By participating in the 'Green City Challenge' Dutch municipalities are challenged to increase their green ambitions so that they can win the title of greenest city or greenest village in The Netherlands.
Green Cities Are Vital for Our Future
For the first edition of the Green City Challenge in 2021, more than a hundred municipalities have received an analysis of the quality and amount of greenery within their city limits and are now working hard on their green ambitions. This is important, because green cities and villages contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change, restoring biodiversity and promoting the health of residents. That is why Dutch celebrity gardener and tv host Lodewijk Hoekstra challenges every municipality in the Netherlands to participate in the Green City Challenge 2022.
How to Start?
Every municipality wants to go green, but the question is how? The Green City Challenge believes it starts with insight. Which neighborhood is the greenest? How much green space does each resident have at their disposal? And where exactly is planting lacking? The Green City Challenge provides in-depth insight into the degree of greening per district or neighborhood within each municipality, based on data analyses, satellite images, aerial photos and the Key Register of Large-Scale Topography (BGT). This makes it clear where things are already going well and where the greening potential is present. The results of the data research will be analyzed for a period of 3 years to provide a good insight into the greenery within the city limits of every participating municipality.
What Questions Does the Green City Challenge Answer?
- How green is my city or village and how does this compare to other villages and cities in the Netherlands?
- How green are the different neighborhoods in my city or village?
- How green are the gardens in each neighbourhood?
- How green is the public space in my city or village?
- How many m2 of public green space does each resident have at their disposal?
- What does the urban greenery in my city or village consist of (low vegetation, shrubs or trees)?
- How is the urban green space (trees, shrubs and low vegetation) distributed over my city or village?
- How many m2 of tree crown surface are there in my city or village and how is this distributed across the city?
- How healthy is this urban greenery?
For more information visit https://groenestadchallenge.nl/ (in Dutch)
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