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News
29 November 2025
The blue4green blueprint: setting the foundations for Bruges’ water-smart future
by Blue4Green - Hydrating the city by combining heritage, natural and high-tech solutions for green-blue challenges
Discover the project
Bruges is redefining its historic relationship with water. “We are very good at flushing water out when it rains, yet we need it during dry periods,” says Jonas Lagrou, policy officer City of Bruges. Blue4Green tackles this paradox via smart sensors, nature-based solutions and citizen engagement. Dive into the highlights from spring-summer 2025.
Key milestones
- April 2025: residents could engage with an interactive scale-model of Bruges’ water ecosystem on a citizenevent in the center ‘Buurt aan de Beurt – centrum’. At this neighbourhoodevent the ‘Bruggelingen’ can learn more about the policy of the city and the services in an interactive infomarket. These inviting infomarkets occur in every partly municipality of Bruges during the year, Blue4Green or ‘Waterwijs’ will be introduced on 5 of them in total this year.
- May 2025: at the Congress on Public Space, experts discussed how Bruges is evolving into a smart water city through Blue4Green, climate adaptation plans and green-blue infrastructure.
- June 2025: Bruges mapped its waterways with cutting-edge drone and LiDAR technology. The city is exploring whether the canals in the city ‘de reien’ can serve as temporary water buffers during periods of heavy rainfall—a solution that could ease pressure on the sewer system and reduce flood risks. To support this research, advanced mobile LiDAR technology mapped 6.8 kilometers of canals and 33 bridges. This technique captures millions of data points while moving via drones, boats, or vehicles, providing highly detailed insights for climate-resilient water management.
- Summer 2025: the Urban Swim event introduced recreational swimming in Bruges’ historic waterways, raising awareness about water quality.
- Heritage Revival: medieval water pipes ‘moerbuizen’ are being studied for modern water buffering and cooling strategies, bridging history and innovation.
Expert Insights
“Bruges had a sustainable water system in the Middle Ages” notes city archaeologist Frederik Roelens. Today, that ingenuity inspires climate adaptation strategies.
Johannes Riegler, innovation action expert EUI: “In the Blue4Green project sensors and smart dashboards meet medieval water infrastructure, public swimming, resident engagement and school workshops. In the first article, you can read about my encounter with royal-like swans and:
- How Bruges is writing a new chapter of urban climate resilience.
- Why climate resilience isn’t just about data and tech—it’s also about rediscovering what’s already under our feet.
- Why urban innovation works best when it connects people, place, and policy.
- How sensors are helping give trees a voice.”
Relive the vibe of the Urban Swim event
