Zwolle tightens tree guideline to 2-22-200: 'No dilution'

ARTICLE

POLICY & LEGAL

Hanneke Tax, Wednesday 25 June 2025

178 sec

Instead of 3-30-300, Zwolle applies an adapted rule of thumb with measurable targets

In July 2022, the Zwolle city council adopted a motion. The essence: investigate how the 3-30-300 tree rule could be incorporated into the city's green and recreation policy. Recently, Zwolle presented its new policy including its own 2-22-200 guideline. Green space management advisor Marit Benning is proud of it: 'Our version of the rule is certainly no less ambitious, but it is more feasible.'

Green policy advisor Annemieke Feijen (right) poses with Marit Benning, green management advisor for the existing city, in front of the recently redesigned green strip next to the city hall: 'Hopefully these trees can finally start growing!'

Since launching the 3-30-300 rule, its creator Cecil Konijnendijk has emphasized that it is not a standard, but a rule of thumb. Zwolle soon came to the same realization, says green policy advisor Annemieke Feijen. 'We noticed that it was difficult to align the guideline with practical realities. For example, you can tell right away that 30 percent tree canopy coverage isn't feasible everywhere, such as on narrow streets. At the same time, we want to be more specific: what results indicate we've met the rule?' Benning confirms: 'How do you measure whether everyone sees two or three trees from their home? What you can measure is how many trees of a certain size are present on a street.'

'How do you measure whether everyone sees three trees from their home? What you can measure is whether there are two mature trees on a street'

Zwolle's tree policy, with its custom guideline, focuses on the long term. Meeting this standard in every neighborhood will take more than a few years. Feijen: 'We don't say that to postpone action, but to move forward step by step with workable plans. Tree policy is always a work in progress because trees are living organisms. That means policy must be dynamic too—we can adjust our ambitions later on, ideally upward.'

2: Future trees in the street

Benning: 'The goal is that every street of about one hundred meters will have at least two future trees: trees with enough room to grow and remain healthy for at least eighty years. These can also be existing trees with improved growing conditions—more cubic meters of rootable soil, resolved compaction, and sometimes better tree soil.' Zwolle's future trees are younger than fifty years and therefore not yet 'valuable' or 'monumental' (80+). They are given good growth conditions and the same protected status as other special trees. Feijen: 'Future trees provide cooling now and in the long term, contribute to residents' quality of life, buffer water, and store CO₂. But that doesn't mean we're cutting down all the smaller trees in the streets. These also have value.'

22: 3 percent more canopy cover

'For tree canopy coverage, we've chosen a target of 22 percent,' says Feijen. 'That's a logical ambition starting from the current level of 19 percent. Thirty isn't always feasible, but twenty would be too unambitious. This is a goal we can tighten in the future to, say, 25 percent, if we see that we're on the right track.'

Trees near Zwolle station

200: a few minutes' walk to a cool spot

'In "hot" neighborhoods, it's important for people to be able to quickly reach a cooler place,' explains Benning about the 200-meter rule. 'That's why we want everyone to be within a 200-meter walking distance from their front door to a cool green spot. We're not using "as-the-crow-flies" distance, because then a park might be on the other side of a canal and not accessible. Such a park of at least 200 square meters must provide shade from trees or woodland and be accessible for recreation.'

Effort obligation

Feijen emphasizes that the guideline is a policy intention, not a legal standard: 'It's not legally enforceable, but it's definitely not optional either. We impose an effort obligation on ourselves. If, for example, a new neighborhood cannot meet a part of the rule, we must explain why not and still aim to come as close as possible to the standard.'
'A challenge we face in Zwolle's inner city is that there are many old trees,' Benning adds. 'In the coming years, many of them may die off, which would mean a significant setback in meeting our tree targets. We're developing a strategy to stay on track regardless.'

'It would be easy to start with neighborhoods that already have plenty of green space'

Urgency for paved neighborhoods

When asked about priorities in tree policy, Feijen says that people in paved neighborhoods already suffer heavily from heat stress. 'It would be easy to start with neighborhoods that already have plenty of green space. But in a paved neighborhood like Assendorp, the problems are more urgent. There are fewer trees and narrower streets with limited space both above and below ground. These are challenging locations, but trees have a big impact here. We've noticed that many residents are actively working toward more greenery in the neighborhood, so together we can find the right solutions.'
Benning adds: 'In several neighborhoods, we want to align with the new mobility plan. This plan by our colleagues is still in its early stages but includes ideas like concentrating cars via parking hubs. In low-traffic residential areas, that could create more space for trees, canopy cover, and parks or green strips, as in our 2-22-200 rule. So, besides starting in urgent neighborhoods, we also want to piggyback on other projects already underway in a neighborhood. That way, we don't have to dig things up again a few years later for our own plans.'

This article was previously published on June 19, 2025, on the Boomzorg website.

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