Guess which city 2 - Berlin
Guess which city 2 - Berlin – building a greener inner city
Take home message: Berlin’s Biotope Area Factor is greening buildings but can it also bring nature back into the city?
Berlin is famous for its School of urban ecology. And therefor a must-visit for every urban ecologist.
Walking through Berlin, I scouted several solutions to green the facade or the roof of a building. Some very technically engineered constructions and some very simple with room for climbing plants to grow the length of the building. This of course was the result of Berlin’s policy to green the inner city. The Biotope Area Factor was doing what is was meant to do: add green to new developments. As an urban ecologist I also looked at the attraction of these green facades on local animal species. In some cases flowering plants were used, and is some cases even native plants were used. But some facades were a bit more ‘exotic’.
All the signs with “protected nature area’ in many parks gave me the feeling that nature was taken seriously. Even the smallest parks these signs were posted.
I really liked how the spontaneous nature which grew on the derelict railway tracks was integrated in Park am Gleisdreieck. The park harbours indigenous plant species and animal species like rabbits and different species of wild bees.
When visiting Berlin enjoy all the different solutions for greening facades and rooftops. Let me know if you scout any pollinators enjoying them too. Park am Gleisdreieck is certainly worth a visit if you enjoy spontaneous nature.
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https://www.parkamgleisdreieck.de/stadtnatur-umweltbildung/
https://www.parkamgleisdreieck.de/en/
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