Green Team in one sentence? Developing and implementing a methodology that supports local governments in an integral and (cost-) efficient approach to designing and managing future proof public spaces.
Written by Magali De Wachter
The idea for the Green Team project sprouted in Antwerp, where it became clear that tasks and transition challenges for municipalities are piling up, and a framework to tackle them efficiently, is missing. It soon became clear that across borders, organisations are facing the same challenge. A partnership was formed, and we enlisted organisations that had already taken initial steps in this direction to join us on this journey.
Green Team is not about reinventing the wheel, but about putting methodologies into practice to plan smarter and more (cost-) efficiently. Over the past decades, many good tools have already been developed both locally and at the European level. There is also a multitude of good examples of how to design and manage public spaces efficiently and safely. However, much of this is still done in a very ad-hoc manner, and due to the hectic pace under which municipalities must manage everything, opportunities are being missed. The Green Team project aims to change that, and we are doing so in three ways.
First, by fostering better collaboration: Policy makers too often approach today’s complex spatial problems in a domain specific manner. While developing the project proposal, we heard about a street that had been completely redesigned in a climate-friendly way, but the streets turned out to be too narrow and the trees too wide for the fire department to pass through. They had to start over. Linking different tasks to one another can only happen when there is collaboration between various departments. That is what the Green Teams will do. They will be a core team that connects tasks and opportunities across departments.
Secondly, the Green Team project will create a greenblue public investment planning. By integrating a comprehensive approach into a multi-year planning, creating a future and climate safe public space doesn’t have to cost more or ask more time. Too often it still happens that a street is opened for sewage works and is closed again. Such a moment can provide the perfect opportunity to address other challenges, such as flooding issues or heat stress.
Finally, the project will foster better knowledge sharing. There are already plenty of good examples, and it’s about bringing them together and ensuring people can quickly find their way to them. This is also where we bridge the gap with professionals outside government organisations, like landscape architects, designers and maintainers of the public space.
Several local governments will co-develop, test, and implement the Green Team methodology. They are the pioneers or lighthouses for other organisations that want to learn. You can learn more about their organisations and journeys here: Our Pilots.
Project poster Green Team