From gray to green cities: Tilburg, Melbourne, San Jose, and Cape Town

In recent decades, many cities have transformed from ‘gray’ into ‘green’ cities. The awareness of the value of green space in the city has grown; urban nature and green rooftops filter the air, and parks and green corridors offer city residents relatively quiet places of refuge, where they can walk and relax. In this chapter, the authors explore four cities that have been successful in the transformation into a green city: Tilburg (Netherlands), Melbourne (Australia), San Jose (USA), and Cape Town (South Africa). They discuss the drivers for this transformation (why), what was done to make the city greener (what), and how partnerships between the city government, companies, NGOs, and citizens played a role in this transformation (how). The chapter also analyses some of the main factors that contributed to this transformation, including the role of the city government in initiating and supporting a green policy.