The Urban Waterbuffer is ready to be tested. In the testing phase the municipality of The Hague will work alongside Dunea and Field Factors to learn more about water purification and buffering in an urban setting. Once the tests have been completed and the necessary standards have been met, the Urban Waterbuffer will officially become operative. The Cromvlietpark will open to the public later this spring. A first impression can be viewed here.

The Launchpad design is now finalised following an exercise to ensure the building is future-proofed against pandemics. The Green Infrastructure incorporated in the design supports Southend Borough Council in its aspirations for the innovation centre to achieve BREEAM and Well v2 accreditations. Construction will start in February 2021. In the meantime, Marijke Geukens from the University of Antwerp has started work on utilising the pilot to test the Business Model.

Lille proves tree planting with citizens is still possible. While minding COVID regulations, the tree planting season is well under way. The Vauban area now has new trees, with many more to come throughout Lille this season. 

In the past months the Wemeldinge pilot has been studied by our academic partners for the development of the Business Model. The Municipality of Kapelle is working on a digital information session for the local inhabitants to get their input and finalize the design. In January 2021 the procurement starts followed by realisation in April/May 2021.

Tree planting activities in Cambridge began again at the start of November, further growing the city’s urban forest. During National Tree Week (28th November – 6th December), Cambridge City Council celebrated its recent commitment to uphold the principles of the Tree Charter by collaborating with local artists and charities to display colourful pictures of fantastical trees and tree-dwelling creatures created by school children in the city. The colourful murals were hung from trees to create pop-up ‘forests of imagination’ which can be viewed in a gallery accessible at this link: 

https://www.cambridgecandi.org.uk/projects/rei
magine/tree-charter.

The public consultation round has brought a lot of positive feedback from the residents. The city has answered all remarks and questions. The design team is now ready to draw up the final design taking resident feedback into account.

Streekvereniging Zuidrand and the Province of Antwerp envisioned seven pilot locations to build sustainable, permeable pathways for cyclists and pedestrians. Six have been finished, with a total length of more than 2,5 km.