GREEN TEAM

Description

Green Team in one sentence? Developing and implementing a methodology that supports local governments in an integral and (cost-) efficient approach to designing and managing future proof public spaces.

Municipalities play a crucial role in both the design and maintenance of public spaces and in supporting Europe’s ambition to become climate resilient by 2050. However, these responsibilities are often not aligned in practice. A common example is the reinstatement of streets following sewer works: despite the disruption offering an ideal opportunity for climate adaptation interventions—such as surface softening, water infiltration, or urban greening—streets are frequently restored to their original state. This results in missed opportunities for quick wins and leads to unnecessary financial costs and lost potential for transforming public spaces into green-blue infrastructure. Such spaces are essential not only for managing climate impacts like flooding, drought, and urban heat but also for enhancing public health, wellbeing, and overall urban liveability.

The GREEN TEAM project aims to address this gap. It will support local governments in embedding climate adaptation into the core operations of their organisations.

This can be achieved through three key strategies:

Fostering cross-departmental collaboration: too often, today's complex spatial problems are tackled in a domain-specific manner, causing mishaps or missed chances. Therefore, core 'green teams' are set up within municipalities and regional districts. These teams include colleagues from different departments, and give advice on public space projects and policies through their cross-departmental lense.

Creating green-blue investment plannings: climate adaptation does not have to make projects more expensive, if you are aware of linking opportunities, integrate innovative solutions, and convince all policy domains to contribute. This project develops action plans and a roadmap to make multi-year investment plannings more green-blue.

Facilitate knowledge sharing: the project also bridges the gap between governments and executive parties like landscape architects, study bureaus and contractors by creating a large, international learning network.