Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature

In 2014 a counselling office of the NGO Green City was established, entitled The Greening Office (Begrünungsbüro), with the objective of better engaging citizens in green adaptation measures, such as green roofs, green façades, green walls or green courtyards (Reference 1, 5). Financed by the City’s Department of Health and Environment, the project addresses climate change adaptation through greening private properties, achieved through counselling citizens and companies, with diverse outreach and networking activities. The NBS recognised the potential of the many unused private spaces, such as south-facing facades and flat roofs to better adapt to climate change across the entire city (Reference 1).

Parc Marianne is an ecodistrict that aims to address multiple challenges such as climate action for adaptation, environmental quality, flooding, and in response to the high population growth in Montpellier. Parc Marianne is connected to public transportation, has bicycle lanes and car parks, and the sidewalk is shared between pedestrians and bicyclists and structured with trees and other greenery. The park was certified with the ecodistrict label in 2015 following requirements like environmental sustainability, thermal performance, quality of life, nature and biodiversity, and mobility (Ref. 1). Parc Marianne is a mixed neighbourhood with an ability to combine city and nature, quality of life and centrality (Ref. 2).

The Porto Biospots Network is a partnership of the Municipality with "Infraestruturas de Portugal", and is a network of urban forest areas (predominantly autochthonous) that aims to allow the reforestation of adjacent transit routes, major highway nodes, and routes of circulation within the city, transforming environmentally poor lands into green areas that provide multiple ecological services. This initiative foresees the reforestation of 14 areas and the planting of 10,000 trees by 2021, having already completed 2 roads, with a total of 1305 native trees planted. The biospot is the materialization of a part of the Municipal Ecological Structure of Porto. [1][4]

The Gran Recorrido de Bilbao (GR), known as the Green Ring or Great Route of Bilbao, is a part of Bilbao’s Green Belt, a municipal initiative that encompasses forest and urban parks surrounding the city. The Green Route aims to skirt the City passing through the forest parks of Artxanda, the mountain of Avril, Arnotegi, Pagasarri, and Arraiz. It completes a route of 99.3 kilometers in a closed belt of trails, paths, roads and streets signposted with references to routes, interesting places, and general information. The Green Route is reachable from the center of Bilbao through eleven additional routes that all lead to a central point. [3][4]

The Lama Balice Nature Park is located near a long 'lama', which is a deep karst gorge, located north of the city of Bari. Established in an abandoned site, the nature park protects the area of the riverbed in the periphery of the city, acting as a natural channel for regulating water flow. It also serves as a recreational and cultural hub, while conserving agricultural functions and maintaining biodiversity. An administrative body consisting of the participating local mayors has been set up to manage the protected area. [1][2]

The Roerplein pocket garden was a Neighborhood Green Plan project. The Neighborhood Green Plans were an initiative of Utrecht Municipality to support the bottom-up 'greening' of its neighbourhoods. Citizens could propose a variety of often quite small-scaled plans that enhance the neighbourhood by means of green spaces that promote social cohesion and thereby community identity. At the Roerplein, a public square was transformed into a green square by way of a participatory process, assisted by a social entrepreneur. The project aimed to reduce heat stress, enhance social cohesion and the attractiveness of the neighbourhood, promote biodiversity and support recreation (ref. 1).

The Tree Strategy is a municipal action plan in progress, aiming to address some of the main sustainability challenges described in the Environmental Program of Malmö City. Its main relations to sustainability challenges include improved health and well-being, decrease differences in those among different social groups and increase biodiversity. The Strategy includes a range of possibilities for evaluating its ecological and social success (ref. 1).

A private investment project that aimed to create a new building complex in the Findorff district of Bremen and build two large residential buildings "Münchner Bogen" and "Findorffer Tor" with green roofs on top. The green roofing of the buildings was influenced by the local actors - the alliance "Green Bremen" and the advisory board of the Findorff Council. The initiative aimed to contribute to sustainable urban development by the positive impact on biodiversity, rainwater retention, improved local air quality and provision of natural thermoregulation for the buildings (Ref. 1, 2, 3).

The project "Sustainable Support Program for Greening Buildings and Minimizing the use of space using the example of Hanover" was established jointly by BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland) and the state capital of Hanover. The goal of the project is to transform as many barren house walls and dull grey roofs and asphalted areas into green oases throughout the city. Since May 2013, all house and landowners, housing associations and building communities have been able to apply to the BUND for a subsidy for green roofs and facades. On 2017, the project was expanded to include unsealing of areas like inner courtyards, driveways, etc, thus creating new green areas. Advice on the correct greening measures and on professional unsealing have been also offered by BUND.
The project is funded by the state capital of Hanover, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), the Sparkasse Hannover and by proKlima. The "Green Hanover" funding program will end on December 31, 2020. (Reference 1)

The Sea's Corridor is a project that created green spaces with good quality that act as green belts of the city while serving as a support for the sustainable and not motorized means of transport. It was part of a project Plan called "Plan E" of the Municipality of Palma (Ref 1). The project was completed and in 2020 there are plans to do some renovations. They want to join the Sea's Corridor to Platja de Palma, as well as create new green spaces with a wider link with the ocean (Ref 5).