Balder is building for increased wellbeing and better mental health
At a lunch seminar in Gothenburg on Wednesday, a project was unveiled where Balder will try to build an entirely new district that will actively help to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of the residents. Reduced mental health is a rapidly growing social problem. According to the latest figures from the Public Health Agency of Sweden, every third Swede suffers from some form of mental health issue. Research shows, however, that proximity to nature can reduce stress, worries and anxiety, and Balder wants to focus on this.
“We are neither psychologists nor doctors. But we are a corporate citizen in a sector that affects many people. Now we want to investigate the possibility of planning and building an area so that health, exercise and recupation will be a natural part of the development,” explains Erik Selin, CEO of Balder, which is supported in the project by a panel of advisors with expertise in different aspects of nature as a healing force.
The five advisors are Eva Sahlin (PhD. at the Institute of Stress Medicine in the Västra Götaland region), Stefan Edman (biologist and author and also previously an expert in the Swedish Ministry of the Environment), Bella Linde (journalist, lecturer and author focusing on the beneficial effects of cultivation), Agneta Lindegård Andersson (Associate Professor in Public Health Science and Development Manager in the Västra Götaland region) and Fredric Askerup (journalist, personal trainer and founder of the running organisation Lonesome Runners).
The site for Balder’s project is called Västra Eklanda. SCA (now Essity) has conducted business operations here in the building known as Europahuset. Balder’s goal is to create a new district between the Eklanda residential area in the east and the 421 Shopping Centre in the west. In the almost 90,000 square-metre area, 1,500-2,000 new apartments are planned for about 5,000 residents. Offices, retail space, schools and nursery schools are also planned in the area.
“The location at the foot of the Änggårdsbergen nature reserve makes this an ideal area to become a new home for thousands of people and also for a new kind of sustainable urban development, benefitting the health of the residents. We have no ready-made solutions or exact plans, but we have a site and a vision. Now we hope to inspire the sector to start other similar initiatives,” says Erik Lavehall, Regional Manager for Property Development.
In the picture from left: Eva Sahlin, Gunilla Grahn-Hinnfors, Bella Linde, Fredric Askerup, Stefan Edman, Erik Selin.
For more information, please contact:
CEO Erik Selin, +46 706 07 47 90 or
Head of Communications, Sandra Nilsson, phone +46 3110 95 80
Fastighets AB Balder is a listed real estate company which shall meet the needs of different customer groups for premises and housing through local support. Balder's real estate portfolio had a value of SEK 133.2 billion (114.5) as of 30 September 2019. The Balder share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap.
Fastighets AB Balder (publ)
PO Box 53 121, 400 15 Gothenburg
Tel: +46 31 10 95 70
Corporate Identity No. 556525-6905, Registered office Gothenburg
balder.se
