For many decades, the name of the city now awarded the title of European Green Capital 2017 was associated with activities anything but ecological. The urban centre of Essen, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, tied its history to the exploitation of the Zollverein XII coal mine: one of the very first large European industrial complexes, already active during the nineteenth century and today converted into a museum.

Essen's last coal seam was closed in 1986

Essen's urban landscape was indelibly marked by the vast industrial complex used for the extraction of fossil fuel. The shafts, coking plants, railway tracks, miners' houses, towers and rust-coloured buildings were the symbol of one of Europe's industrial capitals. The city was also renowned for weapons production and for the presence of the Krupp family's steel industry, which founded its first factory here in 1811 — the plant that would become, in the following century, the steel giant ThyssenKrupp.

All of this, however, is now a distant memory. The last coal seam was closed more than thirty years ago, in 1986: since then, and especially in recent years, the city has embarked on a process of profound cultural, energy and environmental transformation. "Essen has an image problem," admitted Simone Raskob, head of the German municipality's environmental department, "we are constantly associated with centuries of mining industry. And yet, our city has gone from grey back to green."

CO2 cuts, rainwater recovery, cycle paths

A genuine revolution for the 470,000 inhabitants of Germany's ninth most important city, one that has translated into numerous concrete results. The successive administrations of recent years set themselves the ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 40 per cent by 2020. At the same time, 128,000 square metres of roads have been resurfaced with low-noise asphalt, while an integrated, multifunctional management system for water resources and green spaces has been introduced, making it possible to collect rainwater, prevent flooding and ensure the replenishment of groundwater reserves.

Essen has also been equipped with 376 kilometres of cycle paths, whose further development will ensure that a quarter of all urban journeys are made by bicycle by 2035 (also thanks to the "express cycle route" between Duisburg and Hamm); at the same time, car journeys will decrease by 29 per cent. Investment in environmental protection will, by 2025, create 20,000 jobs (compared with the current 13,000), while the area has been enhanced by 3,100 hectares of green spaces (95 per cent of the population lives no more than 300 metres from a park or garden). In terms of recycling, the target set by the local German administration is to reach 65 per cent within the next eight years. Above all, through its commitment to the ecological transition, Essen has been able to emerge from two decades of economic crisis, and the unemployment rate — though still double the national average — has begun to fall again.

Remediation of the Emscher, for years an industrial "dumping ground", is planned

By capitalising on the European Green Capital title, Essen plans to launch more than 300 initiatives and city events that will help improve quality of life and give impetus to the sustainable development of the urban centre. One of the main projects involves the decontamination of the river Emscher, which for decades was used as an industrial dumping ground: this will require 5.5 billion euros, provided by the municipality, the region and the national government. The clean-up will require 400 kilometres of underground channels, to be built between now and 2020.

European Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella spoke of a "spectacular transformation of a nerve centre of coal and steel into the greenest city in the region. A result that could not have been achieved without an overarching vision, good governance and strong grassroots participation."

"The award we have been given," commented the mayor of the German city, Thomas Kufen, "represents the recognition of the enormous efforts made by Essen in its reinvention. We have managed to put a difficult industrial history behind us and reinvent ourselves as a 'green city', thanks above all to the ability of our residents to change direction. We now want to become a model for other European cities."

The Green Capital for 2018 will be Nijmegen, in the Netherlands

A further example to follow is undoubtedly that of Nijmegen, a city of 170,000 inhabitants in the western Netherlands, recently awarded the title of European Green Capital for 2018. This was thanks, among other things, to the creation of 40 kilometres of cycle paths, the conversion of public transport vehicles to clean fuels, and the installation of fifteen thousand solar panels across its territory.