Green densification model

"Kvillebäcken is the first urban district in Gothenburg built according to the new environmental demands. Traffic and buildings will be adapted to a more environmentally sustainable community, where no inhabitants will be dependent on transport by car. Housing and commercial buildings will meet strict demands on energy balance, indoor environment, healthy materials, protection from noise and moisture, greenery in the courtyards and surface water management. New environmental technology solutions will be used in the district, such as the efficient collection of household waste and covered bicycle parking. New solutions will also meet strict demands on economic and social sustainability." (Ref. 1)

Recovered section of gardens along the banks of the Guadalquavir river, from the Bridge del Cachorro to the Alamillo Park. The area was originally built up for the International Exposition of Sevilla of 1992 and it was abandoned after the event. The area has been recovered by the city and transformed into a park with a series of gardens and pedestrian walk ways along the river. (Ref 1-3) During the 16 years of closure, the flora kept on growing and was rehabilitated during the process of the intervention. The plan also sought to recover the historical gardens of La Cartuja and incorporate them into the garden network of the Paseo de la Ribera. (Ref 2,3)

'Grey to Green' is one of the most invested projects in Sheffield, to transform the Riverside Business District. In Phase -1 this project will transform a 1.2 km unused road to attractive new public space, which will include innovative perennial flower meadows, an interlinked sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS), rain gardens, public art and high quality paved footways (ref 2). The whole project and landscape have been designed by the City Council, partnership with the University of Sheffield Landscape School, Amey and Robert Bray Associates. The SUD was designed by leading national experts on landscaping, and it is believed that SUD will help in flood relief in this part of the city by soaking up run off to the river within the ‘flood zone’ (ref 2). In Phase-2, the scheme will link Castlegate to the under-used Victoria Quays area and transform the almost redundant former inner ring road with sustainable drainage, floral meadows, segregated cycle lanes and public art. (ref7)

Due to years of under-investment left the Park Hill estate in a state of decline. The challenge for Sheffield Council was to regenerate a neglected estate into a place people wanted to live in. The city council allocated private gardens, a wildflower meadow, a bowling green and a parterre garden as part of the landscaping. Much of the landscaping will be inspired by the Peak District and typical Sheffield landscapes (ref 1). Park Hill is Grade II (special interest buildings and authority put extra effort to preserve them) listed and remains Europe's largest listed structure. The building alone covers an area of 17 acres and currently contains around 1,000 flats. In total the whole site covers 32 acres (ref 2). In the new proposal, a part of Park Hill flats will be converted into student housing (ref 5).

The project addresses a current issue: the integration between cities and the countryside, and the relationship between the urban and the agricultural context. The NBS focuses on enhancing the west peri-urban area of Bologna through the promotion, recovery and valorisation of old rural settlements as new nodes of the productive-fruit network (4). The intervention is extended over 50 ha of municipal property and focuses on natural restoration of the rural landscape and the infrastructure in proximity of it in order to improve local agricultural businesses and recreational activities. As of July 2020, the project is still in full force.

This project was the first green roof in the city of Bologna, and it has been carried out by the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Columbia University of New York with the aim to prove more evidence on green roof stormwater performance. For the Engineering School of Bologna University the existing roofs had a load capacity that was able to host only an extensive roof, without the costly need of being reinforced. In the extensive roof type the vegetation is usually very drought resistant and plants can adapt to difficult environmental conditions, therefore sedum was chosen (1).

The project aimed to tackle two environmental problems through an integrated policy: climate change (both the mitigation and adaptation effects of urban forestation) and air quality. The project foresaw the dissemination of public-private partnership tools, developed within the framework of corporate social responsibility experiences, and the distribution of specific guidelines. Specifically, the project planned to develop a public-private partnership model for urban forestation through the adoption of the ‘green areas inner-city agreement’ (GAIA). This was expected to include three specific protocols for green urban areas covering management, monitoring and mapping resulting in 3000 trees planted across Bologna (1).

Bundek Park is one of the urban planning projects aimed to create a recreational and sports area for the citizens and tourists to support a healthy lifestyle (Ref 3). The lake is surrounded by Bundek Park which stretches for 2,000 meters in length with an area of 35 hectares. The lake is about 5 hectares. the lake was initially used for fishing, walking and swimming. With the increased and carefree use of the lake, the lake and the environment became a waste disposal site. In 2005, by the decision of the Mayor, Mr. Milan Bandić, the renovation of Bundek began. The project included cleaning of the informal waste disposal site and shrubs blocking access to the lakes, renovation of the access to the lakes, planting flowers and introduction of the benches and water also to allow citizens to use the lake for recreation and enjoy the nature (Ref 2).

Reconstruction is occurring in the Norra Stationsområdet area in the City of Stockholm, creating the city district Hagastaden (Haga City). In Haga City, an elongated hourglass-shaped park will be created called The Northern Station Park (sv. Norra Stationsparken). The park will run through the northern inner city from Torsplan and Hagaplan in the west to Norrtull in the east, and it is one of Stockholm's largest park initiatives. The first part of the new Norra Stationsparken in Hagastaden was to be inaugurated in September 2019 and the rest of the park is expected to be completed in 2024 (Ref. 1, 2, 8, 9).

Fornebu used to be Norway’s main airport, but was abandoned in 1998. The Fornebu project aimed to restore the 340 ha site in order to provide a sustainable, multi-use built environment with sustainable drainage systems and other green infrastructure in focus. The site now consists of residential and industrial buildings with a focus on green space and natural storm water management, involving the use of open and natural water retention methods, including swales, filter strips, permeable surfaces, detention basins and retention ponds (Ref. 1).