Building on the White Paper on Urban Greenery, the BMWSB and the BBSR are currently developing the ‘Green-Blue City’ agenda – a new action programme designed to support local authorities in the targeted expansion of green-blue infrastructure. The project entered its next phase with a dialogue forum held in early December, in which the bdla is participating.
Many of the proposals set out in the 2017 White Paper have so far only been partially implemented, whilst the demands on urban green spaces and climate-resilient open spaces continue to rise. Since autumn 2024, the Ministry has therefore been working on the ‘Green-Blue City’ agenda, which aims to address land-use conflicts and challenges such as climate adaptation, environmental justice and preventive healthcare. Looking ahead, it is also intended to act as a ‘hinge’ between the ‘Bauturbo’ initiative and the restoration of urban ecosystems in accordance with Article 8 of the EU Recovery Regulation.
The five key focus areas of the agenda have already been defined:
- Green-blue spatial planning: equitable land use and strategic spatial potential
- Green-blue instead of grey: water-sensitive and nature-based urban development
- Green-blue health: urban green spaces as a contribution to health promotion
- Green-blue social: Equitable and community-based development of open spaces
- Green-blue competence: Further development of legal frameworks and standards
The focus of the 1st Dialogue Forum was on jointly refining the strategic direction of the agenda. Participants from public authorities, associations and the field discussed which measures are particularly effective, what obstacles exist at local authority level, and what alliances are necessary to strengthen green-blue infrastructure in the long term. The next step will be to draw up specific packages of measures. The agenda is due to be presented at the 4th Federal Congress ‘Green in the City’ in May 2026. The bdla will continue to monitor the process closely.
Further information can be found on the ‘Green in the City’ website
- Latitude: 0
- Longitude: 0
