Green islands to emerge in Vilnius

100 new squares for recreation will be installed in multi-apartment districts under the municipal project

When they crawl out of their quarantine confinement, residents of many Vilnius districts will be in for a pleasant surprise – small green spaces next to their homes, where they can rest, read and rub shoulders once again. The first 30 of a total number of 100 squares planned under the Vilnius City Municipality project "Green Islands", are ready to be installed in the Karoliniškės, Viršuliškės, Šeškinė and Justiniškės neighbourhoods.

The idea is to offer residents of apartment buildings recreation areas close to home, so that everyone can reach such small squares for respite quickly. Grinda company, the project contractor, will start work in the second half of April, with a slight delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

"Although Vilnius is one of the greenest capitals in Europe with its parks, forests and alleys, many of these areas are remote and more difficult to reach, and everyone wants a green corner near their homes. Therefore, in multi-apartment districts, we are starting to create mini squares - green islands, which will be easily accessible to the residents of the quarter. Such green islands, I hope, will not only renew and beautify the living environment, but also become new attractions, charming accents of the district,” said Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius, quoted by the municipal website.

Traffic and technical concerns have been addressed

In order to optimize the process of creating these gardens, the architects of the municipal company Vilniaus Planas together with the Chief City Architect's Department prepared a catalogue of several composite variants with a list of easy to maintain perennial plants, benches and other equipment. Where there is enough space, sculptures and other small items will be added.

Designing the recreation areas, architects were careful to position them as far away from car traffic and parking places as possible. They also focused on abandoned or unused yards and sought to connect the new spaces with existing greenery. 

The technical infrastructure was taken care of, too, so that the installation and the greening of the squares would not disrupt underground communications. The planting of larger species has been postponed to the autumn when trees stand better chances to grow quickly than in late spring.

"Green Islands" is a project aimed at improving the quality of the environment of apartment buildings in the Lithuanian capital. Under the project, hundreds of children's playgrounds have been renovated or installed in recent years throughout the city.