Cities / Healthy Cities
Amsterdam makes progress on green space agenda as ‘pocket parks’ sprout up
By Andrew Sansom | 03 Apr 2018 | 0
In the past three years, Amsterdam has gained 18 new ‘pocket parks’ as the city realises the ambitions set out in its ‘Green Agenda 2015–2018’.
The emergence of these small, inviting areas of public green space, often with a bench for people to sit down and reflect, is just one of the many interventions that the city has introduced since 2015.
The Nelson Mandelapark and Flevopark now have drained playing fields, the Oosterpark has gained basic facilities such as playgrounds, and new bridges have been built in the Noorderpark and Rembrandtpark. Public space around the Molenwerf has been redesigned and new areas of planting have been added. This forms part of the Brettenpad – a green biking, walking and skating corridor, which runs from the Haarlemmerpoort to the village of Halfweg, and which now forms part of a larger Green Network (Groennet).
By the end of last year, Amsterdam had a total of 300,000m2 of green roofs, which means 40,000 m2 has been added. An additional 22,500m2 will be installed this year, meeting the city’s target of adding 50,000m2 of green roofs during the four years of the Agenda.
Last year, solutions were found for 80 ecological barriers – obstacles in a green area, such as a wide road that prevents tree-dwelling animals from crossing to the other side. Measures adopted include installing bridges between the trees on either side of the road. This year, solutions will be found for an additional 13 ecological barriers.
By the end of this year, 57 school playgrounds will have received a green and rainwater-friendly makeover, the city will have 15 additional natural play areas, and nine playing fields will have been improved. Investments will also have been made in several parks, including the Westerpark, Gijsbrecht van Amstelpark, and Sarphatipark.
As part of its commitment to becoming a greener city, Amsterdam has made available several subsidy schemes, for measures such as green roofs and outside walls. Groen in de Buurt, for example, is a subsidy scheme for green initiatives and is open to residents.
In total, the so-called Groengelden (subsidies for making Amsterdam greener) amounts to €20 million in available funds. To access this money, residents, non-profit organisations, entrepreneurs and government bodies also had to invest themselves. This co-financing method has resulted in an investment of €60 million in green interventions in the city.
An interactive map of Amsterdam’s green building programme can be found at https://maps.amsterdam.nl/agenda_groen/?LANG=en
Organisations involved