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Urban Greening

( Article Type: Explanation )

Urban greening describes the varied initiatives that are being undertaken within the urban areas to ‘green’ and soften the urban landscape and make it more ‘people friendly’.

These initiatives include the planting of road verges and islands with indigenous vegetation, the removal of alien species, the upgrading of parks and gardens in inner city areas, the development of urban trails which are planned to traverse through green areas, and the changing of urban landscapes through the use of landscape architects to design or redesign inner city areas to reflect a more natural and green surrounding. A number of South African cities have embarked upon programmes to green specific areas.

The Cape Town City Council initiated the very ambitious ‘Greening the City’ programme, which worked up to a point until the pressures of development planning began to cut into the green ‘islands’ and trail areas. Durban revamped its beachfront area to attract more tourists by using natural materials and plants and trees to soften the landscape.


Associated Topics:

Aesthetics , ICLEI ~ Local Governments for Sustainability , Landscape Architecture , Local Agenda 21 , Permaculture , Rehabilitation of Land , Trench Gardening , Urban Agriculture , Urbanisation , Women and the Environment

Associated Organisations:

Abalimi Bezekhaya , Maccaferri Southern Africa , Menlyn Maine , Ethekwini Municipality (Parks Department) , Local Biodiversity Solutions , ERA Architects cc , Food & Trees for Africa , South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) - Biodiversity Education and Empowerment Programmes , Jungle Theatre Company , Mohlolo Landscape Architects , ECOBUZZ - The Green Media Channel , Plantwize , South African Landscapers Institute (SALI) , South African National Biodiversity Institute , Ophopho Group , Just Trees , Indalo Yethu , Garden Goods , Green Guerillas , Vertical Landscapes , FynbosLIFE