By Nicolas Bard

OR Kalamatathe capital of the prefecture of Messinia, with about 58,000 inhabitants, is considered by the European Environment Organization as Greece’s most “green city”, as 50% of urban tissue is covered by trees. Analogly, they correspond to 5 sq.m. Green per capita, a significant proportion, due to the two large and basic green lungs that exist in the heart of the city: the Municipal Railway Park, which holds an important place in the heart of the locals and is associated with the modern history of the city, and the Agia Triada Park.

However, there are some quite densely populated neighborhoods of the city, without much green. There, then, Municipality It “intervenes” ecologically and creates pocket parks, or small green cells in densely populated squares, fully taking care and maintenance of these sites. With actions like this, the municipality gives oxygen to areas dominated by cement and trying to correct the current situation, with small -scale actions.

About two years ago an attempt began in Kalamata in order to integrate the city into a project of its European committeewhere 100 cities in Europe would become climate neutral by 2030. Thus, a group of scientists, organizations and NGOs were set up, trying to bring the whole society close, to record the problems that exist and to implement a series of actions to make the city climate neutral.
And what does that mean? It means that they aim to improve the way and level of living of the citizens in a cleaner environment.

Kalamata

Each citizen is called upon to adopt some practices in order to make the city more green and sustainable, but also to propose social justice. These require consensus, collectivity and cooperation. All together and each one will set their own stone, to change the city’s appearance and achieve its goals in the next five years. So Kalamata is showing the way, and this example should be followed by other Greek cities.