Hamburg – European Green Capital 2011

The European Green Capital award is a way of showcasing cities‘ achievements and encouraging to create greener living conditions.

In judging this “green competition” of the cities, the European Commission focused on the urban environment and sustainability for the future generations and established a scheme to reward cities.

The race for 2011 European Green Capital title was won by Hamburg.

Clean air, parks, pollution-free environment, high quality urban living and sustainable ideas!
I have been really impressed as a visitor!
Hamburg’s green features:

• Hectares of woodland

• Public parks

• Water covers over 8% of urban area

• Waterfront terraces and walkways offer pleasant open–air spaces for residents

• Parks are linked with leisure and sport areas, playgrounds to make possible for people to travel on foot or by bicycle

• Since July 2009, the StadtRAD bicycle scheme has developed a network of 71 stations around the city. (check the one in the picture below)

• World’s largest fleet of Hydrogen-fuelled buses

• Hamburg port wants to make its entire transport chain environmentally friendly

• A network of rapid transit and regional rail services converge at the city centre

• River Elbe ferry lines serve the needs of both commuters and visitors

• New development and renovation of existing buildings aspire to high standards of sustainability for both homes and offices

In a beautiful summer day it was a pleasure to learn an important lesson about “sharing experiences, sharing best practices and sharing a vision of the future”.

Monica Zarnescu