Towards Healthy Urban Living – EU Green Infrastructure Strategy and Green Roof Implementation in Member States

Abstract

Urban planning has long been known to affect the health of citizens and ecosystems of cities and surrounding areas. Since the 19th century, when numerous urban issues arose, the protection of health has been one of the priorities for city design and planning and has influenced the practice until this day. Nowadays, continuous excessive greenhouse gas production, physical inactivity and social, cultural and economic inequalities within cities are the main factors harming the health of urban populations in the west. Policymakers and scholars have been aware of these issues and attempt to find solutions to secure a healthy urban living. The recent development of green infrastructure, the incorporation of natural ecosystems within urban areas, which not only protects the environment, but also has positive effects on human health and well-being is an exemplary framework on this topic. The EU Green Infrastructure Strategy drawn up in 2013 is a supranational attempt to implement such strategies. This non-binding document, however, requires governance and cooperation on a number of levels in order for the initiatives to be put into practice. A popular example of green infrastructure in EU cities are green roofs which have multiple potential benefits for urban health, as shown by examples such as Hamburg or Rotterdam where the EU Biodiversity Strategy has been used as a background for environmental policies and where EU funds are used for green roof initiatives. The connection between the EU strategies and funds and national initiatives, however, is still weak, and the need for more promotion of EU frameworks as well as research on specific EU initiatives and their effect on healthy urban living is necessary.