Trees are an important part of the city, but they are not really planted in the Latvian capital. That’s why Zebra went to Vilnius, the capital of neighboring Lithuania, where there is a clear plan to refresh the urban environment.
According to Vilnius Mayor Remigijs Šimašus, if we want nice and cozy streets where it is pleasant to stay, trees are irreplaceable. Unfortunately, the “heritage” of the Soviet era in this region is poorly preserved and neglected trees, as well as the idea that they are not so important. The head of the neighboring capital believes that this entrenched thinking needs to change.
The head of the neighboring capital calls for a broader look – the street is not just a road to travel on, it is also the main public space in the city, as it is where all the residents meet. Trees slow down pedestrians and make people feel relaxed, and this thinking is beginning to be felt by Vilnius residents.
The advantage of Vilnius is that it has wide streets where trees can be installed in places where there is no communication. Last year, 8,000 trees were planted in the Lithuanian capital, which is not a large number, but from this spring the plan is more ambitious – to plant 100,000 trees, the smallest of which would have been purchased with taxpayers’ money.
Riga and other Latvian cities could learn from their neighbors that tree planting can be started in those parts of the city where it is easier to do so, not necessarily in the center. According to the mayor of Vilnius, the important question is not whether it is possible to plant in protected areas, but: how to do it? “It simply came to our notice then. There is not one solution, there are many. ” “In the meantime, it has not been heard that the Latvian capital has a clear plan on how to act on this issue. Only slowdowns in the city have been reported.
Lithuania also plans to transform the Soviet layout of the city, as the border between public and private space was reduced during the USSR. It can be well seen in the blocks of flats, because there are no “clean” streets next to them. There are only roads and no courtyards, but empty squares between the houses, Shimashus points out. Therefore, it is planned to create “clean” streets and courtyards in Vilnius, clearly distinguishing between public and private space. The Lithuanian capital is also thinking about how street design blends in with buildings.
“The street is no longer a street. The street is when you have the opportunity to get straight into the building from the street and feel this interaction. This is a great philosophy that we are trying to change in order to regain what we lost in the second part of the 20th century, ”emphasizes the mayor of Vilnius.
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