Vegetation is a much appreciated element in our outdoor environment that has many advantages as well for the climate as for people?s health. However in some types of environments vegetation may be problematic. Especially in urban areas with limited space, solid surfaces, pollutions, and warm and dry climate. In these environments vegetations may have difficulty surviving and moreover it may have a negative impact on the environment around it.

Biogas is a renewable energy produced through anaerobic digestion, which means that organic matter is degraded by microorganisms under anaerobic conditions. The produced biogas can then be used for cogeneration, electricity, heat or upgraded to vehicle gas. Eskilstuna Energy & Environment AB has four digesters at Ekeby water sewage treatment plant, Eskilstuna. One of the biogas reactor (RK4) is equipped with a jet-mixing system while the remaining digester uses top-mixing. The mixing system is an important parameter to achieve optimum operating conditions for the process regarding gas production and degree of digestion.

Drain water heat recovery is an uncommon measure in multi-unit residential buildings. There istechnology available for the purpose but the knowing and experience of the heat recovery systems islittle. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the future potential of drain water heat recovery inmulti-unit residential buildings.A major part of the multi-unit residential buildings in Sweden were built during modernismen andrekordåren (1940?1975). Many of the buildings have worn out drain and water supply systems andmany are in need of a general refurbishment.

Hidden away in the pristine landscape on the northeast shore of the Dominican Republic, the remote village of Miches is on the verge of shifting its economic resource base from traditional fishing into what could become an international model for sustainable tourism. The aim of this thesis was to produce a vision of a waterfront park near the center of the village; demonstrating concept-based landscape design that reflects the goals of sustainable development originating from the local incentive structure. A composite landscape analysis and design concept both served to inform and guide the design work, which was executed through model building, hand drawings, and production of a visual presentation in the format of an architectural competition entry. The design concept, All invited, signifies the distinction between the development that is about to take place in Miches and the otherwise common all-inclusive resorts, where tourists are set apart from the local community and spend most of their time within the fenced-off premises of the hotel. All invited also captures the typical Dominican hospitality, and mirrors the aspirations of turning Miches into a safe and welcoming place for visitors. The result is a public park design that is equally inviting local residents as it is to tourists, and where the unique qualities of the site are emphasized without being exploited.

In today?s modern age, energy consumption has become a major issue, both from an environmental viewpoint and cost perspective. Because of a rapid technologic change and increased costs of production of electricity, the demand to develop effective methods for energy efficiency industries have grown.The electricity-intensive industries, such as plastic industry, the demand to reduce energy consumption has grown significantly over the past 10 years, which have led to the development of different methods to determine and locate energy-consuming parts in the industry. This also means being able to prioritize and organize activities in the industry.In this study the measurements of voltage, current, power and PF performance on injection molding machines (K-TEC 275 form Ferromatik Milacron in Germany) with a focus to locate, within a machine, various measures that could improve energy use in the plastics industry, in this case RostiGP in Gislaved. These measurements have been carried out with the help of a power quality clamp meter to carry out time logs of the machines for some time during normal word rate.

Summary                                                               Overweight and obesity in Sweden and in the rest of the industrialized world continues to increase. This results in increased costs both to society and the healthcare system. Part of this development is the increasing consumption of sugar and that is what should be restricted to tackle this growing social problem. Part of the increased consumption of sugar in Sweden was the launch of pick and mix ingrocery stores.  This study aims to examine how store managers look at their public health responsibilities, and investigate how managers of grocery stores think about health and health aspects in general and about the sugar consumption in particular. Semi-structured "face to face" interviews was used to collect data and seven grocery store managers participated in the study.

The examination has been performed at Bjerking AB, which is an architectural and engineering company. Bjerking AB has the ambition to be a member of Green Building.The Green Building program developed in year 2005 by The European Commission, the program is an environmental system with the aim to improving energy efficiency within the sectors of non-residential buildings. The minimum requirements to participate the program are following: in new-built buildings the calculated energy consumption must be 25 % lower than the requirements in the BBR (Building regulations) and in refurbishment the reduction must be 25 % lower than before the optimization.The aim of this study has been to examine and review the company Bjerking AB's energy efficiency work in the project of building the school/kindergarten S:ta Maria Alsike, where the goal is to get this building Green Building classed. A description of requirements to become a member of the Green Building has also accomplished in the thesis.The methods performed in this study are literature review, searches on the Internet, studies on the project database for facts/values, calculation of energy consumption and interviews of members of the Green Building. The following issues have been dealt with in the report;-          Did the building in the project manage the requirement to achieve an   energy consumption that is 25% lower than the requirements in BBR?-          What technical measures/system was selected in the building?-          What kind of cooperation was the project based on?-          What is required for consultancy companies and real estate owners to become members of the Green Building?The study of the project and calculation of estimated energy consumption in the building, give the result 47 kWh/m2, year.

In recent years, moisture damages have been noticed in rendered, undrained stud walls. The design is built on the principle one-stage tightening which means that there is no air gap in the construction. The damages have occurred when water has permeated through the rendering in leaking connections and fittings for windows, doors, canopies, balconies, terraces and awnings. Behind the plaster carrier, which consists of either polystyrene or rigid mineral wool, plasterboard has often been used as a wind protection barrier. In many cases the wind protection barrier and the underlying wooden studs have been exposed to mould and in some cases even rot.

Abstract In my work, I have tried to define and clarify the conception of sustainability seen from my perspective as a landscape architect. With a basis in literature studies, I have analysed and commented on different applications, contents and meanings of sustainability and endurance. This compilation is based on how a number of writers, researchers and authorities consider the importance of integrating ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainability in city planning. My perspective has mainly been founded on the anthologies and compilations from the 80´s and 90´s where Per G. Berg and Björn Malbert acted as editors.

The society strives for sustainable development, in the construction industry it is expressed through sustainable building. Energy and LCC analyzes increases the ability to make conscious decisions in the process. A problem in the construction industry is that energy and LCC analysis is not used to the desired extent, as they are perceived as complicated and time consuming. The report aims to achieve a more sustainable building through increased use of energy and LCC analyzes.The goal is to show how BIM can be used to improve the efficiency of the energy and LCC analyzes.The study was conducted with a literature review and a case study to answer which information that is required in a BIM model to perform energy and LCC analyzes. The study also shows which software can be used in BIM based energy and LCC analyzes and how the analyzes can be carried out efficiently.The result shows that effective analyzes may be performed if the BIM-model contains the relevant information for making analyzes.

The study aims to reduce energy consumption in apartment buildings where individual metering and charging of heat is applied. The aim is to develop planning and design for individual metering and charging in apartment buildings.The study is based on literature review, interviews and case study that include analysis of existing documents. Interviews were carried out with the property developer and the involved consultants who planned the apartment building Yasuragi. To investigate the differences the condominium association has noted in heat consumption between flats, the debit values of the heat were used to discern which houses that were furthest from the average consumption. On these flats there were temperature measurements and thermal photo shoots made for discriminating behavior and possible construction techniques which could be the explanation for the heat spread.Boverket shows that the consumption of heat can be reduced by 10-20% after insertion of individual metering and charging in an apartment block.

External shopping malls in the context of urban sprawl have, according too much of the previous research, had a negative connotation when it comes to urban planning and a sustainable society. In recent years, some of this research on the issue has changed course towards that it might be some positive opportunities and elements in this development, given that it follows certain patterns. This latter development is what we have chosen to look deeper into in our study, Sustainable urban sprawl.The shopping mall Allum in Partille center has been the subject of this case study, to explore how people's shopping habits and travels in connection with these purchases has been affected by the establishment of an external shopping mall from a sustainability perspective.The method we used was a questionnaire distributed at workplaces in Partille. The collected data were then analyzed by using some of the dominant urban planning theories, for thus underpin our analysis. We have supplemented the study with a collection of information on existing and planned shopping centers in Gothenburg region.Our study shows that external shopping centers located in already developed areas, with an existing social structure, can help to create a more compact city with fewer and shorter shopping trips, and more sustainable transport choices when purchasing goods and services..

This paper studies patterns of consumption within a product category. Using make-up as a base for the study, we applied the Mokken Scale to examine if consumers follow a hierarchical pattern when buying items within the product category. Based on a survey of 250 female respondents, we establish a hierarchic scale for consumption. Assuming generally accepted attributes for determining physical attractiveness, the results of the Mokken Scale study were cross referenced with a survey among 200 male and female respondents. Students were asked to evaluate pictures of a model using different combinations of make-up, i.e.

The subject of this bachelor-level thesis in archaeology in the transition from archaic sapiens to anatomically modern humans, and what might have caused this transition. A part of the study aims to prove or disprove whether an increased consumption of shellfish might have caused this development. Another part of the essay deals with the connection of said evolution and the suggested emergence of cultural and ritual practices in South Africa circa 100 000 BP and an evaluation of the arguments concerning the aquatic ape hypothesis, and their usefulness for the subject.The result of investigation of the theory about the increased consumption of marine resources as a probable cause of the last biological step of creating our species points to the conclusion that it is a probable explanation. There is even some evidence that there could be a connection between consumption of marine resources and the "Out of Africa 2"-theory. It is harder to find a proven connection between the suggested emergence of cultural and ritual practices, even some evidence seems to strengthen the idea.

During the autumn of 2007 I attended a course in plantcomposition in Alnarp. The main task during the coursewas to make a proposal for a theme garden that was goingto represent the school at an exhibition in the GardenSociety in Göteborg, during the summer of 2008. Thetheme for the garden was set to ?sustainable development?and we had fully two weeks to work with the proposal.I won the competition and during the spring andsummer of 2008 I developed and realized my idea. Thegarden exhibition was inaugurated the 28th of June andwas open until the 28th of September.