Sports areas and equipment

A large-scale restoration of park Zapaden over 53 hectare had started in 2017, aiming to restore the aesthetic appearance of the park, and to preserve its authentic character and value for Sofia as the second biggest park in the city. Many activities were planned, including restoration of green areas, restoration of a lake and a rock-garden (renovating the artificial lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, and adding new vegetation), and adding new flowers and greenery. In addition, renovation and creation of new grey infrastructure such as playgrounds, alleys, lighting, cameras, irrigation systems, camp grounds, and more is planned. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)

While it is difficult to assess how much work has been completed as of 2020, recent websites (from 2018) claim: "The park has two main parts – one has alleys built in it, as well as places for leisure and the other is a forest perfect for the hotter days of the year. The green part ends at the Smardana locality where people can find a lake." (Ref. 10)

The Lolli-Malaspina area of the central station intervention aims to replace the current urban space and to replace it with a system that can complete and integrate the existing one, and generate a new centrality, transforming the current laceration into an urban seam. There are new gardens outside the central station, which link the different areas of the railway, and it has been implemented because the area of the central station is a strategical node for the city which has to be reinforced with new green areas. (Ref.1.)

The park was reconstructed by the municipality of Sofia in order to improve the local living environment and provide suitable conditions for rest, recreation, and sport. Actions included restoring the lake by reconstructing the bank, restoring flower gardens by adding 80 000 new flowers, and restoring green areas.
(Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)

Instead of expanding the Ring of Antwerp to improve mobility, the municipality of Antwerp decided to use the space to create a Green Ring of 13 kilometers consisting of a wide range of projects (Ref. 3). This large city plan contains green spaces along the Ring, green corridors between those green spaces and with existing parks, a new green park, neighborhood green spaces, restoring the historical city wall and so on (Ref. 3). The plan also contains measures to improve water storing capacity (Ref. 4).

The first new park in Sofia since 30 years was created, which had very positive reviews from the citizens of the capital. The park features attractive grey infrastructure, grass lawns, and more than 600 planted trees. It has become a popular place for recreation. The aims of the project were to improve the public environment so that it is more suitable for rest; create conditions for sport and recreation in an urban park environment; and to thereby improve the economical state of the region by attracting investments and new employment opportunities. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3). Extension of a 6.6 acre water park and additional 18.2 acre green area was also completed in 2020 (Ref 8 and 9).

The Naturfreibad Haunstetten is an artificially designed bathing lake in the south of Augsburg with a water surface of 9,200 m² and a maximum depth of four meters. After the regeneration of 1,5 hectares of green space surrounding the lake, the baths were reopened in 2010 (Ref. 1).

The entire neighbourhood area was calling for interventions, considering the conditions of decay of this part of the city. The initiative was requested by the residents of the area, in particular considering the state of plants and trees. What needs to be provided is a new surface of grass to replace the terrain on the ground to avoid problems of flooding and new plantations. The park has an important function in terms of mitigation of anthropogenic pressures, but also in terms of social value for the residents. (Ref.1.)

Hillyfields Community Park is situated in the Ward of Gillingham North in Medway (ref. 1). It is an open space with some remnant orchard. This space was in an area with high social deprivation and unemployment and was improved between 2005 and 2009 to include natural play elements, better accessibility, host community projects and recreational facilities, and be a safer space (Ref 1, 3).

The municipality of Catania has promoted an initiative that involves schools and non-profit associations, for which available space for urban gardens and horticulture has been provided. The main aim was to regenerate areas which were used abusively as landfills and for criminal activities. What will be produced must strictly conform to the principles of sustainable production, by using biological products and 0 environmental impact techniques. (Ref.1.)

Birkenhead Park is one of the most important public parks in Britain. It is registered Grade I in English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. In 2002 to 2007, funding was made available to restore the park, and now in 2017 a master plan aims to further “enhance and secure” the park. (Ref. 1, 2, 3). Birkenhead park is considered the first publicly funded park in the world, and not only holds the Grade I in English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest award but also the Green Flag award. (Ref 6, 7, 8)