ABSTRACT
Much of the impetus for building more sustainable cities emanated from the European Union whose 1990 Green Paper on the Urban Environment called for “more integrated, holistic approaches to planning, and the need to view cities as a necessary part of the solution to global environmental problems.” This spawned a more ecologically focused approach via The EU Expert Group’s European Sustainable Communities report that declared “The city must be viewed as a complex, interconnected and dynamic system. Cities are both a threat to the natural environment and an important resource in their own right” (Beatley 2000: 16). European cities are well known for excellence in urban design, compact urban form, mixed used development and recycling of derelict land. In one study the average density of six European cities was 281 residents per ha, contrasted with 86 per ha in six US jurisdictions of similar size. The same cities also contrasted per capita annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) with Europeans averaging 26,200 km and US cities averaging 66,300 km (Beatley 2000: 30). By almost every measure of sustainability Europeans have long been ahead of US cities. Beatley does point out, however, that even Europeans have not been universally diligent regarding access to nature and ecosystem protection (Beatley 2000: 407). Amsterdam’s 1000 ha Amsterdamse Bos Park, represents one of those exceptions where access to nature has enjoyed coequal status with other planning policies. The Bos park, about the same size as Paris’ Bois de Boulogne, creates a large “green wedge” between highly developed urban fingers. It and other green wedges converge on the “Green Heart” (Groene Hart), a group of small towns that have incorporated significantly more agricultural land and open spaces into their development than the surrounding cities of Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague (Beatley 2000: 35). In Germany, the eco-city of Freiburg also utilizes a “green wedge” strategy to integrate natural areas and open spaces into the city. Development has occurred on only 32 percent of the land within the city, which sits at the edge of the Black Forest. Helsinki, Finland’s 10 km long Central Park extends from the city center north into an old growth forest. Helsinki has myriad nature oriented programs including nature preserves, important bird, amphibian, reptile, and bat areas, areas of floral interest, and protected habitats (City of Helsinki, Finland website 2009).
