The crane that was once the identifying landmark for Malmo's Western Harbour has been replaced by the HSB Turning Torso, a spectacular modern tower with nine five-story cubes that twist as the building rises.

I was honoured to be invited back to Sweden this year, to see and learn about some of the country’s most recent urban sustainability initiatives taking place in Stockholm and Malmö. I was anxious to see how and whether the resolve and commitment to environmental protection and the very clear culture of conservation among Swedish citizens had continued and evolved in the five years since I was last there. As with my prior visit, I came away inspired by examples of “the possible” – examples where perceived limits and boundaries were being pushed aside by aggressive investments and technology, by remediation efforts, fuelled by plans and visions of a sustainable future.

Travelling with a contingent of journalists representing eight different countries from around the globe, the trip provided not only an opportunity to discover Swedish initiatives, but also to learn about sustainability efforts in other parts of the world, as well as the challenges and obstacles that are faced there – including social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental factors that sometimes stand in the way of communities doing what they know needs to be done.

Malmö’s Western Harbour development is a showcase for the kind of sustainable living the city is working to encourage.

The story on Malmö, on page 5 of the August issue of Municipal World, shows how that city, facing an unprecedented and seemingly insurmountable economic crisis, cast a vision for its future and then began putting in place the elements that are necessary to achieve it. As Malmö’s leaders won’t hesitate to tell you, it didn’t happen over night (and it’s not been without its challenges, either). And, although they’re not exactly where they’d like to be, they are confident they’re heading in the right direction. Walking on their streets and seeing their new developments and visions coming to life, I felt fairly confident they’d reach their goals as well.

Often, when we learn how things are done differently (sometimes better, sometimes not) in other parts of the world, it is too easy to assume that it was always thus. As Malmö shows (and Stockholm, too, which I’ll share in the November issue), the sustainable picture we see today would have been unimaginable for some to predict from their vantage point in the past. Sometimes, a challenging situation can be exactly what it takes to help make a sharp turn from the way things are currently done, and recognize that it’s time for a new approach.

Among the 173 municipalities that answered a question about the gender of candidates in AMCTO’s post-election survey, 5½ times as many men as women ran for head of council positions; and 3½ times as many men as women ran for councillor positions.

Still, AMO reports that the total number of female candidates increased from 1292 to 1484 in this election. And, the number of women elected has grown slightly, too – from 23.85% in 2006 to 24.25% in 2010. Women now hold 24.25% (700 seats) of the province’s 2886 total positions on council, up from 23.85% in 2006. (In some communities, of course, the representation of women is significantly greater: more than 50% in The North Shore, Opasatika, City of Waterloo, and Mississauga.) In the role of head of council, however, women take the lead in only 69 municipalities, compared to 167 in 2006. In Ontario, there are currently 50 municipalities that have no women on council.

During the Standing Committee Forum on Increasing Women’s Participation in Municipal Government at the recent conference of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities held in Halifax this month, many women expressed frustration at what they say sometimes feels like a “backward slide” on the issue. Today, although women make up over 52 per cent of the Canadian population, FCM reports that only 23 per cent of our elected municipal representatives are female. On the international stage, Canada ranks 46th out of 189 countries for the number of women in politics. Dismal.

But, despite numbers that, on the whole, still seem weak, progress is being made. And, with funding from Status of Women Canada, FCM is about to launch a series of workshops across Canada aimed at helping women overcome the barriers that prevent them when running for municipal office in greater numbers. The goal is to hold workshops across the country before municipal elections in each province. The first workshops is set to run in British Columbia: June 11 to 12, 2011 in Prince George; June 18 to 19 in Whistler; and June 25 to 26 in Esquimalt. Information on future workshops – and a contact to help arrange one if your community is interested – is available on the FCM website at http://www.fcm.ca/english/View.asp?x=1620

Toronto Councillor Pam McConnell, chair of the FCM committee, notes that “FCM´s program will make a meaningful contribution to help us reach the United Nations target of having a minimum of 30 per cent female participation in government.” Canada will need 1,710 more women elected to municipal office – an increase of more than 100 women every year for the next 17 years – to reach the 30 per cent target. (McConnell’s committee has been working towards that objective since 2005-2006, when FCM held a series of workshops and events across the country to explore ways of improving women’s participation in municipal government. At that time, she says, the number we needed was 2,000. So, there’s progress.)

Pam McConnell (a six-term city councillor herself, with 12 years as school trustee before that) spent some time with me following the forum at the FCM conference, to talk about the “Getting to 30 percent” program, the barriers for women, what we all can do to help tear them down.

Watch the video on YouTube:

It’s not just about the physical “toys,” of course. It’s increasing about the applications that allow us to do everything from making a grocery list by scanning barcodes in our cupboards (see <www.mightygrocery.com>) to finding the nearest washroom. (Further to my comment in the May issue about the scarcity of public washrooms in New York City, check out <www.nyrestroom.com> ­– also available on your iPhone – to help guide you to the nearest facilities when you’re in the Big Apple!)

And, it’s increasingly about the information. Information that comes at us from a variety of traditional and new media sources, including social media. It seems that the morning paper and nightly news are no longer enough to satiate our need to know what’s happening in the world. News (and noise) is broadcast 24/7. Twitter friends (and trends) keep us up-to-date on events around the world as they happen.

Some of these things have value, enhancing our productivity and quality of life (as <www.nyrestroom.com> surely must). Some of the most valuable, and useful, information is held by our governments, at all levels, including local. In his article (also in the June issue), IT consultant and open government advocate Aaron McGowan discusses the open data movement, and how freeing the information is allowing those governments who “take the leap” to benefit from all kinds of new collaborations and applications that they might never have dreamed possible. Communities and citizens are reaping the rewards.

For one example, see <www.emitter.ca>. Aaron is part of the cross-Canada team who built this application, which helps you to track pollution in your neighbourhood using data from Environment Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory. (You can read Aaron’s blog about the application here: <http://govinthelab.com/emitter-ca-an-example-of-an-open-data-application>.) The program is still in BETA while they work out the kinks, but it gives you an idea of the just some of the potential that exists when information is made publicly available in a useable format – and how it might be transformed into something extremely valuable to citizens.

With applications like this, it’s easy to see how data can greatly improve our lives. Sometimes, however, the benefit of all this information may be questionable. Dr. Nick Bontis is a business professor at McMaster University and author of the book Information Bombardment: Rising Above the Digital Onslaught.  His research found that the average office worker receives 84 emails per day, 90 percent of which are useless. And yet, 75 percent of us will check our emails while on vacation and on weekends. “People are afraid to sever themselves from the Web,” says Bontis. “Super-connectivity causes stress, depression, anxiety, and lost efficiency. What’s worse is that our insatiable appetite for knowledge will never be quenched no matter how many new tools and websites are developed.”

As Bill Schrier points out in his article, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish glitter from gold. That’s true organizationally, and it’s also true individually. For your own life, for your own work, and for your own health you must choose your channels wisely – and perhaps put a limit on how many you choose.

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You can follow them on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/amcgowanca

http://www.twitter.com/billschrier

http://www.twitter.com/nickbontis

And me, at http://www.twitter.com/MWEditor