Inhabitat

Europe’s Grass-Lined Green Railways = Good Urban Design

Although it’s certainly not a new idea to combine landscaping with public transportation, we love the sight of these European trams gliding along on beds of grass. From Barcelona to the Czech Republic, Frankfurt, St-Etienne and Strasbourg, these public transit greenways are showing the potential of incorporating landscaping into good urban design.

trams on grass, sustainable transportation, european public transportation, green transportation, urban design, urban heat island effect, green design, grass lined public transportation tracks St. Etienne, France

Much like green roofs, these swaths of green provide a host of benefits to any urban area, like reducing urban heat island effect, providing a permeable surface for storm water to infiltrate, and reducing pollution. And did we mention that it looks so much prettier than concrete or asphalt? We wish the public transportation in the US looked this good.

We wholeheartedly agree with Monocle Magazine’s top 25 Examples of Good Urban Design, which states: “There’s something quite magical about watching trams in Barcelona, Strasbourg or Frankfurt glide silently along beds of grass as they do their city circuit. Where possible, this attractive combination of efficient public transport and inspired landscaping should be standard as part of the urban fabric.”

Via TerraPass Footprint

26 Responses to “Europe’s Grass-Lined Green Railways = Good Urban Design”

elepski Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

Very Nice and well done.

Achmed Khammas Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 4:47 pm

They started with this last year also here in Berlin, Germany.

More about the global renewable energy soloutions is been presented in my ‘Book of Synergy’ (sorry, recently only in German: http://www.buch-der-synergie.de).

emileNOLA Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Public transportation in the USA DOES look this good …
Certainly you’re not suggesting that this is an idea unique to Europe?
What about Streetcars and the nuetral grounds in New Orleans?

http://www.thomashoven.com/p2002_032_a34f.jpg

designrr Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 6:46 pm

Tell me that’s some variety of grass that doesn’t require mowing! If it does, and they use two stroke mowers to do the job, then all the benefits are basically nullified.

zig Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 6:57 pm

Who’s going to cut all that grass? I bet it costs more than concrete in the long run.

organicway Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 7:21 pm

they look amazing, i visited the http://www.oway.com.au office in sydney recently and they have incoperated landscaping into their office, it looks and smell fantastic.

Nameth Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 9:44 pm

I like it! It’s very nice too look at, but i could see kids wanting to play in the nice grass and getting hit by trains :|

cdbaut Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 9:59 pm

I was just wondering about the mowing issue..and the possible fertilizer/pesticides to keep them so very green. I do hope that it’s really green..all the way to the roots.

goodduck Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

They have had this in New Orleans since 1835.

physics2010 Says:

January 27th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

Integrate the reel type lawn mower onto the front of the train/tram.

Milieunet Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 4:20 am

I guess the Interstate Hydrogen Superhighway in Michigan is a modern solution, although i also like the trams in our country. Indeed that part of the complete tram-system in the Hague is pretty nice and green.

http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=2419

GR Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 5:59 am

Paris too has a green Tramway line
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tofz4u/307000226/

vadjutka Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 6:40 am

Great post, I wish we had tramways like these in Hungary as well!

elinehan Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 10:45 am

And Dublin Ireland too http://www.flickr.com/photos/isadub/141926590/

miltowny Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 10:46 am

such a classic approach. I would imagine this is also more quite than cement.

elepski Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 10:47 am

There are varieties of grass that are very hearty and do not require much mowing. As far as when it dose… you could have a cutter that is part of the tram… as for the other areas.. electric mowers do just fine on maintained lawns.

Abo Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

so what?… we have had (in Ukraine) the stuff like this since USSR was… this is not a new method

Abo Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

so what?… we have had (in Ukraine) the stuff like this since USSR was… this is not a new idea

LIFE & URBANISM » Blog Archive » Design Tip: Rail Transportation as Green Landscaping Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 8:23 pm

[...] covers. Rain gardens could be added to catch storm water run off as well. You can see more photos here and there is some other interesting urban design ideas here from Monocle [...]

melhuet Says:

January 28th, 2009 at 9:07 pm

The US really needs to invest in public transportation. Not only is adding grass a beautiful thing to do, I love reading about the benefits it provides beyond its surface beauty.

Patrick33 Says:

January 30th, 2009 at 1:22 am

I live in Bordeaux , France and we have some parts of the tramway on grass. And there is a problem : water. Bordeaux has considerably decreased its quantity of water used for urban gardens so, during summer, the grass is completely dry and yellow. It’s not always as lovely than on these pictures. But i prefer that, so we use recycled water or no water but today we also have to think about it. Sorry for my “frenched” english.

theheckle Says:

January 30th, 2009 at 9:55 am

Since many of these are located in climes that get snow, I assume they’ve figured out how to remove snow. That on top of the mowing and care issue may balance the urban heat island dissipation and permeability. I think the US could go a long way towards meeting the grade by having stormwater management integrated into whatever new light rail/trams that are built. That way maintenance costs are lower and the benefits are greater.

Asgeir Says:

February 7th, 2009 at 2:31 pm

Abo Says:
so what?… we have had (in Ukraine) the stuff like this since USSR was… this is not a new idea

Yes, the idea is new. The fact that you had green tram lanes in the Ukraine was probably due to the fact that the USSR, in those days, was seriously lacking maintenance.

Ratz Says:

March 9th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

This is very nice! However I do wonder how they avoid the soil getting onto the rails and making the trams lose traction. Certainly in the UK the entire rail network seems to grind to a halt every time there is a leaf or a snowflake somewhere between London and Dundee.

elis walbenya Says:

March 14th, 2009 at 4:02 am

Muito bonito… realmente diferente! deveria ser copiado por outros países.

JKenneth Says:

July 29th, 2009 at 8:47 am

Perception is everything. Browning of the grass is a problem from the public perception side of things, as many folks seem to think that wehn the grass is brown it is dead. It is not, it is only going dormant. I’m all for a “green tracks” approach to rail design, but in areas where we have very hot and dry summers as here in Baltimore, MD, we need to educate the public on the reality of what it can/will look like, and the associated maintenance required to keep it looking “acceptable”. Sedums may offer a similar aesthetic gain, and would still be a “green soulution”. Irrigation is never an option, especially on public projects using State and Federal funding, but “green tracks” can help with a reduction of impervious surface and urban heat island.

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Please note that gratuitous links to your site are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments.