Inga-Lill Hallberg remembers Augustenborg as it once was. “This was a really green area when I was little,” she says, “and there was everything here that you could want – post office, banks, chemist, food shops and loads of community groups.”

Today the suburb of Malmö in Sweden is coming back to life in one of Europe’s most ambitious eco-regeneration projects. Augustenborg will soon be home to the largest roof garden in Europe, as well as a state-of-the-art football stadium and ice rink.

Already tenancy turnover is down by 20% as the MKB Housing Company tackles housing, transport, leisure, recycling, infrastructure and community life – with residents taking a leading role in the design and implementation.

Augustenborg fell into decline in the 1980s with the fading influence of shipyards that provided work. The 1940s flats were outdated, with 1970s cladding and many lacking the basics such as lifts. Refugees from eastern Europe were grateful for housing, but could not get into the labour market so unemployment soared.

MKB, wholly owned by the city of Malmö, raised funds to get the regeneration underway. The project has been backed by cash from the Swedish government programme for sustainable urban development and from the EU.

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