Essen Replication City winner of the European Green Capital Award 2017

The 8th European Green Capital Award has been granted to the city of Essen in Germany – member of the EU-GUGLE and SINFONIA Replication Cluster – rewarding the city’s efforts to achieve high environmental standards and promote environmentally friendly urban living in Europe.

 

Located in the Ruhr Area, the history of Essen has been closely linked with the coal and steel industries. Since the 1980s, the city has engaged in an ambitious transition to become a sustainable city and foster green urban renewal. According to the jury of the award, “Essen is a city that has embraced transformation from a heavy industrial past to become a cleaner greener city”.

 

The jury, which assessed the performance of several candidate cities in 12 environmental criteria, has been particularly impressed by Essen’s innovative water management system using multifunctional green areas for rainwater management, flood prevention and groundwater recharge. During its year as the European Green Capital, Essen intends to launch a series of initiatives including the improvement of the wastewater treatment system to foster the sustainable development of the city.

 

As a Replication city of the EU-GUGLE and SINFONIA projects, Essen will share experience and best practices in the field of energy efficient building refurbishment with other European Smart cities, while discovering the innovative solutions already implemented in the project’s pilot districts.

REFURBISHMENT
2017-01-24