Abstract
In recent decades, many cities have transformed from ‘gray’ into ‘green’ cities. The awareness of the value of green space in the city has grown; urban nature and green rooftops filter the air, and parks and green corridors offer city residents relatively quiet places of refuge, where they can walk and relax. In this chapter, the authors explore four cities that have been successful in the transformation into a green city: Tilburg (Netherlands), Melbourne (Australia), San Jose (USA), and Cape Town (South Africa). They discuss the drivers for this transformation (why), what was done to make the city greener (what), and how partnerships between the city government, companies, NGOs, and citizens played a role in this transformation (how). The chapter also analyses some of the main factors that contributed to this transformation, including the role of the city government in initiating and supporting a green policy.
We wish to thank Florent Beurret, Xander de Vries, Florence Li, Julia Neuenhaus, Nne Amakar Oguejiofor and Nick Rurangwa Nshimiyen, for their outstanding research for the Outreaching Lab ‘From gray to green’ at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. This chapter is largely based on their research but the authors are fully responsible for any possible mistakes in the text.
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van Montfort, C., Michels, A. (2020). From Gray to Green Cities: Tilburg, Melbourne, San Jose, and Cape Town. In: van Montfort, C., Michels, A. (eds) Partnerships for Livable Cities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40060-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40060-6_4
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