Best Practices
Damsterplein
Part of:
Groningen City
Groningen City
The municipality of Groningen is working on a plan to make the Damsterplein greener and more climate adaptive. Currently, this square has to deal with heat stress and flooding.
The square is fully paved, only has a few trees and is spherical, which means that rainwater cannot be infiltrated. Besides, the square is not a vivid place to stay, due to a lack of seating and its grey appearance. The construction of green islands, public seats, planting and water storage facilities should change this. The new ‘park’ will be built on top of a parking garage, which sets further requirements to the weight distribution of the green islands. The edges of the square create most possibilities for green and water. Adding green and bioswales makes water storage possible. Trees and façade gardens limit the effects of direct sunlight and will cool by evaporation. More innovative techniques are also being investigated, such as buffering excessive rainwater in the car park, which allows reuse for toilet facilities or the watering of planting.
Image: OTO Landscape
Image: OTO Landscape
Groningen City
It happens in the city – the same goes for climate adaptation. Cities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Surfaces in the urban areas tend to warm faster than those of the surrounding rural areas. During the night the temperature differences are even higher, as cities are unable to cool down. More intense rainfall can flood cities’ drains, creating greater risks of floods. Mitigation of the urban heat island effect becomes more and more important and can be accomplished through the use of green and blue. This doesn’t only tackle climate change effects, but also strengthens the biodiversity and liveability of a city. In the densely built city of Groningen, it is mainly the small-scale greening that can lead to large effects.
Best practices in
Groningen City
Groningen City
A façade garden is a small green strip in front of a house. In the city of Groningen, inhabitants can ask for a free façade garden.
In Paddepoel, a post-war neighbourhood in the city of Groningen, various measures have been taken to stimulate climate adaptation. One is the creation of a wadi, short for ‘water drain by infiltration’.
The municipality of Groningen is working on a plan to make the Damsterplein greener and more climate adaptive. Currently, this square has to deal with heat stress and flooding.
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