Greening the City

Redesigning cities

Site map
All the texts
Credits
Home page

Today, urban green spaces are no longer created for purely aesthetic or health reasons. Henceforth, the goal is to protect biodiversity, which is under threat from the expansion of built-up areas that break up natural habitats. For there is great cause for concern: in Europe, the area per capita given over to cities has more than doubled in the past fifty years. For instance, the last two decades have seen an approximately 20% increase in the area of towns in many countries in both western and eastern Europe, whereas the population has risen by a mere 6% over the same period.
We now face a twofold challenge. We need to increase the area given over to natural habitats in cities so as to promote the free movement of species, while at the same time maintaining a dense urban fabric in order to avoid sprawl, which is harmful to biodiversity. Previously considered simply as a factor involved in the destruction of nature, cities are in the process of becoming key players in the protection of biodiversity at both regional and national levels.
The green and blue networks currently being set up link natural habitats together, enabling animals and plants to move along ecological corridors connected to the city's surroundings. By including footpaths and cycle paths, this kind of green grid is also of benefit to city-dwellers, who increasingly seek natural surroundings.
Some cities are already putting this concept into practice. For instance, Nantes is making use of the many waterways that criss-cross the city. Brussels has plans for a green grid that will link up the Belgian capital's parks, while Barcelona is aiming to set up a green corridor in the city center.
Elsewhere we are seeing the emergence of eco-friendly developments, such as the well-known BedZED in the UK, the Vauban district in Germany and the Eden Bio development in Paris. These high environmental quality neighborhoods are designed according to the principles of sustainable development. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, increased use of public transport, local facilities, footpaths and cycle paths are just some of the solutions employed with the aim of reducing the ecological footprint and impact on biodiversity. And architects have plenty of ideas up their sleeves, such as vertical eco-friendly neighborhoods in the form of towers equipped with farms, buildings that clean up pollution, floating cities, and a whole host of other futuristic projects.
However, while waiting for these ideas to become reality, rational development of biodiversity in cities will already be providing essential ecological services to city-dwellers, such as flood prevention, and air, water and waste treatment.