Green Cities

Green Cities

The city of the future is a green city where trees, ponds and parks are the lungs of the boroughs and biodiversity can find its way in. In green cities, people live in healthy neighbourhoods, employees work in circular business parks, and all citizens have access to sustainable food and other natural resources. For us, urban leadership means co-creating these solutions together with cities’ inhabitants. Therefore, we work with urban leaders in business, government and social movements to build green cities worldwide. This can be on the scale of the metropole, migrant settlements, business parks or city centres.

Nature-based solutions are at the heart of smart city design and planning
Marian Stuiver

Cooperate with us for Green Cities

Green Cities is the Wageningen Environmental Research programme that focuses on understanding and applying a nature-based approach in urban areas. We have chosen six areas to work on evidence-based solutions. We apply our scientific findings to develop migrant settlements and urban food systems. We improve and research the relation between nature and health in the city. We aim to make cities climate-adaptive and circular. Finally the city of the future is a smart city, where data collection and use are of high quality. All Amsterdam-based activities are part of our collaboration within AMS Institute, where we research, design and test urban solutions.

Download our fact sheets

  • Connecting the Urban Fringe for Metropolitan Food Challenges
  • Green business parks: Nature-based solutions for a more sustainable working environment
  • Secure livelihoods: Understanding and developing solutions for mass migration
  • The future of public spaces: Providing safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces for all ages
  • Sustainable settlements: Designing green solutions for displaced people and their hosts
  • Re-use of resources: Towards a Circular Economy
  • Climate-resilient cities: Nature-based solutions for future-proof cities

Chair groups involved

Education at WUR

Longreads

Nature, because the city is worth it

Nature is essential in the city. This longread introduces different projects that show the importance of nature for health, biodiversity, draining rainwater and tempering the heat.

A green environment: good for your health

Nature and Health are closely linked. Researchers at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) are working on several Green Impact for Health projects that are described in this longread.

Regional collaboration, investing in a circular economy

The Netherlands is in a transition towards a circular economy. This longread introduces opportunities and solutions, do’s and don’ts how to enforce this transition.

Metropolitan solutions

This longread introduces metropolitan solutions from all sorts of different perspectives, from soil science to sociology, and food and climate sciences. The knowledge helps with the development of new technologies and strategies for ‘future-proof’ cities.