I had the chance to visit around the central train station of Utrecht to examine what types of green infrastructure are developed. Much of the inner city does give a natureless appearance. Then again, it is not in favor of a tree itself to be placed in such an environment.
The train station platforms are actually outfitted with solar panels. Utrecht has an ambitious green policy, and even has a list of protected species. This includes 10 mushrooms, 3 fish, 6 bees, many plants, and 5 birds among which the blackbird. The three main policy goals are to have more green around the city, to reach the outside quicker by means of green connected zones, and to have better green in the city, though it is not clear what qualifies as better.
There are several areas where minor adjustments have made a difference. These include patches of green or trees in walkways, that simultaneously help promote the traffic flow of people passing each other. Other examples are hedges and green walls in parking lots, and mobile green walls around cafes.
Where more space is available, larger adjustments have been implemented, including parks, wadis, and of course the entire restoration of the canal which had been made into a 12 lane road and is now far thinner. A nice touch is that the canal is made to appear to continue to run through the shopping center.
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