Urban green
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Urban green
To make the city more resilient to climate climate change, Ghent is heavily investing in pavement removal and greening.
Urban green
To make the city more resilient to climate climate change, Ghent is heavily investing in pavement removal and greening.
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Ghent is faced with heat, drought and flooding ever more frequently. To adapt to these new climatic conditions, we need to turn the city into a giant sponge. This way, Ghent continues to be a pleasant, healthy and safe place to live in, even during a heat wave or periods of heavy rain.
- By removing pavement in squares, parks, gardens and streets, we allow rainwater to infiltrate into the soil and protect the city against heavy showers.
- In addition, we create a cooling effect by greening up the city. This provides us with a unique opportunity to create attractive outdoor spaces, improve the liveability and enjoy a richer biodiversity in a green and blue environment.
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This is how the city makes a difference
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Green poles
Local residents can relax in five green poles located within a stone's throw of the inner city.
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With a surface area of at least 200 hectares each, these five green poles make sure that each inhabitant of Ghent has a place within cycling distance where they can cool down, play, exercise, picnic, hike and enjoy the outdoors.
The City of Ghent has developed these green poles in partnership with nature conservation associations, neighbouring municipalities and the Flemish government.
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Facade gardens
Ghent has a growing number of facade gardens, which is good news if we want to cool the city down.
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Facade gardens do not just bring colour and atmosphere to a street. They also have a cooling effect, provide birds and insects with food and insulate and protect facades. No fewer than 976 Ghentians applied for a facade garden in 2020, twice as many as in 2019. A total of 4,402 facade gardens were created in Ghent between 2014 and 2021. In addition, 12 green garlands were planted in 2020.
A permit is not required to create a facade garden, a simple notification suffices.
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Less pavement, more green verges
The more pavement is removed, the easier rainwater can seep into the soil, which will in turn reduce the risk of flooding.
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Whenever a street is redeveloped, the combined sewage system is replaced by separate systems for wastewater and rainwater. Moreover, we always assess the possibility of removing pavement and planting trees. This makes it easier for rainwater to infiltrate into the soil and enables us to limit flooding.
Since plants have a cooling effect on the city, we convert pavements into green verges whenever possible in case of a redevelopment. The Integral Plan on Public Space is a manual for any designer who develops climate-proof projects in Ghent’s public space.
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Green climate axes
Eight axes constitute a green network connecting the inner city to the rest of Ghent.
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These green climate axes form a permanent link between the city centre and the surrounding rural areas. They facilitate a flow of cool air reaching the very heart of the city and retain rainwater.
The axes located along watercourses are easily recognisable. Other axes are reinforced by planting trees around them and creating space for water. We have also reduced the number of parked cars and created a continuous and wide cycling and walking network. In addition, the axes fulfil an important role in connecting natural areas for plants and animals.
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Neighbourhood parks
The City of Ghent invests in green spaces in the immediate vicinity of people’s homes.
Each inhabitant of Ghent should find an area of at least 1 hectare where they can relax, meet neighbours and get a breath of fresh air at no more than 400 m from their front door. There were 64 neighbourhood parks in Ghent in 2019. This number will increase to 78 by 2024.
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Opening up watercourses
Allowing more water into Ghent’s centre offers various ecological, recreational and economic advantages.
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By opening up watercourses, we facilitate a flow of cool air reaching the inner city. In addition, space on and near water can perform different functions at the same time, especially in built-up areas: transport, recreation, experiencing the outdoors, a habitat for plants and animals, ecology, housing …
By lowering quays and laying out paths and parks, we create an open and more attractive space to live, work and stay in.
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Green front yards and street gardens
A front yard is not just pretty but also functional!
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Green front yards make a street more lively and allow rainwater to directly infiltrate into the soil. The City of Ghent has conducted experiments in several streets to remove pavement and make front yards greener together with local residents. Once this project has been completed, we will determine how to continue this approach.
In addition to greening their front yards or creating facade gardens, citizens can also adopt a street garden or a roadside planting bed. They can take care of such a street garden individually or together with several neighbours.
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Green roofs
Ghent encourages its inhabitants to put plants in front of, next to, against and on top of their homes.
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Green roofs increase the biodiversity, improve the visual aspect and buffer rainwater. The City of Ghent subsidises green roofs and the stability study of the roof for private individuals, social housing associations, schools, associations and companies. De Energiecentrale visits people’s homes to provide them with free assistance and advice with regard to green roofs.In 2020, subsidies were granted to 10,698 m² of green roofs in Ghent. Over 75,000 m² of green roofs have been created since 2014. Whenever possible, green roofs are installed on municipal buildings as well. In 2020, the first Ghent bus shelters were provided with a green roof!
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Reuse of rainwater
How do we prevent rainwater from flowing into the sewer and instead put it to good use in Ghent?
A rainwater cistern buffers the (free and soft) water that falls onto a roof. A lot of drinking water can be saved if this rainwater is used to flush the toilet, run the washing machine and irrigate the garden. People who do not have space for a rainwater cistern can opt for a water butt. To find out which system is best suited for a particular home or how big a rainwater cistern should be, Ghentians can obtain free advice from the City of Ghent’s Energiecentrale.
We also support projects such as the Wij(k)water initiative by Gents Milieufront (GMF), which explores the collection and reuse of water running off church roofs.
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The inhabitants of Ghent are greening, too!
As a government, Ghent certainly makes a difference with green poles, green climate axes, neighbourhood parks and the opening up of watercourses. But that's not all. Greening up the city is very much alive among the Ghentians themselves as well. Neighbourhoods and streets are greening at the initiative of the people who live in the area: a growing number of local residents, businesses and organisations in opt for facade gardens, green roofs or green front yards.
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Urban nature is a new ecosystem to which everyone can contribute. For example, a facade garden not only boosts biodiversity. It also improves air quality, brings neighbours together and has a thermal effect on the house – cooler in summer and warmer in winter. De Geveltuinbrigade already greened more than 1000 facades and thanks to the renewal of the collaboration agreement with the City of Ghent, many more will be added in the coming years!