentions with the MAL-agreements are to facilitate cooperation between the municipalities in a city-region, but also cooperation between the state and the municipalities. Each agreement sets concrete objectives and connects measures, in order to develop housing under the coming years, as well as to improve the functioning and competitiveness of urban regions | Ministry of the Environment Ministry of Transport and Communications Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment Ministry of Finance the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA) Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom Regional Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment | Land use Housing Transportation |
Sweden | The Strategic innovation programmes (SIP) | The Strategic innovation programmes (SIP) is a joint initiative between Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. It consists of seventeen programmes, divided thematically, and aims to support sustainable solutions to societal challenges that have been identified as strategically important for Sweden, in alignment with the 17 SDGs The major initiative in this programme is Climate Neutral Cities 2030 with the objective to achieve climate neutrality and good life for all in cities within planetary boundaries. The initiative includes 23 Swedish municipalities, that together account for 40% of Sweden’s population, and five partnering government agencies. | Vinnova Formas Swedish Energy Agency | Bioeconomy Transport infrastructure information and communication technology process industry (i.e. metal industries) health and medical technology Built environment power electronics mining |
Sweden | Urban environment agreements (UEA), Stadsmiljöavtal | Municipalities and regional authorities can apply for a government grant for initiatives that aim to increase the usability and use of regional and local public transport and/or biking as well as more sustainable freight transport or increase of housing construction. The initiatives should also lead to more energy effective solutions in public transport and/or biking, streamlining of freight transport and good built environments. | Swedish Transport Administration | Public transport systems infrastructure |
Sweden | Support Programme for Renovations and Energy Efficiency Measures in certain areas | Developers and property owners could apply for a grant aimed at reducing rent in apartments buildings where renovations and energy efficiency efforts have been made. Aimed at particularly vulnerable urban areas, the initiative allocated SEK 800 million per year. This was divided into two parts, one part was dedicated to grants for renovations and the other part for energy efficiency measures. The grant to energy efficiency measures was provided to the property owner if the renovation contributed to at least a 20 percent increase of energy efficiency of the building. | Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning Swedish Energy Agency | Housing Energy |
Sweden | Climate Leap | The Climate Leap, (Klimatklivet), is a funding scheme for local and regional initiatives to enable reducing emissions of hazardous climate and greenhouse gases. It is estimated that the initiatives will contribute to an additional reduction of 1.9 million tons of CO2 per year over a 16 years period | County Administrative Boards The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency | Transport infrastructure industry housing other buildings |
Sweden | Green and safe societies | The aim of this initiative is to develop outdoor public spaces such as parks, squares and walking trails in vulnerable areas into more health-promoting and verdant spaces as well as to shape outdoor environments into secure, pleasant and inclusive spaces. This includes the conversion of hard-made surfaces into more verdant greenery, by planting trees and bushes. | Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning | Environment Ecosystem services urban greenery social urban development |
Sweden | Visions: in the North | The project Visions: in the north was initiated by the Council for Sustainable Cities (Rådet för hållbara städer) with the aim of investigating new ways forward in the creation of sustainable social development. The main aim of the project Visions: in the North, is to bring together several creative professions to look at the question: How can we create beautiful, inclusive and sustainable communities that we can all be proud of for generations? | Council for Sustainable Cities Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning ArkDes Swedish Energy Agency Formas Vinnova Involved municipalities | Housing Architecture Environment Infrastructure Climate |