NL Urban Solutions participated in the HUA PURELAND & CRUYFF COURTS & ORANGE SPORTS FORUM

Marja Nevalainen, co-director of NL Urban Solutions, was invited to participate in the HUA PURELAND & CRUYFF COURTS & ORANGE SPORTS FORUM on April 23rd 2021, which took place in Dayi county, Chengdu. The online presentation focus on the “Sports and the Healthy city” from the perspective of urban planning.
A healthy city is one of the components to make sustainable cities and communities, which is one of the 17 sustainable development goals we need to work on. “Creating healthy, livable and sustainable cities is a major challenge in the face of population growth and fast increasing urbanization, social inequalities, traffic congestion. The need for healthy environment has become an urgent topic globally as we experience the impact of the pandemic on our lives.” Said Marja during the presentation.
Then she presented as an example how the notion of “healthy city” has been developed over time in the Netherland since the Housing Act in 1901.
Further she illustrated 4 essential basics of a healthy city:
-Climate adaptive city, clean and safe
-Green-blue livable city and public space
-Active –walkable bikeable and sporty city,
-Balanced city- expressing importance of a close city-rural-nature relation
It was also shown how NL Urban Solutions has included these aspects in their latest projects in China. It also highlights the integration of sports in their design of public space, play areas, mobility systems and even buildings.

NLUS design example in Shenzhen: Smart sport facilities on the green roof of a combined sport and parking building. Green roof functions as an extension of the small community park at Xinqiao River, an integral Blueway project.
