How can we make the city greener more quickly, and above all, how can we do it together with the residents? In early September, 14 colleagues from Rotterdam came to see how we’re tackling this in Ghent. Next year, we’ll make the return trip to the Netherlands.
Through the EUI (European Urban Initiative) project Greening without Borders, Rotterdam aims to make the Oud-Mathenesse neighborhood greener and more climate-resilient by focusing not only on public spaces but also on private gardens. Because much of the land is privately owned, the City is working with residents to remove paving and add greenery to gardens and shared areas. Residents are actively involved and have the opportunity to gain green skills and work experience. A special green fund is designed to encourage further greening in the neighborhood.
Experimenting and copying
Does that sound familiar? Indeed, there are strong similarities with Ghent’s Rewild the City project. This project, too, aims to accelerate the greening of both public and private lands. Entirely in the spirit of EUI, through which the European Union supports cities in addressing their challenges and thereby seeks to inspire others, we look beyond our own borders and share ideas, questions, and potential solutions to similar problems.
On Friday, September 11, the Rotterdam delegation visited Ghent. The group included employees of the City of Rotterdam, as well as active local residents and volunteers from the neighbourhood. During a bike tour, they met the Courtyard Crushers, who support Ghent residents in transforming their courtyards, and learned how residents are involved in greening their streets. At the temporary Buurtpark Hãm site, workshops were held on engaging residents, collaboratively selecting areas for depaving, financing, and how successful EUI experiments can be institutionalized in the future.
Different city, same challenges
Miranda Nauta (Green Policy Program Manager for the City of Rotterdam): “It’s so fascinating to see how a city like Ghent deals with the challenges we face ourselves. How do we bring in more green spaces, how do we handle the loss of parking spaces, and how do we keep residents on board? It was particularly interesting to hear how Ghent involved residents in the new street greenery in Ledeberg at a very early stage: ‘You can help choose the plants, we’ll fully support you, and then you’ll take care of the greenery yourselves.’ When you see how beautiful Ploegstraat looks today, that approach has certainly worked.”
“I completely agree,” says Niko Kühn of the residents’ group De Groene Buren (Green Neighbours). “By involving residents in the plans for more green spaces right from the start, a strong sense of community develops during the process. That makes it a lot easier to give them a role in caring for the plants afterward as well. In our neighbourhood, too, residents are happy when we announce that we’ll spend a day together planting for free, but because the event stands alone, it’s much harder to keep them involved afterward.”
Green Neighbours
That’s a lot to think about, also for the colleagues from Ghent. “I found the story of De Groene Buren, an initiative that brings residents of Oud-Mathenesse together around the green spaces in their neighbourhood, particularly impressive,” says Julie Dhont (Environment and Climate Department, City of Ghent). “They started with just six residents, and it has since grown into a large group of neighbourhood residents who remain actively involved. Working from within the neighbourhood, they support residents not only in creating green spaces but also in maintaining both public and private green areas. With a community garden, tool lending, and joint initiatives, they make it very practical and accessible to get involved. I found it inspiring to see how, by working together, they not only bring more green spaces to the neighbourhood but also foster greater engagement and connection among residents.”
“De Groene Buren are indeed very important to the neighbourhood,” says Miranda. “I’m looking forward to showing their work to our Belgian colleagues next year. It’s also great to see that Ghent is already adopting initiatives from Rotterdam. Following two editions of the Groene Doeners Festival in Rotterdam, through which the Opzoomer Mee Foundation encourages residents to green their neighbourhoods, there is now also a first edition in Ghent. This shows just how valuable it is to continually exchange ideas with other cities.”
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