In May 2018, the City of Amsterdam hosted a two day peer-to-peer (P2P) meeting for partners from Cornwall Council and the Provincial Government of Styria. The meeting was well attended with four partners from Cornwall Council, five from the Provincial Government of Styria and five from the City of Amsterdam.
To prepare for the meeting, the partners collaboratively identified opportunities for learning and exchanging knowledge. The selected topics included air quality in relation to green infrastructure (GI) and health, policy making and participation in planning of GI, cross departmental working and approaches to the maintenance of green spaces.
The first day started with an expert presentation on air quality and GI. The NGO ‘Gezonde Stad’ (Healthy City) presented the Rooftop Revolution, a very successful project in promoting green roofs in Amsterdam - it inspires and engages people, provides relevant information and organises events that connect interested people and involved stakeholders. PERFECT can learn from this strategy because it raises awareness on the benefits of GI at a very practical level.
During the two day meeting partners visited several projects and sites. The visit to the Noorderpark, where the group was joined by the ERDF programme manager, made clear that partly ERDF funded projects actually promote the jobs and growth agenda in relation to GI. The group also visited the project ‘park around the corner’, talked to local stakeholders and learned how green space maintenance by local communities can be organised successfully. A green school playground was visited, which showed what kind of opportunities schoolyards can offer to increase green infrastructure in cities, thereby providing healthy and pleasant environments for the children and local residents. With a visit to the Breevast building in the Zuidas area, the group discovered the largest Polder Roof of Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Waterboard (Waternet) demonstrated how an ecological urban infiltration strip is used as a temporarily storage of rainwater after heavy rain.
The P2P meeting in Amsterdam boosted cross departmental working. Colleagues from the Planning Department, the Project Management Office, the Amsterdam Health Service, the Amsterdam Waterboard (Waternet) and City Districts participated in the program. Cross departmental working was explicitly discussed and addressed as a relevant target for successful co-working on GI. Stakeholders at grass root level also participated in the program: the NGO ‘de Gezonde stad’, the NGO ‘Noorderpark Trust’ and residents from a ‘park around the corner’
The P2P meeting was blessed with great sunny weather. During the two days there was a lively interaction between the partners, which lead to fruitful exchange of experiences and good practices. A full report of the P2P can be read here.
