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Neighbourhood vegetable gardens and tiny parks: Amsterdam can really be greener
At the request of Groen Platform Amsterdam (GPA),Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and local green experts went looking for new locations in Amsterdam to make the city greener. The study resulted in 40 bricked or paved (non-green) locations that might be suitable for creating a tiny park or a community garden.
It's not easy to make a city like Amsterdam greener, but it’s very useful. Green areas contribute to biodiversity, climate adaptation, social well-being and health. These are the four pillars of the municipality’s Green Vision 2020-2050. But what locations do you choose to give plants or trees a chance?
Groen Platform Amsterdam asked researchers at Wageningen Economic Research for assistance. Using the available spatial data, they selected a number of promising locations. Local green experts visited these locations to determine whether they were suitable for creating a tiny park or a community garden.
In addition to scientific reports, this study also produced a digital inspiration map of the 40 suitable locations. The municipal government, organisations and residents of Amsterdam can use this map to find a good spot for a park around the corner or a community garden.
Of course you still have to know whether or not the residents of a neighbourhood want a garden. And you have to study whether or not the soil and the underground pipelines would allow for a garden. There may also be other plans for the location in question. As such, the map isn’t an end point but rather a new starting point for the making Amsterdam greener.
You can see these locations on this digital inspiration map (in Dutch).