The Green Book of the city of Zurich's Office of Parks and Open Spaces (Grün Stadt Zürich) represents a comprehensive strategy for the city of Zurich’s green and open spaces and for its green knowledge. A good city-wide linking of concepts and aims is needed to ensure that the different paths of urban development do not get in the way of each other.
With these stated objectives and specific statements, we will ensure the significance of green space in Zurich – for the good of the urban population and for the good of Nature.
42. What is more: This comprehensive environmental approach costs the citizens of Zurich only 53 centimes per day!
43. “ Zurich blossoms where we are working – we create quality of life.” Grün Stadt Zürich
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Hinweis der Redaktion
The Green Book of Zürich – published in 2006 - is the 10 year strategy from Grün Stadt Zürich for its green and open Spaces and the green Knowledge. You have got a translation of the whole Green book on CD with the documents for the congress. ‚ Grün Stadt Zürich GSZ‘ means Office of parks and open Spaces. In the translated green book and in my presentation we use our german name ‚Grün Stadt Zürich‘ or the shortname GSZ
These are the subjects of my presentation for the next half an hour.
Some information about our company: The Office of Parks and Open Spaces includes the following divisions: Promotion of Nature, Planning & Construction, Maintenance, Operations & Logistics, and the Back Office Unit. GSZ employs roughly 430 motivated staff in 35 different professions, 24 of which are “green professions” (gardeners, farmers, landscape architects etc.) We offer further training options for our employees and provide apprenticeships for 40 trainees in 9 different professions Grün Stadt Zürich provides field work projects for 80 – 100 persons from municipal welfare programs. We tend almost 1500 acres (= 600 ha) of parks, 3,000 acres (= 1,200 ha) of urban forest, 20 cemeteries and about 22’000 trees lining streets in a close-to-nature and environmentally-friendly way GSZ leases out almost 6,000 parcels of land as allotment gardens. We assess about 800 building applications per year.
Development of the Green Book The Green Book corresponds to the culture of GSZ, defining the future by involving employees and in discussion with key partners and external experts. Interfaces became transparent and had to be discussed. Different approaches and terms had to be reassessed. The broad support structure within GSZ guarantees that this undertaking will be completed, in that it has been continuously examined in terms of viability. There is also a high degree of emotional commitment on the part of those involved. The Green Book was published in 2006
Ev weg lassen aus Zeitgründen It‘s not the public finance that is a scarce commodity in the city of Zurich, it‘s all about space. So far we are not concerned about a shrinking city. Considerable areas are needed for housing, education and research. Building projects focus on open spaces. But there is also competitive pressure among different recreational facilities, for example allotment gardens versus football. While written down in the Green Book GSZ communicates its attitude and objectives in an open and transparent way to the other municipal offices. GSZ also strives for a fair and transparent weighing up of interests and benefits on the issues of urban development. May I set just an example why company-wide goals are necessary: Forest wardens, gamekeepers, planners of recreational areas, farmers or conservationists all have many different viewpoints of the design and maintenance of the edges of a forest. That‘s why you have to reach agreement on how to manage things in order to reach the goals together.
Integral planning – what does it mean? Cemeteries, forests and wildlife, horticulture, landscape development, sports grounds, species promotion, Nature Schools, tree-lined avenues – all of these specialist areas have their own planning regulations. The time periods and content vary but the planning regulations are standardised. Why then plan integrally? The reasons for this are as follows: The processes are more effective if they are designed in an integral manner and are completed in closed cycles. If specialist planning documents are coordinated with each other un-ambiguously, the disadvantages of the sectoral method employed to date can be overcome. Integral planning and action promotes interlinked thinking and is geared towards the needs of the users. The most important process steps are outlined in the “Integral Planning” process management. The darker arrows indicate the main directions, the lighter arrows indicate feedback.
New public management and the overall budget have a major influence on performance targets. The question as to what demands must be satisfied is at the very forefront and replaces the budget-optimisation mentality. GSZ has sought binding comprehensible processes for its organisational development. The main process is based on provision and demand, that is to say the interplay between performance and those on the receiving end of the performance: > Provision: Who does what for whom? Demand: Who wants what from whom? The management tools are parts of this cycle and support this transmission.
Environment and Trends This section outlines the overall context within which the core topics of the Green Book are viewed and which exogenic factors should be taken into consideration. The trends indicate key general developments. Value added levy and reverse zoning These two requirements will shape political discussions on spatial development in the next few years. However, it is uncertain to what extent they can be implemented. The recommendation of the Spatial Planning to the cantons is as follows: Consistently strive for a value added levy and planning yields with regard to sustainability. Even clearer are the demands from environmental associations that are increasingly discussing this topic. What is the value of green space? The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Berne has identified the benefits of the landscape for the Swiss trourism industry and has valued it, conservatively, at 2.5 billion francs per year. Federal financing A study published in 2001 by the Swiss Foundation for Landscape Protection highlighted the fact that around 90% of direct or indirect regionally effective subsidies from the Confederation, amounting to around 90 billion francs, tend to have a negative effect on the landscape. Less fertilizer, fewer pesticides The trend towards the continued contamination of soil seems to have been halted in Switzerland: the use of phosphorus mineral fertilizers has fallen by 75% in Swiss agriculture between 1990 and 2000; today its consumption is only half what it was in 1950. Green is healthy A large percentage of the population is overweight today and the trend is rising. The city of Zurich is developing a strategy for health promotion for its population and also for its employees and regularly publishes a health report.
Green and Open Spaces This section discusses specific land-related topics, describing their current state, target state in 10 years time, key indicators and fields of action. Basic Principles This section sets out the objectives and fields of action that affect all topics: all kind of green and open spaces and the environmental education and the company itself. Environmental Education This section outlines the objectives and fields of action of Green Knowledge.
The linking of subjects shows for each topic area how it is arranged within the structure of GSZ and which product groups and customer groups are affected. It also shows the sustainability claims and indicators (according to MONET) that the topic area affects. In the following presentation of the topics I will give a very short summery of the objectives “in 10 years …” I will not mention the indicators or the field of actions in this short time.
(not GSZ land, influence on third-party land sought by means of management agreements within the City Council, via planning permission processes, inventories and active consultation). Derivation: The residential environment always comes in first place top in terms of quality of life in the estimation of the population.
Derivation: Each and every user group places its own demands on the shape and form of day-to-day relaxation and just as diverse and varied is the need for open spaces and infrastructure. This increasingly leads to conflicts of use on these limited areas. The need to use green spaces and open spaces for public and commercial events has increased significantly in recent years.
The following strategic focal areas have been defined on objectives and fields of action specified in the Green Book. These are key functions for a continued successful green outcome. Quality of life: GSZ will make available high-quality green and open spaces in the ever more densely-built city. These will offer the residential and working population, as well as visitors to the city, many opportunities for recreation, exercise, meeting up as well as experiences with nature and will therefore be much appreciated by the population. Biodiversity: GSZ will promote the diversity of species by environmental friendly maintenance and production in harmony with nature, by linking habitats and targeted protection measures. These measures will be highly accepted within the population. Green Knowledge: By means of its “Green Knowledge” approach, GSZ will promote an understanding of Nature, starting in kindergartens and progressing right through to teaching and research in universities. Attractive education about nature will be a fixed element within Zurich, the city of knowledge. Nature Schools, the Succulent Plant Collection, the Municipal Botanical Garden and Nursery and Zurich Wilderness Park (Wildnispark Zürich) will all be popular and well-known green educational centres. Influence on external land: GSZ will improve the quality of green space in possession of other authorities, residential builders, and private individuals with consultancy, partnerships and project support. Conservation of soil fertility: GSZ will prevent further contamination of soil to maintain its fertility by means of consultation and environmentally-friendly maintenance and production.
Adequate and varied recreational space: GSZ will provide an attractive range of open spaces to meet the needs of the population. In underserved areas, hitherto designated open spaces will be opened up for further recreational use or new park facilities will be created. Social responsibility: Green spaces will contribute to the integration of the different population groups and social strata. As an employer, GSZ will create integration jobs for skilled craftsmen and women. Communication and participation: Within the population itself, understanding will be promoted for different environmental issues and pleasure will be taken in the variety of green spaces around the city. The development of the green spaces will take place with the involvement of those affected by it. Integral planning: GSZ will strive for a long-term holistic development of green spaces by means of interdisciplinary planning within the city and also beyond the boundaries of the city. This integral planning will ensure the transfer from the different planning levels through to implementation within GSZ. Outcome-orientated approach: GSZ will cost-effectively provide green services to meet the demand and will systematically measure the outcome to continuously improve benefits to customers.
What is more: this comprehensive environmental approach only costs the citizens of Zurich 53 centimes per day.