I remember walking the streets of Berlin on a sunny spring morning. As I strolled, I noticed a father and his young child ahead of me. The father seemed in a rush, eager to move forward, but the girl was captivated by a hedge along the street. It appeared to be a plain green fence, but she was entranced, reaching out and touching it. The father, stressed and eager to continue, picked up the little one and continued on their way. I approached the hedge and ran my fingers over it. The texture of the bushes felt delightful. I understood the child's fixation. When we incorporate diverse nature into our urban spaces, we're not just beautifying our cities; we're creating multi-sensory places that allow people to look, touch, smell, and listen. We don’t always have time to enjoy these experiences, just like the father in Berlin. But I bet that at another moment, when he’s a bit less stressed, he’d also touch that hedge and be fascinated by the feeling, just like his son.
Have a great weekend,
Lior
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
- William Shakespeare
🌎 From the world. Three shades of grass, three different impacts. This video by Dr Rob Thompson who tells the story of our summers. Notice the difference? Heatwaves bring more than discomfort and thirst. They disrupt the natural balance and cycles, leaving our green spaces less resilient to handle water when it arrives. Dry grass, having endured relentless heat, struggles to absorb water. It's not just a less vibrant green—it's a symbol of nature gasping for breath.
🚲 From the Netherlands. Green rooftops are becoming essential for urban water management. In Rotterdam’s Oud Mathenesse district, 25% of the roofs have green coverings that can hold 25 mm of rainwater, reducing annual overflow by 19.5% and improving water quality. These roofs also help manage heavy storms by cutting peak stormwater overflow by 3.4%!
Interested in how green roofs collect water? Check out the Water Collection video released by Gemeente Rotterdam.
🧡 From Humankind. Our co-founder Lior Steinberg had a talk with Robin Cox for his Good Place podcast. They were sitting on one of Lior’s favorite benches in Rotterdam and spoke about creating better places and cities.
📚 Dive Deeper. Did you know that a simple walk in the park can greatly enhance a child’s concentration, and green views from school windows are linked to better academic performance? Read this discussion report by UNICEF to learn more about the Necessity of Urban Green Space for Children’s Optimal Development!
🤩 So beautiful. This green space used to be a road. The Laat street in Alkmaar turned a busy shopping street into a green oasis. A place where people can walk, meet, relax, and... shop. It's now future-proof for hot summer days.
A beautiful photo by Nanda Sluijsmans I Stedenbouwkundige. Design by Bureau B+B urbanism and landscape architecture.
Want to learn more about cycling in the Netherlands? We are hosting a masterclass on September 18 - 20, 2024 in Rotterdam, Delft & Amsterdam.
Designing the Cycling City – The Masterclass is a crash course in bicycle urbanism. Through a combination of presentations, lectures by well-known practitioners and researchers, cycling tours and practical sessions, this Masterclass takes the participants through a deep dive into the Dutch approach to cycling urbanism – arguably one of the most successful in the world.