On the 24 November 2017, WECF (Women Engage for a Common Future), in collaboration with Partners voor een Gezond Leefmilieu (PGL – Partners for a Healthy Living Environment) organized a small seminar in Utrecht, Netherlands with the theme “green in the city”. The event highlighted that a greener city has many advantages. Not only does it improve the quality of life and health of the citizens, but a city also becomes less vulnerable to climate change. For example, water can be absorbed better when there are more green areas, and heat is reflected less. On another important note, plants and trees filter air pollution, and thereby help towards better air quality.
Several presentations were given by experts in the field, including PGL’s Annemarie van de Vusse. Joop Spijker and Dr. Jana Verboom-Vasiljev from Wageningen University Environmental Research discussed the importance of green in a city for a healthy living environment. Joris Voeten of Urban Roofscapes (urbanroofscapes.com) noted now using roofs can improve usage of space and contribute to the ecosystem of a city. WECF’s Chantal Van den Bossche also talked about the need of green areas for children and health. Multiple recommendations were formulated as a result of the discussions.
This activity aimed to educate and raise awareness on SDG 11, sustainable cities and communities.
More information can be found here: http://www.wecf.eu/nederland/nieuws/2018/GroenInStad.php.
Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) is an international network of over 150 women’s and civil society organisations implementing projects in 50 countries and advocating globally to shape a just and sustainable world; our Common Future.