Here at TEDxAmsterdam, we love it when people and organizations rally for a better environment – especially when they do it in a way that inspires more people to become eco-aware. So we definitely welcome the plans by Amsterdam’s city council to ‘green’ the city. Not by creating parks or planting a few trees here and there (Amsterdam already has plenty of that – and it rocks). Oh no. They’re promoting the latest in eco-cool by challenging real estate owners to enrich their rooftops with some trees, plants, and grass, and they’re providing a subsidy to help people do it.
The benefits of green roofs are many: insulation in winter, reduced need for air conditioning in summer, new tenants in the form of insect populations, and a breath of fresh air for the city, to name but a few.
Above: Amsterdam has plenty of green (if you know what we mean), but here’s a new twist.
Our friends at the ABC Bookstore have joined in by turning their roof on Spui 12 into a green oasis (not pictured). It’s the first official green roof in the city – and we hope the first of many. They’re opening this green haven for book lovers at midday on the 21st April.
We’ve already chosen the book we’re going to read up there this summer.
Photo credit: Anne Helmond
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