About the project
Hilversum (Netherlands) wants to become a green and healthy city by promoting biodiversity; working on climate proof design of public spaces and ensuring that green spaces contribute to the well-being of citizens. Biodiversity hotspots and green corridors in cities are important to protect and improve biodiversity in cities. But these green spaces also provide divers ways for recreational use and influence public health. Combining biodiversity and recreational use in urban spaces leads to opportunities and bottlenecks. Spatial coordination/planning is needed to combine both functions and guarantee both ecological and recreational quality. Different studies studied the relation between protecting biodiversity and recreation for nature areas. For example simulation models help to explore the effect of spatial design choices on ecological and recreational quality in nature reserves. How can this be translated to the context of biodiversity hotspots and green spaces in European cities?