Riga is preparing to implement an ambitious “greening” project of the city from 2027 / Article

Riga’s greening plan will be a novelty in the city. And this will apply not only to the development of a specific place or neighborhood, but to the whole of Riga. This was said in the city council, telling that other European cities have already started operating. It should be noted that the Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union for 2030 requires cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants to develop urban greening plans. Riga’s goal is to adapt to climate change.

Together, Riga will have four directions to improve the quality of the environment in the city. So – to reduce rain floods by draining water to, for example, bushes and trees. Then the municipality is going to preserve biological diversity and provide available green infrastructure, i.e. parks, squares, green areas and the like, in order to increase the quality of life. The fourth direction is to reduce the effect of heat islands – these are asphalted or concreted areas that heat up more than other places in hot weather, that is, they are places where there are few plants, umbrellas or shelters.

It should be noted that currently Riga has not even started to develop this plan. On Tuesday, the Housing and Environment Committee gave the green light for the development of the plan, and last year, the Urban Development Committee. The final decision will have to be made next week at the meeting of the Riga City Council.

The task is for the municipality to develop a plan by the end of summer 2026. Then the specific plans that the municipality is going to make will be known, said Jānis Ušča, head of the Council’s Industry Policy Planning Department.

“Planting of trees and shrubs, additional creation of beds. Purposefully look at how we can promote the development and maintenance of green areas, including in private properties. These can be different types of solutions, both as separate projects that the municipality implements in its own territories, and also those can be as support tools, where we encourage both society and owners of buildings and territories with various support mechanisms to create and develop green infrastructure in their territory as well, thus improving both the local microclimate and the overall quality of the environment in the city,” noted Ušča.

Until the Riga greening project on Tērbatas street, in the pilot project, the municipality plans to introduce certain green elements, for example, green building walls, in the next few years. This could be a glimpse of how Riga is going to develop in general.
Citizens’ activist association “City for people” stated that the plan does not guarantee that everything planned will be implemented. More attention should be paid to the historical center of Riga.

“City for people” board member Brunis Ķibilds stated: “One positive aspect is that such a plan would at least provide an objective reference system. What could be planned [ir] investments, evaluate what has been achieved, where attention should be paid. But the political will and the desire to implement over time still remain important, so that this is not just an action imitation measure. Greening measures should definitely start sooner and not wait those two or even three years to start the plan. There is a well-known “Centrs sporta kvartāls”, where for several years locals have been raising alarm about the lack of trees in Brīvības, Avotu [ielā] – these main streets, where people would spend their time much better.”

The greening plan should enter into force in 2027, it is expected to be implemented by the end of 2031. The main focus of the municipality is the historical center of Riga. Costs – may be several million euros.