Revamped Urban Pathways: Bochum and Wattenscheid Get Eco-Friendly Streets
In cities across Europe, a new trend is emerging that is revolutionizing urban spaces: Garden Streets. From Antwerp to Paris, these green oases are becoming the heart of communities, promoting health, social interaction, and sustainability.
In Antwerp, the first garden street was realized in 2021, with three new ones inaugurated this year and eleven already existing. These streets, once bleak and desolate, are now vibrant gathering places for children and the neighborhood. Benches and play equipment have been installed, making them perfect spots for social exchange and togetherness.
Paris is not far behind in this green revolution. The city has plans to create another 500 garden streets, as approved in a recent citizen consultation. Since 2016, garden streets have been created in Paris, with 120 streets receiving new plantings in the 2024/25 planting season.
The designs of these garden streets prioritize natural integration, walkability, and mental well-being. Inspired by landscape designers like Jacques Wirtz, these gardens and streets emphasize complementing existing natural beauty with flowering plants, grasses, clipped trees, and hedges rather than using harsh, man-made materials.
Urban planning in such garden streets prioritizes walkability, open plazas, and street corners that serve as spaces for physical activity and mental health recovery. Projects like those by Atelier Brisac in Paris illustrate the principle of “elegance” in urban design — solutions that reconcile multiple, sometimes unrelated, problems with clarity, care, and welcoming environments focused on user experience.
In Antwerp, the Botanic Sanctuary integrates green spaces and wellness facilities (spa, gym, botanical gardens adjacent) within the urban fabric, creating a holistic approach to urban well-being and a sense of seclusion within a city setting.
The benefits of these garden streets are manifold. By providing green sanctuaries and walkable streets, they improve residents' mental and physical health. The use of natural planting and integration with existing ecosystems supports biodiversity and ecological sustainability. These designs promote social interaction in elegant, welcoming public spaces that sustain cultural heritage.
Moreover, they address modern urban stressors such as high density and post-pandemic recovery through adaptable, multifunctional public spaces. In Bochum and Wattenscheid, the STADTGESTALTER proposes to transform previously bleak, gray, and desolate residential streets without through traffic into garden streets, with intense participation from residents.
Garden streets are permeable streets designed to collect and infiltrate rainwater for plant irrigation. They are perceived as community spaces where neighbors work together to green and make them permeable. The sense of belonging in the neighborhood is fostered, encouraging residents to improve living quality directly in front of their doors. Pedestrians and soft mobility are given priority in garden streets.
In summary, garden streets in Paris and Antwerp combine elegant landscape architecture, natural planting principles, wellness focus, and flexible urban design to create green, health-promoting, and socially vibrant city environments. This trend is set to continue, with cities across Europe recognizing the importance of creating sustainable, green, and welcoming urban spaces for their residents.
In Antwerp, as the number of garden streets continues to grow, these spaces are transitioning from desolate areas to vibrant hubs for community interaction, promoting not only a sustainable-living lifestyle but also home-and-garden harmony. Similarly, Paris's vision of creating another 500 garden streets reflects this shift towards prioritizing a healthier, more connected urban lifestyle, combining sustainable-living practices with attractive home-and-garden environments.
