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InnoGreen integrated vegetation into the tram stops of Hermannin rantatie. According to the user experience survey carried out by WSP, the Lush Tram Stops meet the users’ needs for a comfortable city.
During summer 2024, two unusual tram stops were flourishing in Hermannin rantatie. Their back walls were covered with abundant green pillars, and the roofs were adorned with pollinator plants. These tram stops were part of Pilot Green Project where InnoGreen and its cooperation partners integrated greenery into imperative urban infrastructure. The project was funded by Forum Virium.
On top of the technical features of the Lush Tram Stops, the project examined the solutions’ effect on end users and surrounding urban nature. WSP carried out the user experience surveys, with 84 respondents. Based on the responses, users were more than happy with the Lush Tram Stops.
Vegetation in everyday environment enhances comfortability and well-being
The respondents were almost unanimous in the Lush Tram Stops’ ability to bring comfortability and beauty into the urban environment. Most of the respondents (78.8%) totally agreed that it’s more comfortable to wait for the tram at a Lush Tram Stop than at an ordinary one. Even larger share (86.2%) totally agreed that the Lush Tram Stops are aesthetically more pleasing than the ordinary ones. In both of these questions, the rest of the respondents were divided between those who somewhat agree or don’t have strong opinions either for or against.
The Lush Tram Stops’ positive effect on the area’s comfortability and the users’ well-being were recurrent topics also in open feedback. For instance, one comment stated that the Lush Tram Stops are ‘more pleasant and enhance people’s mental resources’. The insight is supported by Luke’s and THL’s novel report showing the necessity of nearby nature for humans’ overall well-being, especially through the supporting influence on mental health.
The users call for more green structures
Significant share of the survey respondents (82.5%) totally agreed that the Lush Tram Stops are a good way to bring more greenery into the urban environment. Additionally, the open feedback called for similar solutions: ‘More of these! Green structures could be generally utilized in other construction projects, too.’ Many of the comments outlined additional green solutions around the tram stops, such as meadows to the embankments of Hermannin rantatie and green facades to the surrounding buildings.
Even though nearly all the other respondents were agreeing with the claim as well, one of them was somewhat disagreeing with it. There were also several critical comments in the open feedback, pondering whether this small of a solution can truly have any influence. The concern is very valid – despite that already the results of this survey show that even small green additions to the everyday environment can enhance the well-being of numerous citizens. Luckily, green solutions like the Lush Tram Stop are also highly scalable and we are aiming to bring them as an even more common feature of the cityscape.
In addition to user experience, the project examined the effect that individual Lush Tram Stop has on pollinator diversity through the eDNA method. The results seem extremely promising – more of them in the upcoming blogs.
The PilotGreen project (1/2023-12/2025) aims to make cities greener and more welcoming by testing and scaling up new green infrastructure solutions in collaboration with businesses, cities and citizens. The project is coordinated by Forum Virium Helsinki, with Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and LAB University of Applied Sciences as project partners. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
