In February 2025, The Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County delivered its final report on the 2024 Climate Change and Sustainability Tour to Sweden. Discussing why we went, the report notes Sweden’s:
- electric mass transit and electric ferry technology,
- bike-friendly cities and integrated mobility,
- climate-smart urban planning,
- ethos of retrofitting and repurposing,
- community engagement in infrastructure projects,
- closed-loop resource systems to minimize waste and promote reuse, and
- policy frameworks that incentivize investment in green technologies, sustainable practices, and responsible land use.
Better still, the RA has followed up on a number of examples of ways in which delegation members have already implemented lessons learned in Sweden, including:
- Based on Sweden’s approach to sustainable and multimodal transit, Annapolis is taking steps to enhance its system with the deployment of two electric buses, launch of a local-area electric ferry, the potential feasibility of streetcar service and “car-free” days downtown
- The RA incorporated lessons from Stockholm Royal Seaport into two EPA Challenge Grant Applications: Glen Burnie Town Center Redevelopment and the City of Annapolis’ Redevelopment and Connectivity Initiatives.
- The RA is working with the Stockholm Environment Institute to develop a computerized modeling tool for that integrates emissions data, simulated responses and economic analysis to aid in project planning in Anne Arundel County.
- Inspired by Stockholm Royal Seaport’s zero-waste principles, the RA is working with research and private-sector partners to incorporate “zero-waste” solutions and soil amendments for stormwater management, carbon sequestration and ecosystem restoration.
The full report is available here.
The Denker Foundation 