To combat overheating in the city, Lviv is introducing a new tool: greening parking lots. The plan is to reduce the "heat island" effect caused by the heating of asphalt pavement.
According to the Lviv City Council, this will also improve air quality and make the city more comfortable for residents.
Trees above the asphalt
Mandatory greening will not only apply to parking spaces located along streets. According to the new standard, trees should become an element of even large parking lots, which are usually located near institutions or shopping centers.
Visualization: city-adm.lviv.ua
Tree species for "park gardening" will be selected with developed crowns and fairly tall – up to 15 m in adulthood. The standard takes into account the needs of plants. This means sufficient space for the root system to develop and the presence of holes where water necessary for tree growth can collect. One tree per three parking spaces is provided for parallel parking, and one tree per five spaces for perpendicular parking.
"We plan to implement these solutions primarily near municipal facilities—hospitals, clinics, schools—and also recommend that private individuals implement greening wherever large parking lots already exist," said Anton Kolomeitsev, the city's chief architect.
In the future, taking greening into account when designing parking lots will become mandatory for all institutions and businesses that agree on a plan for improving the territory with the city administration.
EcoPolitic reported that a new park was built in Kyiv on the site of dismantled small architectural forms.
