Zurich reports early progress in its drive to replace asphalt with trees

Zurich completed one-third of its greening target in the first year, giving the city’s asphalt replacement programme an early lead. The figures come from the first progress report on the Future Initiative and Clean Air Initiative, adopted in September 2024. Zurich wants to redevelop 600,000 square metres by 2035, with more space for trees, planted areas and people on foot.

The report also records progress in transport. The city completed 8.3% of its target for expanding space dedicated to cyclists, pedestrians and public transport. Zurich will publish an implementation report every year, creating a regular measure of whether projects move from political commitments into streets, squares and public corridors.

Simone Brander, the Zurich city councillor responsible for the assessment, described the first year as positive. The early figures reflect projects that were already sufficiently advanced to be counted, while other schemes remain in planning or construction. That distinction will matter as the programme expands. Replacing road surface involves permits, traffic management, coordination with the canton and negotiations over how Zurich allocates limited public space.

The Überlandpark in Schwamendingen represents 27% of the greening target counted in the first report. Its inclusion gives the city’s annual figures a substantial anchor and shows how a large public realm project can shift the balance between sealed surfaces and planted space.

The park is part of a broader effort to reshape corridors that have traditionally served traffic first. Zurich is also counting sections of new priority cycle routes among the completed measures. Together, those projects connect greening with movement through the city. Cycle routes, pedestrian areas and public transport corridors can change how residents experience streets, while planted areas provide a different use of land than traffic lanes or paved verges.

The reporting method also reveals why annual totals may rise unevenly. A major project can deliver a large share in one year, while smaller interventions accumulate more gradually. The city has set the 2035 deadline, so it must track both surface area and the practical delivery of individual schemes. The Überlandpark establishes an early benchmark. Future reports will show whether Zurich can maintain that pace across a more fragmented set of streets and neighbourhood projects.

Work at Winzerhalde in Höngg will add 45 trees and new unsealed areas. The project also includes a shared space, placing planting and street design in the same plan. It has not yet been included in the completed total, although work is already under way.

That gap between construction and accounting is important. Zurich’s first report captures measures that meet the city’s criteria for implementation, while projects in progress remain outside the headline figure. Residents may see work beginning before the annual data records its full effect. The approach gives the city a clearer basis for measuring delivery, though it can make progress appear less continuous from one report to the next.

The Winzerhalde scheme illustrates the scale of intervention required to reach 600,000 square metres by 2035. The programme will depend on both large developments and smaller changes to existing streets. New trees require space below ground as well as above it. Shared areas also require decisions about traffic access, loading, parking and public transport. Each project therefore changes the daily rules of a street, not only its appearance. Zurich’s challenge will be to deliver these changes consistently while keeping neighbourhoods accessible during construction and after the redesign is complete.

Zurich expects projects already under way to reach 26% of its transport target by 2028. The city’s greening programme could reach 70% of its target over the same period, according to Brander’s assessment. The gap between those projections points to a central delivery issue: planting and unsealing land can advance faster than reallocating road capacity.

Neue Hard and Geroldstrasse show what that reallocation will involve. The plan calls for 74 trees, a green verge and a reduction from four lanes to two. Construction is not expected to begin before 2030, leaving the scheme vulnerable to the long lead times that accompany major road redesigns. It will also require Zurich to manage traffic flows and address the concerns of people who depend on the existing layout.

At Sihlquai, the city is ready to proceed with 105 new trees and narrower lanes, but the canton has not yet approved the project. The uncertainty demonstrates that Zurich cannot implement every local decision on its own. Cantonal approval, transport coordination and public works schedules will shape how quickly the city can turn its targets into visible changes.

Zurich’s early numbers set a demanding test for the years ahead. The city has a clear deadline, an annual reporting system and several named projects, yet much of the programme still depends on decisions that have not reached construction. The projects at Neue Hard, Geroldstrasse and Sihlquai show how a tree planting target can become a question of lane capacity, approvals and the everyday movement of residents.

The city’s stated trajectory is faster on greenery than on cleaner transport. Brander said greening could approach 70% by 2028, while projects already in the pipeline would deliver 26% of the transport target. Those estimates will need to be tested against construction schedules, canton level decisions and the practical limits of working in built-up neighbourhoods.

Zurich’s experience will be closely watched elsewhere in Switzerland. Municipalities across the country are assessing how to adapt streets and public spaces to hotter conditions while preserving access for buses, deliveries, cyclists and people with limited mobility. Zurich’s annual reports can provide a useful record of what gets approved, built and counted. The next milestones will be the completion of projects already under way and a clearer timetable for schemes still awaiting permission.