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
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.
Go to
- Green Cities: Tools and services
- Green Cities: Research projects
- Green Cities: News and calendar
- Green Cities: Video playlist
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
News
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Amsterdam residents with low income: Less cooling from greenery, more vulnerable to heat stress
Amsterdam residents with the lowest incomes live in parts of the city where they have less access to cooling through greenery, such as parks and... -
"The Symbiotic City, voices of nature in urban transformations"
The symbiotic city: a city that has been re-embedded into nature, one that safeguards the resources of our planet and restores biodiversity. One where... -
City becomes increasing source of water pollution this century
In the 21st century, most of the world's population is expected to live in urban areas. Over three-quarters of them will face moderate to high levels... -
Open Bajes plan wins international design competition for Bijlmerbajes
The Open Bajes plan is the winner of the international competition Design the Ultimate Urban Greenhouse - a plan for the 21st-century redevelopment of...
Projects
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Program Managing Public Space (MaPS)
This Program adds a management perspective to planning and designing public space and is funded by societal partners joined in the Stichting Managing... -
Feeding cities & migration
Many developing countries are fast becoming urbanised. City dwellers face malnutrition, obesity and too little access to healthy food. A range of... -
European Topic Centre on urban land and soil systems ETC/ULS
The European Topic Center on Data Integration and Digitalisation (ETC/DI) consortium offers support to the EEA. Various projects are defined each year... -
Adaptive Cities Through integrated Nature Based Solutions (ACT on NBS)
The project Adaptive Cities Through integrated Nature Based Solutions (ACT on NBS) from EIT-Climate KIC, aims to scale nature-based solutions (NBS) in... -
COcreating LANdscape based aDaptation of urban regions enhancing biodivERsity (Het Ronde Landschap)
Cities face major challenges such as increasing population pressure, energy transition, urban densification, the prevention of flooding and heat...
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
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 ‘future-proof’ cities.
Tools and services
Wageningen Environmental Research provides you with tools and services that can assist you in your decisions. These are designed to improve the quality of life in cities. If you want to know more about these or other tools and services, do not hesitate to get in touch.