Greenery in public spaces is more than just a matter of tree counts or square metres of parkland. Above all, it is about the impact this greenery has on the living environment, both now and in the future. Using data, models, and measurements, Groen Als Een Service (Green As A Service) provides clear insights into these effects. This enables municipalities to better substantiate their green policies and more accurately determine where investments will yield the greatest returns.
Healthy area development
For Wil Jacobs, manager of Groen Als Een Service, the idea behind the approach started with a recognizable practical question. A policy officer in The Hague had requested two million euros to cool down hot squares. The city council agreed, but wanted to know what that investment would actually deliver. “How much cooler will it really get with those two million? Should that have been ten million? Should that have been one million?” That question got Jacobs thinking about a different way of looking at public space design. Not only from a design and policy perspective, but above all from data
Interactive tool
The approach consists of five steps. First, the existing situation is mapped out in a digital twin and targets are set. Next, the digital environment is configured to calculate the impact of measures. The effects are measured and analyzed, after which municipalities can evaluate the results and adjust their targets as needed.
Groen Als Een Service combines several tools to achieve this. FME is used to connect data sources and automate data processing. Tygron then calculates the large volumes of data and visualizes the results in 2D and 3D. Sensors provide additional information on, for example, temperature, soil moisture, and air quality. Ultimately, the results are presented clearly. “We have built in a reporting tool that allows us to generate reports very easily and quickly based on wishes and questions.”
Talking about trees
An example is the collaboration with Sittard-Geleen. The municipality adopted a new Green Agenda for 2026-2029, with ambitions in the areas of trees, biodiversity, and climate adaptation. “We used the municipal tree inventory, but it wasn't complete with just that,” says Jacobs. “So we supplemented it with data on privately owned trees and brought it together in a digital twin.” The situation in 2024 serves as the baseline measurement. From that basis, calculations were made on how the tree population could develop towards 2030.
The calculation considers the number of trees, plus their age, quality, and the expected growth of their canopy volume. This provides an idea of the amount of greenery that may disappear over time and to what extent the growth of existing trees offsets that loss. The outcomes can be viewed at different scale levels, from the entire municipality down to individual neighborhoods. Jacobs: “So this is how we build an interactive tool for municipalities to quickly compare areas. It is great for a policy officer to take everyone along in the trend analyses and immediately compare different scenarios.”
Moving trees together
The method is also being expanded with biodiversity data. In one project, bird sounds and nest box monitoring are used to investigate which species occur in an area and how that aligns with the Basic Quality for Nature. “For example, we look at what kind of critters a little bird enters the nest box with,” Jacobs explains. “Because that tells us something about the quality of nature.” By combining such data with heat stress and water maps, among other things, a broader picture of the quality of the living environment emerges.
The ultimate goal is for municipalities to see what different choices mean right from the design stage. Jacobs outlines a working method where stakeholders sit together at the table, can move trees around, and view the effect shortly thereafter. According to Jacobs, a project manager summarized the potential time savings in an evaluation as follows: “If I work in such a digital twin environment, I'll be doing three projects a year instead of one.”
Wil Jacobs at the CoP 2026: read more and watch back
Wil Jacobs spoke about this approach during the Tygron Community of Practice 2026. Want to know more? Read the CoP report, including the presentation slides. Prefer to watch the entire presentation? View the full recording of Wil Jacobs' presentation on YouTube.
Wil Jacobs during the Tygron Community of Practice 2026
