To ensure that communities around the world become future-proof and resilient in the face of climate change, it’s essential to create development models that focus on sustainability, circularity, and inclusiveness. Sweden is soon to become the first country where such a model is to be put into practice on a community level.
Silicon Valley-based ReGen Villages has teamed up with Swedish architecture firm White Arkitekter to develop ReGen Villages Sweden, a vision for smart, self-sufficient communities throughout the Scandinavian country.
The ReGen Villages concept is based on five core principles: high-yield organic and ecological food production, mixed renewable energy and storage systems, water and waste recycling, energy-positive architecture, and the empowerment of local communities.
Each ReGen Village would measure approximately 250,000 square meters with only a quarter of the site occupied by buildings, including around 250 to 300 houses. The rest of the area will be used for farming and food production, energy production, and water management.
Key to the design of ReGen Villages is the integration of a smart digital system called Village OS, that uses AI technology and machine learning to monitor all aspects of the community, from farming and recycling to residents’ energy and water usage.
ReGen Villages has spent the past four years meeting with Swedish municipalities, landowners, property developers, and stakeholders to push the project forward. White Arkitekter will handle the overall site planning and design of the community’s energy-positive architecture. The two firms hope to break ground on a ReGen Villages Sweden pilot project in 2020.