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= Article Selection: Ghent, Belgium =

Governmental Level
In 2007, the City Council of Ghent determined the city to be climate neutral by 2050. A climate team of eight administrators within the city administration environment department were charged with the responsibility of bringing in stakeholders and developing a setting in which effective actions towards climate neutrality could be taken. In January of 2009, the Ghent city council became the first Flemish city to sign the Covenant of Mayors and, together, drew up plans which would reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by the year 2020. In 2011, the City Administration of Ghent set up the 'Climate Arena' based on transition management to develop a plan and implement actions to work towards climate neutrality by 2050. In 2012, Ghent became a finalist in the EU Sustainable Urban Mobility Campaign. In 2015, Ghent became the first Belgium city to sign the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and is one of three nominees in the European Green Capital Award in 2020.

Food Policy Council
The food policy Council in Ghent is a government sanctioned advisory committee which oversees sustainable urban food systems. After various stakeholder discussions and advisement from the city's administration, the council concluded in developing a sustainable food policy, 'Gent en Garde'. The policy outlines five strategic goals for a sustainable food system in Ghent.

These goals are:


 * A shorter more visible food chain
 * More sustainable food production
 * The creation of more social added value for food initiatives
 * Reduce food waste
 * Optimum reuse of food waste as raw materials

Municipal Agencies Assisting in Local Environmental Policy:

 * De Energiecentrale is the climate strategy office in Ghent which serves as a point of contact for citizens interested in the implementation of sustainable housing systems. De Energiecentrale offers premiums up to 2,500 euros to Ghent residents interested in environmental renovations of their homes.

Citizen Initiated Environmental Campaigns

 * Carrotmob is an international campaign in which businesses are supported and rewarded by the community for making an environmental improvement. Ghent had its first Carrotmob in 2012.
 * In an attempt to minimize their carbon footprint and encourage healthy eating among its citizens, Ghent instituted a 'Thursday Veggie Day' campaign in 2009. The campaign was initially carried out among primary aged school children in Ghent The campaign came in response to a 2013 Living Planet Report published by the Worldwide Fund for Nature in which Belgium was ranked as having the fifth largest carbon footprint in the world. Today, Ghent has the highest number of vegetarian restaurants per capita and is known as the Veggie Capital of Europe.
 * The Living Streets Project is a grassroots initiated program which began in Brugse Poort, a gentrifying neighborhood of Ghent. Residents petition neighbors to have their streets car free for a period of two to three months. Advocates of the program must receive an affirmative vote of 70% from their neighbors in order to participate.
 * Vinderhoutse bossen is one of four green development areas in Ghent. A citizen initiative hopes to transform the space into a multifunctional agro-ecological space.

Pedestrian Zones
An urban project was first proposed in 1976 for one way streets in order to streamline urban mobility. These efforts were soon followed up by pedestrianizing certain shopping districts and town squares in Ghent in the early 1980's. Resistance to the project and tensions to such implementation were mainly made by local shop owners concerned that the project's construction and reduction in ease of accessibility would negatively impact business. After a decade of very little progression, a new mobility plan was introduced which would alleviate excessive car traffic and pollution by enlarging the pedestrian zone already in place, adding a new bicycle network, and parking policy in the city center. From 1995 - 1996 300 public hearings were held, again with the most resistance coming from shop owners in the city center. Tensions reached a head when in 1997, the current mayor of Ghent, Frank Beke, received a bullet in the mail from a disgruntled shoe shop owner in the city center. In 2016 the city council of Ghent approved a Circulation Plan for the city in which vehicles would be diverted outside the city center. The plan began getting carried out on April 3, 2017. The new plan, scheduled to go into effect on 3 April, 2017, divides the city of Ghent into seven zones: six zones for cars and one pedestrian zone bigger than Brussels. Traffic is banned completely from the pedestrian zone, requiring all through traffic to take the ring road around Ghent. **Need to track down CITATION!! ;)

Green Roofs
In order to counteract the effects of Climate Change and continue the implementation of sustainable infrastructure, the city of Ghent has encouraged the installation of Green Roofs. Since 2013 local building code requires green roofs for all flat roofed buildings not being used to collect and reuse rainwater. Citizens can apply for subsidization when they transition to Green Roofs and can receive an increased subsidy amount depending on the type of plants used. The subsidization program has financed more than 37,000m2 of green roofs over the past 10 years. As of January 2018, subsidies for citizens, companies, and social housing organizations continues to be in effect.

Renovation of Gent Sint-Pieters
Renovation is underway of Ghent's main railway station, the third largest in Belgium, serving 54,000 passengers a day, Gent Sint-Pieters. This new railway station precinct, consisting of complex residential towers and offices, green spaces, restaurants and meeting places is, according to current Ghent Mayor Daniël Termont, hoped to be, "a brand new area, with all the amenities to be expected from a modern city: houses, offices, shops, leisure facilities, a station with double its present capacity, and plenty of green areas. The entire site, which was breathing the atmosphere of the last century, will become a modern entrance; a door to the Ghent of the twenty-first century.” . By turning the neighborhood of the station into an urban activity center, the council hopes to discourage car use.

Bourgoyen Ossemeersen
In 1993, the urban natural reserve of Bourgoyen Ossemeersen, and its 220 hectares, was declared a protected area.

Green Key Hotels and Attractions
The following businesses in Ghent have received the international Green Key award for environmentally sustainable business practices:


 * Artexis (Conference Center)
 * Handelsbeurs Concertzaal (Concert Hall)
 * Holiday Inn Express Gent (Hotel)
 * Holiday Inn Gent Expo (Hotel and Hostel)
 * Hotel Harmony (Hotel)
 * ICC Ghent (Conference Center)
 * Jeugdherberg De Draecke (Hotel)
 * NH Gent Belfort (Hotel)