The artistic flair inspiring greener European cities
Arts and culture can bring imagination and momentum to projects for putting urban neighbourhoods more in tune with nature.
By JACK MCGOVAN
In the Dutch capital Amsterdam, a thoroughfare called the Stadhouderskade is being reclaimed by residents. They’re turning the car-clogged artery into a two-kilometre-long haven for nature and people.
Students of art, engineering, mathematics, science and technology are helping to drive the transformation. Their role is to offer artistic, social and technical advice on remodelling the road section located along a main canal and near the Rijksmuseum, home to paintings by Dutch 17th century masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer.
Dutch designs
The “Green Mile” is an initiative by six Dutch organisations that include the Rijksmuseum, brewer Heineken — whose headquarters are on the Stadhouderskade — the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Dutch National Bank, architecture firm UNStudio and consultancy Blendingbricks.
‘Arts and culture can challenge people to get out of their usual way of thinking,’ said Annemie Wyckmans, a professor of sustainable architecture at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.
