Dossier
Greenery in the city
A green environment has many advantages. It has a positive effect on people's health and contributes to the quality of life in a neighbourhood. Companies like to settle in a green environment and real estate is generally more in demand, which strengthens the economic growth of a city. Together with partners, Wageningen University & Research has been researching the effects of a green city for years.
Why a green city?
A green city improves the environment, ensures rich biodiversity, reduces air pollution, ensures water storage, dampens noise and help cooling down in warm periods. Green is also essential for a climate-proof and sustainable environment. In addition, there is a positive effect on the health and social connections of people living, working and recreating in a green environment.
7 reasons for investing in a green city
News about greenery in the city
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Fewer health complaints among people with a green garden
06 April 2023 - News - More greenery in domestic gardens is not only favourable for climate adaptation and biodiversity in cities. It also seems to have a major impact on residents’ health and well-being. This is one of the outcomes of a study by Wageningen University & Research and the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research into the association between having a garden at home, and one’s health. -
Temperature Tiny Forest up to 20 degrees lower than on the streets on hot days
08 September 2022 - News - Tiny Forests form an excellent solution to drought and heat stress in urban areas. Research by Wageningen Environmental Research shows that temperatures in a Tiny Forest may be as much as 20 degrees below those in the streets. Moreover, the mini forests store much water during heavy precipitation, which is sorely needed in the increasingly dry Netherlands. Tiny Forests also boost urban biodiversity. -
‘Landscape architects are genuine optimists who focus on creating a new future’
15 June 2022 - News - Wageningen’s Landscape Architecture group is internationally renowned and has the world’s largest number of publications in this domain. Is there room for improvement? Certainly, says Sanda Lenzholzer, who has headed the group for the last two years. In her inaugural address, which was postponed due to the pandemic, she introduces her perspective on the group’s endavours. -
This is how a Dutch city may look in 2120
25 February 2022 - News - Floating houses, self-driving cars, deer in the floodplains, streams with waterfalls, and greenery instead of asphalt. Welcome to the city of 2120. Contrary to what doomsday scenarios would have you believe, you can also work towards an attractive and prosperous city in a world of climate change. Research associates of Wageningen University & Research designed a scenario for the city of the future with Arnhem as the example. Their aim is to challenge cities to start thinking about their climate resistance for the long term. -
WHO stresses the importance of green spaces for mental health
04 October 2021 - News - Green spaces are important to our mental health. With urbanisation on the rise, people living in cities have less access to green areas. At the same time, the number of Europeans with mental health issues has increased by 16% over the past fifteen years, which is alarming. Sjerp de Vries, researcher at Wageningen Environmental Research, is head of the EKLIPSE working group that investigated the link between greenery and mental health. The study resulted in a publication by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Research on greenery in the city
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Accelerating nature-inclusive urban development
09 October 2023 - Project - In the last decade, the necessity for nature-inclusive urban design has increased within the world of private and public urban development worldwide. -
A digital inspiration map for greening neighbourhoods of Amsterdam
16 March 2022 - Project - This study shows how participatory GIS can aid in decision making around urban greening. In Amsterdam, this helped promoting a dialogue between stakeholders, linking spatial data with practical experiences and aligning local priorities with policy programmes. -
Nature-inclusive entrepreneurship in urban areas
01 January 2022 - Project - The green space in the city is under pressure. Although it meets important social needs, in practice nature and landscape often lose it through competing space claims. This can have a major impact on the living environment of people. In this study we have adopted a transition approach in which we explicitly seek a nature-inclusive contribution of the real estate sector to the biodiversity, quality of life and resilience of cities. To this end, current practices are being mapped out and ways are being sought to make these practices more nature-inclusive in order to achieve the desired transition. -
Adaptive Cities Through integrated Nature Based Solutions (ACT on NBS)
01 January 2022 - Project - The project Adaptive Cities Through integrated Nature Based Solutions (ACT on NBS) from EIT-Climate KIC, aims to scale nature-based solutions (NBS) in cities. In collaboration with Dutch and European cities, researchers and other stakeholders, a growing and sustainable innovation ecosystem is being developed to improve health and wellbeing for citizens, higher urban biodiversity and lower impacts from climate change in cities. -
Midden IN Delfland
24 May 2018 - Project - What future do 60 livestock farmers have among 2 million city dwellers? The open peat meadow landscape of Midden-Delfland is appreciated and used by people from Rotterdam, Delft, Vlaardingen, Schiedam, Pijnacker and The Hague. Until now, the beautiful landscape was the main reason to keep urbanization at bay. The city is sometimes experienced as troublesome by the farmers, but also contains opportunities. Working on the future means farmers working on sustainability, responding to the challenges of the future, and working on their relationship with the city. It is about innovation and collaboration, because the city and the countryside need one another. By means of future-oriented agriculture, the countryside can remain relevant for the city. -
Climate-Proof Cities: Practical guidelines for climate-proof cities
30 April 2018 - Project - Cities are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The most efficient way to make cities more climate-proof is through tailored relatively small and local measures, which can often be carried out parallel to major maintenance or renovation work. These were the findings of a final report published by the Climate-Proof Cities research programme. -
Towards Water Smart Cities
01 September 2017 - Project - Cities around the world face great challenges with water. We have to rethink the way we deal with water in our cities and need to (re)design cities from drained cities to green, resilient and circular cities, so called Water-Smart Cities. -
The Feeding City
09 January 2017 - Project - The Feeding City — a collaborative research programme between the AMS Institute, municipality of Almere, province of Flevoland and Aeres University of Applied Sciences — is embedded on the Flevo Campus, thus facilitating opportunities for research, education and entrepreneurship relating to the ‘Food and the City’ theme. The programme objective is to innovate the urban food system by working closely with the business community, institutions and residents from the city and the surrounding region. -
Green Junkie
28 June 2016 - Project - Amsterdam, as many other cities, suffers from high particulate concentrations which have a negative impact on the air quality and the health of citizens. In this project we will analyse the effect on the particulate concentration of the special developed plant Green Junkie. -
Business case Plants for a healthy indoor climate
23 June 2016 - Project - Plants can contribute significantly to improving the indoor climate of office buildings. They increase the humidity, purify the air and provide a beneficial environment. This may result in economic benefits, for example, because artificial climate control is less frequently used, or due to an increase in productivity.
Blog on greenery in the city
Related dossiers
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Natural surroundings and health
06 November 2013 - Dossier - Natural surroundings can benefit human health in many ways. Wageningen University & Research studies issues concerning the optimal design and management of natural surroundings, the impact of landscape and urban design on social safety and possibilities for using the existing natural surroundings to influence human behaviour. -
Urban agriculture
17 June 2014 - Dossier - In 2050, the world population will grow to 10 billion people. More than half of the population already lives in the city and this is only expected to increase. This increases the pressure on land and space, increases the need for livable structures and increases the demand for locally produced food. Urban agriculture is a solution to achieve a sustainable and liveable city and possibly reduce the urban footprint. -
Urban climate
26 June 2014 - Dossier - A green environment is essential for a resilient climate and a sustainable environment in the city. It reduces air pollution, provides water storage, dampens noise and cools in warm periods. For example, the cooling of hot air in the city can be done by the strategic construction of open areas. In this dossier you can find news, background and results of research on urban climate.