Baku has created more than 100 new parks and gardens over the past 20 years and renovated around 300 existing ones, the head of the city’s main urban planning department said. He made the remarks at an international real estate and investment exhibition in the capital.
Riad Gasimov, head of the Baku City Main Department of Architecture and Urban Planning under the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture, said more than 100 new parks in Baku have appeared over the past two decades, with roughly 300 more renovated. He made the comments at an international real estate and investment exhibition held in the capital, adding that new steps in the city’s greening efforts are also on the agenda.
According to Gasimov, work is currently under way to restore the natural condition of the capital’s lakes. As part of the first phase, around 300 hectares of the water basin in the Boyukshor area have been brought into restoration work. The zone is set to include more than 15 hectares of landscaped recreational parkland along with a 2.5-kilometre walking route running along the lakeshore.
The official said that, in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, a large-scale investment initiative is under way on the eastern side of Boyukshor Lake. He said the project is set to become one of Baku’s biggest urban development undertakings.
How pedestrian zones are reshaping the city
Gasimov noted that converting Baku’s central avenues into pedestrian zones is strengthening the links between major parks and squares, supporting the restoration of the historic centre and opening new opportunities for local businesses.
He cited the redevelopment of Islam Safarli Street near Fountains Square as an example. A 3.5-hectare area around the 28 May metro station has also been redeveloped. In the zone between Khagani Garden and Fountains Square, authorities first tested partial weekend restrictions on car traffic before recently imposing a full ban on vehicle movement there, with some exceptions.
