Snowland

SNOWLAND will develop new knowledge and practical tools for more sustainable and environmentally responsible urban snow management in Norwegian cities. The project will help municipalities reduce environmental impacts, land use pressure and emissions while safeguarding mobility, urban functions and societal needs.

Climate change and increasing urban densification are making snow management progressively more complex for Norwegian municipalities. More frequent freeze–thaw cycles, heavier precipitation and reduced availability of land for snow storage create technical, environmental and operational challenges. Urban snow also contains a complex mixture of pollutants—including gravel and grit, salt, nutrients, metals, microplastics, organic contaminants, and emerging chemicals —that may affect nature, water bodies and local ecosystems.

SNOWLAND aims to generate new knowledge and tools for holistic, socially equitable and environmentally sound snow management in cities. The project integrates social sciences, environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology, hydrology, technology development and land‑use planning to balance the needs of residents, businesses, the environment and municipal service providers. The overarching goal is to minimise land and resource use and reduce emissions while supporting biodiversity, ecosystem integrity and resilient urban communities.

NIVA plays a central role in the project, leading two key work packages:

• WP2 – Balancing societal needs & interests
  NIVA maps local socio‑ecological systems for snow management in case‑study municipalities, analyses governance structures, stakeholder needs and potential conflicts, and develops recommendations for socially just and knowledge‑based snow management strategies. This work includes identifying barriers and opportunities in policies, institutional structures and practice.
• WP3 – Holistic solutions for climate & nature
  NIVA leads the characterisation of pollutants in urban snow, including microplastics, organic micropollutants and emerging contaminants. The work spans environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology, developing a risk‑based classification system for different snow types and a GIS‑based model that optimises snow collection frequency to reduce CO₂ emissions and minimise environmental risk.

The project’s results will contribute to improved decision‑making for municipalities, better standards for snow treatment and reuse, and support for national frameworks and policies related to climate, biodiversity, water management and land use.

SNOWLAND is coordinated by SINTEF and includes partners from research, the private sector and public administration: NIVA, Storm Aqua, Norconsult Digital, Vegforum for byer og tettsteder, Tromsø Municipality, Trondheim Municipality, Oslo Municipality and Trøndelag County Authority.