Tram tracks on many European cities are lined with grass, a practice that probably started in the 1980’s to bring greenery back to city space and at the same time, provide habitable zone for numerous insects and invertebrates. These swaths of green provide a host of benefits to any urban area, like reduce urban heat island effect, provide a permeable surface for storm water to infiltrate, reduce pollution and absorb noise generated by the grinding of metal wheels on metal tracks. Not to mention, they look incredibly good in comparison to concrete or asphalt.
Green tracks have become increasingly popular in Europe and can be seen in pretty much every major European cities from Barcelona to Frankfurt, Milan, St-Etienne and Strasbourg.
Also see: Grass Roofs of Norway
via Inhabitat
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WOw, what a huge difference that makes with the overall appearance of the area.
ReplyDeleteI love it! I wish they had that in my city (Calgary) it looks awesome.
ReplyDeletetrouble is who's going to mow the lawn
ReplyDeleteGreen tracks were already built at the beginning of the 20th century, e.g. in Berlin. But people were uncertain about issues like stray currents. Since the 1980s (after the energy crisis) the number of greened tracks is constantly rising again.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where I can find international statistics on green tracks?