Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)

This is a project financed by the EU LIFE Project on CO2 sequestration and reduction levels in the urban area of Rome. One of the initiatives involved an NBS, as RomaNatura took care of planting new trees over 2 hectares of land in the Valle dei Casali in the Municipio XV area (Ref. 1).

The first " ecological zone" in Ljubljana was established in 2007 in the old city centre. This led to the closure of a 100,000 m² area to motor vehicles, and the renovation of the main traffic axis to make it attractive for pedestrians and cyclists. The new transport regime in this area reduced black carbon levels by 58%. Additionally, the city administration has planted 63 ash trees. Biking and sustainable mobility have been promoted, in line with providing new green areas for social and sporting activities in formerly degraded areas. The "renaissance“ is not focused only on the city center and the implementation of the car-free zone, but it is expanded throughout Ljubljana and covers different fields, such as the revival of degraded areas, the establishment of green public spaces, playgrounds for children, eco-renovation of schools and kindergartens, cultural and sports facilities, etc. Finally, the river Ljubljanica has been the focus of an ecological restoration project. This was done with the aim of reducing pollution and returning the city centre to the citizens, by incentivizing pedestrian and bicycle commute. The "ecological zone" project has been completed. After the completion of the project, further initiatives were taken which is directly related to the project itself. Some of them focusing on converting the city to a sustainable one is still going on. (1, 3, 4 and 8).

This is a pilot project part of the strategic plan "Città di Città" in the Milano province, launched in 2006 by the Direzione Centrale Risorse Ambientali, by the Parco Agricolo Sud Milano and by the Multiplicity.lab of the Politecnico di Milano. The project consists in the realisation of a green ring surrounding the city for an extension of 30.000 hectares (15% of the metropolitan area). The ring will connect a series of green areas already existing in the city. The project will insert a total of 3 million new trees along different areas of the city (2). The "metrobosco" is described as: a green belt made up of new forests, parks and rows that extend along the borders of the capital of Milan. A continuous ring of trees and small and large clearings to meet farms, abbeys, watercourses, agricultural areas and spaces for recreation and sports. The project arises from the need to redefine the relationship between city and country, to intensify plant and animal biodiversity, the preservation of existing and the construction of new "ecological corridors", the mitigation of climate imbalances, the abatement of noise and atmospheric pollution, the care and maintenance of the territory and the production of sources for agro-energies (4).

On a yearly basis, the city of Zagreb, Zagrebački holding plants new trees and bushes to maintain Zagreb as a green city with 114 hectares of green spaces (Ref 2). Also includes maintenance of green surfaces, such as grass in public parks along with tram tracks and planting new trees and maintaining existing ones next to kindergartens and schools (Ref 2). Maintenance of city parks, lawns and tree lines includes cleaning, mowing and collecting grass and garbage from green areas, restoration of trampled lawns, maintenance and pruning of trees, shrubs and hedges, maintenance and care of seasonal and permanent flower beds, maintenance of paved and dune areas in parks and installation and maintenance of urban equipment in parks and children's playgrounds (Ref 1).

The city of Zagreb prepared city-owned land on 10 locations for urban gardening, called "city gardens" for citizens who do not own land in Zagreb. The project "City Gardens" is a positive example of sustainable use of urban land and improving the quality of life of our citizens in social, economic and environmental terms. City gardens provide access to healthy food and improve the household budget of citizens, contribute to preserving a healthier environment, preserving biodiversity, environmental awareness of citizens, connecting with nature, healthy leisure and promoting a healthy lifestyle and developing partnerships between the City of Zagreb and citizens (Ref 1).

The project involved the redevelopment of old military infrastructure at the periphery of the Zagreb city (Boronaj) into a green and carbon-negative university campus. The Boronaj campus has planned to be the green campus of the university and includes the use of renewable energy (biomass, geothermal and solar), treatment cell for wastewater and a huge green area (with trees and shrubs). The buildings (constructed and to be constructed) are planned to be carbon negative (Ref 1). A significant portion of the campus is the green areas (with trees and shrubs). This was created with the aim to contribute and maintain the native species diversity (Ref 3, 4). In addition to increasing the biodiversity of the city, the tree species has improved the air quality of the area and reduced the local air temperature. The project is partially completed. Some buildings are yet to be constructed. The Campus was officially opened on October 12th 2007 and for now, it hosts 4 university units: Centre for Croatian Studies, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Traffic Engineering and Faculty of Economics and Business (only vocational study programmes in economics and business). Five other faculties are also planning to relocate to the Campus in the next few years. Besides the (re)construction of university buildings, campus will be home to a sports centre, student residence hall and a number of institutes. The project is partially completed, some of the buildings are completed while some are yet to be constructed. (Ref 1, 3, 7).

"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)

In 2010, about 300 people participated in the planting program for the “350” project and under the “Verde por el Clima” program (Green for the climate) organized by the Department of Environment, Cordoba city council (Concejalía de Medio Ambiente). (Ref. 3)

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).