Office of Parks and Open Spaces of Zurich
Green Zurich ( GSZ ) City is a service department of civil engineering and Waste Management Department (TED ) of the city of Zurich and is responsible for the construction, care and maintenance of all urban green spaces such as parks, sports facilities, urban forest, cemeteries, bathhouses and playgrounds. Ten farms, of which nine are leased, several nature schools, municipal gardens, the Succulent Collection and the China Garden also operated by Green City Zurich.
Field of activity
The activity of Green City Zurich includes the business units operations, services, natural promotion, planning and construction, maintenance.
Farms
The business establishments in the nine urban agricultural tenant farms and urban Gutsbetrieb Juchhof. On the Juchhof is gewirtschaftet according to the guidelines Proof of Ecological Performance PEP. The city forest with approximately 1200 ha is also included and is sustainably managed by the Forest districts Uetliberg and North. The City Gardener with various courses and events around the Green knowledge is as much in the department as well as the leasing of allotments areas with approximately 6000 allotments and plots of land. The department workshops and logistics with carpentry, painting and mechanical repair shop is responsible for the procurement of materials, vehicle parking and repairs.
Services
The services division provides the commercial support services. It coordinates and supports the business processes, especially in the fields of personnel, finance and controlling, system management ( computer science and geographic information system GIS) and the law. The public show the impact of the activities on the labor market, in the results of regularly conducted user surveys to determine the impact assessment, in annual and financial reports, as well as quality management.
Natural promotion
The nature promotion division is committed to maintain valuable habitats for animals and plants and to actively promote to awaken joy in nature and to convey the value of a diverse city nature. The four urban gamekeeper care within the city limits for a harmonious coexistence of people and wildlife. The nature of schools offer age-appropriate nature experiences for the pupils of the city of Zurich. A large range of courses and events contributes to the understanding of nature. The succulent collection since 1931, hosts one of the largest and most important special collections of succulent plants with approximately 6500 different species from more than 50 different plant families.
Planning and construction
Space Planning, Space consulting, historic gardens and design and construction are the core businesses of the business unit planning and construction. The spectrum ranges of forward-looking planning and conceptual development of new green and open spaces above advice and support for specific building projects to the protection and the development of valuable gardens in the city. The construction and maintenance of parks, cemeteries, sports facilities, schools and swimming facilities in the urban environment and public facilities in the landscape context are included.
Maintenance
The 200 employees of the division maintain and look after parks and facilities, street trees, playgrounds, stream banks, cemeteries and graves, sports facilities and sports fields and swimming facilities. The business maintenance works on the principle of sustainability and is committed to the preservation and promotion of biodiversity. The green city is divided into 12 districts; these are run by green space -Governing, which are the focal points of the neighborhood residents.
History
Early as the late 18th century, a gardener was entrusted with the care of the new system of Sihlhölzli and public facilities. The official beginnings of urban garden management go back to the year 1858, with the appointment of Caspar Hartmann's first city gardener. Until then, urban promenades were maintained by municipal employees who did not fulfill their duties of the City Council 's view, and for the most part did not possess gardener skills.
The inauguration of the quays in 1887 and the first major annexation previously independent communities around the present-day city could grow up to the first major Swiss city Zurich. These circumstances changed and expanded as a result the remit of garden management considerably. Gottlieb Friedrich Roth Pletz took over in 1900 at the former promenade being the function of the city gardener and became in 1902 director of the newly created horticultural Office. Rothpletz ' influence may still be found among others in the then in the spirit of the German landscape architect and social reformer Leberecht Migge designed Josefwiese as a public park and the peri-urban forests as a recreational area recognize that in contrast to the decorative greenery such as the Belvoirpark stand.
End of the 1920s, the cactus growers Jacob Gasser wanted his collection to the city of Zurich to sell. The venture failed. 1929 acquired the department store owner Julius Brann Gassersche the collection and made it out of the city as a gift. An assessment by the Botany professor Carl Schröter had the effect that the collection was unique but delighted to be offered as a donation. Two years later, today's Succulent Plant Collection, under the then name " Urban cactus collection » move into their new home in the greenhouses of the former municipal nursery at Mythenquai.
In 1934 came the second incorporation of several suburban municipalities and enlarged the responsibilities of the horticulture office again significantly. From the year 1940 the urban green land under cultivation were battle, also known as plan elections, turned into farmland in order to increase the self-sufficiency of the population. 1941 the new city nursery was completed in Sackzelg.
As the population had come through the so-called war gardens on the taste of gardening, created in 1946 within the city limits numerous small garden areas. 1959 Walter Frischknecht joined for subsequent uses on the surfaces of the first Swiss Horticultural Exhibition of 1959, the so-called G | 59, and more design tasks in the Parks Department a. Under his leadership, numerous projects like the rose plant Muraltengut ( 1960), Seeuferweg (1963 ), the lake promenade Utoquai (1971 ), the Schanzengraben ( 1982-1984 ) and the Iris Garden ( 1985) emerged.
On the initiative of Heinrich doubt the first new vines were planted below the church in Hoengg in the western part and later also in the eastern part of the Chillesteigs from 1969. Today Green Zurich City cultured urban vineyard in Hoengg. From the late 1960s until the mid- 1970s, the shortage of staff was a constant theme, which is why the maintenance work could no longer be guaranteed in full. In 1975 a full-time Human Resources Department was an administrative secretary, who took care of the staffing needs of the now grown to about 400 people workforce.
In 1985 the people of Zurich fought with several initiatives for the conservation of green and open space, and then the Parks Department let create an open space concept. In the same year, the office Conservation was created, followed by the specialized body Gartendenkmalpflege in 1989.
In 1996, the first major restructuring took place by the agricultural nature, which was previously reported to the Health and Economic Office, was annexed to the Parks Department and reports to the Civil Engineering and Waste Department. The Parks Department was renamed in Horticulture and Agriculture Office. Four years later, Ernst Tschannen was entrusted with the task to merge the former offices for horticulture, agriculture and forest. The newly created service department called since 2000, Green City of Zurich and headed by Ernst Tschannen.
From 2001 to 2005 originated in Zurich -Nord, several new parks: the Oerliker Park ( 2001), the MFO Park ( 2002), the Louis- Haefliger - Park ( 2003), the choice of Park ( 2005) and the Leutschenpark (2008), all featuring a modern and contemporary appearance.
In 2002, Green City Zurich was the first time the magazine " green time " out that since then appear in a quarterly basis. The first Green Forum, a public event with presentations on current issues and panel discussion took place in 2003 and has since been performed annually.
In 2006 published green city of Zurich, the " Green Book of Zurich city ," the company's strategy for the next 10 years.
The first playground, which was created by active participation of children from the neighborhood, was opened in the Hardau 2007. In 2008, Green Zurich city offered the first opportunity of a temporary interim use of a fallow area.
The Zurich Wilderness Park is managed as an independent foundation since January 1, 2009 and bears since September 2009, the label ' nature theme park '. In January 2010, up to now in charge of the water supply China Garden of Green City Zurich was taken.
In 2011, Green Zurich city will host together with the Federation of Swiss landscape architects and landscape architects of the 48th IFLA World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects in Zurich.