Amsterdam - NbS for greening the city and increasing resilience

Amsterdam’s Green Agenda includes plans for the implementation of Nature Based Solutions in the period 2015-2018. This is resulting today in a rapid expansion of such solutions throughout the city. The impact was already visible at the end of 2016 (Monitoring Green Agenda, approval by City Council in 2017): two green corridors created, three natural play grounds laid out, 6 441 m2 of additional green roofs, six additional postage-stamp-sized parks, six green schoolyards, six city parks renovated, and 35 (out of 80) identified ecological problems solved.

Planting trees is encouraged, so as to cool the city climate. Under trees, the average temperature is up to 15°C lower on warm days (RAMSES, 2016).

Investments in flood protection and water security have received broad local support. Protection against flooding in urban deltas will be improved thanks to the actions proposed in the Delta Programme. The Netherlands participates successfully in various international programmes. There is increased awareness of and political support for water diplomacy and climate change adaptation. Action as part of the Delta Programme will shift in future from grey to green infrastructure (including nature restoration), making increasing use of Nature Based Solutions.

City parks

Every year, increasing numbers of people visit Amsterdam’s parks, which shows how necessary it is both to renovate the parks that already exist and to create new ones. The increased availability of green areas in the city makes urban green spaces more accessible for the people of Amsterdam, giving them recreational opportunities and the chance to meet others from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, thus improving their sense of identity, belonging and community. City parks can act as green and/or blue corridors, ensuring greater connectivity between existing green areas. This is having a direct impact on local ecological restoration, and increasing biodiversity, and at the same time diverts recreational uses away from sensitive biodiversity areas. Green in the city improves air quality and reduces heat stress (e.g. through evapotranspiration), resulting in healthier residents. The vegetation of the city parks sequesters carbon, giving the city greater carbon storage capacity.

Greening the city

Amsterdam Rainproof is investing in a series of measures to green the city, involving car parks, tramways, railways, front gardens, etc. This not only increases the availability of green areas but also enhances water retention capacity, thus reducing runoff and improving flood regulation. All of this is reducing the costs associated with flood risk. Water retention is also helping to reduce temperatures in the city, because of the cooling effect of evapotranspiration.

The creation of green and blue corridors ensures greater connectivity between members of the public and green spaces in the city, but, together with local ecological restoration activities, it also improves ecological connectivity, so conserving and thus increasing biodiversity.

Planting trees is encouraged because they are able to cool the city climate and sequester carbon.

Green neighbourhood

Amsterdam is developing more green areas close to residents. Urban farming initiatives, and the establishment of tiny parks on wasteland, which are maintained by local people and organisations, are bringing green areas into local neighbourhoods. Those green areas are helping reduce the flood risk by improving water retention (increased infiltration). These small local initiatives can help create green and blue corridors in the city, ensuring greater connectivity. This is having a positive effect on biodiversity and local nature restoration efforts.

The multitude of small neighbourhood initiatives is also having a positive effect on carbon sequestration, resulting in increased carbon storage capacity. The positive effects can also be seen in the reduced temperatures (reduced heat stress) resulting from the cooling effect of increased evapotranspiration, and in cleaner air. By providing green areas close to local people, Amsterdam is able to enhance biodiversity and community engagement. Providing access to recreational opportunities diverts people away from sensitive biodiversity areas.

Green corridors

Providing species with the necessary habitat requirements means giving them sufficient, connected areas of habitat. The creation of green corridors is ensuring a greater connectivity between areas with high value nature, leading to greater landscape connectivity. At the same time, those corridors have additional benefits, including increased evapotranspiration, reduced heat stress, increased carbon storage capacity (carbon sequestration), increased infiltration and cleaner air. The creation of green corridors in the city is also an opportunity for local ecological restoration. The additional green space can also be used for recreation, sport and leisure activities, thus improving health. Building cycle paths helps reduce the use of public transport, which in turn reduces energy consumption.

Deltaplan

While the main aim of the Deltaplan is flood risk reduction, the measures taken have a direct impact on water retention capacity and an indirect impact on the costs relating to sewage system loads. Increased infiltration has a positive effect on the restoration of ecosystems. The measures taken lead to better flood regulation. The Deltaplan is shifting toward greater use of Nature Based Solutions to create green and blue corridors that result in a more connected landscape. Such solutions also create additional high value nature, with increased carbon storage capacity as a secondary benefit. On account of increased evapotranspiration, those newly created habitats also reduce heat stress. The creation of high value nature also has a positive effect on health and improves air quality.

Amsterdam’s Green Agenda is a policy document focusing on Nature Based Solutions. Action is underpinned by a broad research base, including scientific support from several EU-funded research projects, such as Green Surge, Climate-ADAPT, and Sea Change (FP7), and from EU Interreg projects (PERFECT). Amsterdam is collaborating closely with other cities in the Netherlands (G4: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague), and in Europe through the Eurocities network. Research results and plans of action have been incorporated into a variety of policy plans, including the city-region plan ‘Structural Vision: Amsterdam 2040’ (2010), Amsterdam’s Green Agenda (2015), and Waterproof Amsterdam (2013).

The Ecological Vision is the main guideline for enhancing a green network at municipal level. The municipal council adopted a motion requiring an Ecological Vision to be drawn up, elaborating on the municipal Ecological Structure that complements the Main Provincial Ecological Structure and represents the ‘biodiversity dimension’ of the Structural Vision. The Amsterdam Department of Physical Planning is responsible for the Ecological Vision.

The municipality of Amsterdam encourages the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. During the drafting phase of the Structural Vision, meetings and discussions were held with numerous stakeholder groups. Members of the public had the opportunity to comment, including through an internet-based response platform. On a local scale, for example, local people can participate in decision-making about the types of plants to be planted in particular green spaces. ‘Stichting Postzegelparken’ establishes tiny parks on wasteland, and they are maintained by local people and organisations.

Amsterdam received the European Capital of Innovation award in 2016, in recognition of its holistic approach to innovation in governance, the economy, social inclusion, and quality of life. Citizen involvement and digital social innovation are key facets of this bottom-up approach, which is based on smart growth, start-ups, and livability.

Most of the projects have limited potential to generate economic opportunities and green jobs. However, on account of the large number of projects in the city, the number of economic opportunities and green jobs created can be seen as significant (a few dozen jobs created, no economic figures available). Some initiatives also influence the wider economic system beyond the city boundaries, via positive spillover effects and outward replication.

One indirect effect is increased social interaction, including the involvement of large numbers of local people of minority-ethnic origins; this gives them a greater sense of identity and a feeling of belonging in the community. This social interaction often leads to better integration in the community and greater job opportunities.

• Developing and implementing new ideas is fascinating but not enough attention is given to subsequent management, something which is necessary but quite often time-consuming and costly.
• The practical knowledge needed to implement nature-based solutions in cities (e.g. an understanding of soil conditions) is often not present.
• The relationship between the city, with its integrated view, and the local community, with a single bright idea, is not always easy.

The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions was founded in 2013 to study and create solutions to the challenges of the city through a public-private partnership. The institute is running a number of pilot projects, such as Smart Urban Retrofitting, particulate-matter sequestration by green spaces, and smart energy systems.

Amsterdam is collaborating with neighbouring communities (Amsterdam Metropolitan Region), with the other bigger cities in the Netherlands (The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht), and with major European cities (Eurocities). It participates in several European programmes, including Interreg (PERFECT: the effects of green infrastructure on health), FP7 (Green Surge), and H2020 (Sea Change), and cooperates with the European Environment Agency (Climate-ADAPT). Furthermore, Amsterdam was a finalist for the European Green Capital Award in 2010-11.

Responsibility for funding and maintaining green spaces lies with the district committees. Under the name ‘Green Puccini’, city-wide agreements are made on the qualitative planning and management of green space. The municipality actively seeks collaboration with the business community and the non-governmental sector to build on earlier initiatives and intensify and broaden cooperation to include other green spaces. The Department of Physical Planning is responsible for monitoring the results. A first monitoring report, covering Amsterdam’s Green Agenda, was approved by the City Council at the beginning of 2017.

Amsterdam is involved in several European research projects (Green Surge, Climate-ADAPT, Sea Change). Research results are used to support the measures described in the Green Agenda. There is growing interest in participating in European projects. A special team has been set up within the city administration to enable this.