Nippes green corridor: 6 million euros secured for Cologne's green future!

Nippes green corridor: 6 million euros secured for Cologne's green future!

Things are finally moving forward in Cologne-Nippes! The start of construction for the long-awaited “Nippes green corridor” between Merheimer and Amsterdamer Straße has now been officially approved. This is an important step towards sustainable urban development. On October 31, 2025, the planning and conception work was successfully completed and the approval of the political committees was received. A positive sign for everyone hoping for green oases in the city.

The good news: Most of the financing for this project is secured. Sabine Poschmann, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Construction, presented funding totaling 5,998,750 euros to William Wolfgramm, head of the Cologne Climate and Environment Department. These funds come from the federal program “Adaptation of Urban and Rural Areas to Climate Change”. The federal government will cover around 75 percent of the calculated construction costs, but this only applies to the park, not to the planned cycle highways.

Green spaces for everyone

The planned sections of the green corridor include the area between Merheimer and Neusser Straße as well as the square in front of the Nippes district town hall between Neusser Straße and Niehler Kirchweg. The landscape architecture offices Förder from Essen and WES from Hamburg are in charge of the planning. Plans include, among other things, a meadow landscape with play equipment, additional trees, a water playground and a multifunctional square area at the district town hall. A large green area with the working title “Urban nature under the elevated railway” is also to be created. This not only benefits recovery, but also promotes biodiversity - an important approach in the fight against the effects of climate change.

At least 200 parking spaces in the affected section will be lost without replacement. Nevertheless, district mayor Diana Siebert shows understanding for this compromise between nature, leisure and traffic. “It is important that we meet the demands of climate change,” emphasizes Wolfgramm and speaks out in favor of unsealing and new green spaces.

Professional training in urban design

To ensure that such projects are not just carried out sporadically but sustainably, the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics offers further training on climate change-friendly urban design. These include various modules that focus on understanding climate change in urban areas and taking appropriate adaptation measures. The focus is on topics such as urban heat islands, energy flows and the efficient use of urban greenery. These training courses are aimed at specialists and local decision-makers who want to help make Cologne a more climate-resilient city.

In summary, it can be said that the “Nippes green corridor” is not only a symbol of environmental protection, but also of social cohesion in the city. Construction work is expected to begin in the second half of 2026 and the construction period is set to last around three years. During this time it will become clear how the project will change the cityscape of Nippes and what impact it will have on the quality of life of its citizens.

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