In the south east of the Netherlands, there is a city that not many people have heard of. Its name is Nijmegen, and it is a city that other cities around the world could learn a lot from. It's a very compact, clean city and it is fortunate enough to be inhabited by many enlightened and forward-thinking people. Despite being the oldest city in the Netherlands, Nijmegen was voted the European green capital in 2018 and it's not difficult to see why.
As its main University, the University of Radboud has always promoted sustainability, and the city provides many eco-friendly shops for its student population, including independent shops, vintage stores, vegan and vegetarian restaurants. There is a sustainable department store called Het Duurzame Warenhuis, which tries its hardest to stock everything needed for a lower waste lifestyle. There is also a store called 512 Nijmegen which allows people to donate their plants. The plants are then sold as pre-loved that come with their own story.
Nijmegen also has a strict city centre car-free policy and there are currently many car sharing initiatives. 65% of all journeys into the city centre and to the University are made on a bike, as the city provides 60 kilometres of cycle paths which they call “cycling super highways”. Even buses run on green fuels, such as a solar powered bus that takes visitors on guided tours of Nijmegen.
In 2016 Nijmegen decommissioned its coal power station and turned it into a solar park with 9,000 solar panels, replaced 400,000 paving stones within the heart of the city by 10,000 trees and bushes and added 1,400 square meters of green roof atop municipal buildings to make the city a greener, lush environment. 67% of Nijmegen waste is recycled and the rest of the domestic waste is converted to energy providing district heating supplying residents.
Many cities could follow the example set by Nijmegen, to improve our quality of life and help our planet.
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A great read! Thanks.