Image by Johannes Kassenberg. Source: www.essengreen.capital

 

The ninth largest German city Essen located in the Ruhr Area in the federal state of North Rhine-Westfalia officially became the European Green Capital 2017.

 

The European Green Capital award recognizes city’s efforts and commitment to improving the urban development and boosting awareness of the need for environmental change at the city level.

 

This year, city of Essen, which successfully transformed from being  industrial  city to the greenest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, will act as a role model for sustainable urban development, sharing and promoting its best practices.

 

Image by Johannes Kassenberg

 

Mayor of Essen Thomas Kufen said, “This award is recognition of Essen’s great efforts to establish itself as a city in transformation; overcoming a challenging industrial history to reinvent itself as a Green City. We strive to be a leading example for other European cities in finding sustainable solutions to urban challenges.”

 

Mayor emphasized that the key to successful transformation of Essen into a “Green City” is in its citizens and their ability to change and their engagement. Thomas Kufen also added, “We are very excited to show the rest of Europe what Essen has to offer in its year as European Green Capital 2017.”

 

Image by Daniel Mueller

 

City of Essen took a number of measures to protect and enhance nature and biodiversity.  In addition to actively investing in green infrastructure, Essen plans to promote biodiversity in new green areas.

 

Essen also showed a strong performance in such fields as climate change, air quality, waste management and energy performance.

 

Regarding mobility, over the last 20 years there has been a shift towards local public transport and a growth in cycling. Essen aims to support this positive trend by implementing a number of projects. City set ambitious target of increasing cycling by 25% by 2035 and reducing car travel by 29% by 2035. Besides, Essen committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 40% by 2020.

 

Image by Johannes Kassenberg

 

Over the course of 2017, Essen plans to start over 300 citizen’s projects and events that will further improve the quality of life in the city and put sustainability at the heart of the city’s development programme.

 

To learn more about Essen’s achievements and targets, click here.

For more details about upcoming events and projects in Essen, click here.

 

by Natalie Myhalnytska

 

Book hotels in Essen here.