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Ghent offers subsidies for businesses to remove pavement
🇯🇲 Jamaica /Environment & Climate

Ghent offers subsidies for businesses to remove pavement

From Jamaica Observer · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The city of Ghent is offering financial incentives to businesses and care homes that remove impermeable surfaces.
  • The program aims to increase green spaces, particularly on parking lots and large sites.
  • Ghent will reimburse half the costs, up to 50,000 euros per project, with higher reimbursement rates for collaborations with social economy or volunteer organizations.

Ghent is launching a new initiative to combat urban heat by encouraging businesses and residential care centers to replace impermeable surfaces with greenery. The city aims to transform vast, heat-retaining areas like parking lots and company grounds into cooler, more pleasant spaces.

Streets, parking lots, and courtyards absorb heat during the day and release it again at night. This prevents the city from cooling down sufficiently, and the nights often remain particularly warm.

— Filip WatteeuwGhent's Alderman for Environment and Climate, explaining the problem of urban heat absorption by impermeable surfaces.

"Streets, parking lots, and courtyards absorb heat during the day and release it again at night," explained Filip Watteeuw, Alderman for Environment and Climate. "This prevents the city from cooling down sufficiently, and the nights often remain particularly warm." The program offers a direct financial incentive, reimbursing half the costs associated with removing surfaces like asphalt and replacing them with vegetation, up to a maximum of 50,000 euros per project.

This subsidy is available to a wide range of organizations within Ghent, including companies, healthcare institutions, co-ownership associations, and housing cooperatives. The city hopes this will encourage property owners to undertake the necessary steps to "make Ghent cooler." Watteeuw added, "There are still many opportunities to make Ghent cooler. A paved parking lot can become a place with trees and shade. A bare courtyard can be transformed into a pleasant meeting place."

There are still many opportunities to make Ghent cooler. A paved parking lot can become a place with trees and shade. A bare courtyard can be transformed into a pleasant meeting place.

— Filip WatteeuwGhent's Alderman for Environment and Climate, highlighting the potential for transforming existing spaces into cooler, more inviting areas.

To further incentivize sustainable practices, Ghent is offering up to a 70 percent reimbursement for projects that involve collaboration with social economy enterprises or volunteer organizations, such as scouting groups. This tiered approach aims to maximize the impact of the "de-sealing" efforts and foster community involvement in creating a greener, more climate-resilient city.

This makes a big difference for residents, employees, customers, and visitors. With this financial support, we help owners take that step.

— Filip WatteeuwGhent's Alderman for Environment and Climate, emphasizing the benefits of the de-sealing initiative for various stakeholders.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jamaica Observer in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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