Climate change

The green wall was built as a pilot project in cooperation between the national government, the University of Genova and the Ecosystemic Research Group with the aim to assess urban air pollution. The wall is being monitored to understand which plant species are the most ideal for carbon sequestration in cities (2 and 3).

"In order to make this center area attractive and dynamic, the EPASE (Saint-Etienne Public Development Agency) and the town hall of Saint-Etienne have set up an ambitious eco-neighborhood project. This project is based on public spaces that are built on an original urban park model where nature is the driving force behind the site. Nature is at the heart of this "park city" project, realized in record time: in a year and a half, the vast majority of the park's work has been carried out and the neighborhood has begun to change."(Ref. 1)

The urban development project between Little Lungegård Lake and Big Lungegård Lake (Store Lungegårdsvann) involves the creation of a canal between the two lakes as a means of runoff management, among other things. Water quality and flood protection are fundamental issues that are considered in this project as the city is expecting increased levels of precipitation due to climate change. The rest of the urban area will be transformed into an attractive modern city centre area with water as the most important element (Ref 1, 4).

The Braid Burn is a highly urbanised watercourse that has been significantly modified to improve drainage. Prior to re-meandering of the Braid burn, it was constrained in a narrow, brick-lined channel with little character, offering a poor habitat and possessing low species diversity. The restoration work reintroduced diversity to allow natural morphological and ecological processes to take place (ref. 2). A new wetland habitat was created, along with a flood storage area. It was a small component of a wider flood alleviation scheme by the City of Edinburgh (ref. 1).

Craigmillar Town Centre Temporary Greening project transformed a vacant development site in Craigmillar which is reserved for a new high school, not scheduled to be built until late 2020, into a temporary green space. The site is at the centre of the wider Craigmillar regeneration area, adjacent to the newly-built Community Hub and neighbouring plots at varying stages of development. EDI's PARC Craigmillar Ltd is responsible for the regeneration in Craigmilar, working in partnership with Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust (ELGT) and the City of Edinburgh Council. The initiative will create a meanwhile space for community use, while works begin on the town centre development. The greening will allow the area to become an active space for the local community to enjoy and ease the construction process. Craigmillar Town Centre Temporary Greening forms part of a wider plan for the redevelopment of Craigmillar Town Centre. The masterplan, which was approved in December 2014, includes 330 homes, a retail centre, restaurant, community play area and high school – where the temporary greenspace will be situated until building commences. (ref 1, 3)

“Zagreb for Me” was an ambitious and comprehensive project launched in 2015 by the Zagreb Society of
Architects in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Zagreb and the City of Zagreb.
The goal of the project was to start a revitalization of public spaces through the realization of 17 urban
interventions in the whole city area at the same time. This distributed approach aimed to improve the general
“image of the city” and raise the quality of urban life in segments of housing, recreation, leisure and social
cohesion and revitalization of Zagreb's public spaces using public participation as a tool. This project aims to decentralize designed public spaces and draw attention to some forgotten city spots. At the same time, the project, created from a “bottom-up” initiative, establishes a new model of public participation as well as new forms of collaboration (Ref 1, 2, 3). The project "Zagreb for me" was created on the basis of Acupuncture of the city - an interdisciplinary approach and public participation, but it covers a wider urban space, ie it deals with public spaces throughout Zagreb. After the conducted urban-architectural tenders for the selected solutions, the realization is planned. Only one urban-architectural tender was conducted and the implementation of the project stopped there, but the project "Zagreb for me" was recognized as an example of good practice with the possibility of application in other cities. (Ref 5)

The Montreynaud Park is composed of a great diversity of spaces (dense woodlands, undergrowth, meadow spaces, small group of trees ) and presents a richness of fauna and flora. The challenge of rebuilding this area is to create a real urban park, a green lung that provides the junction between the upper and lower parts of the neighborhood and links it to the rest of the city. The redevelopment of the park must meet the needs of the inhabitants by developing a place of contemplation, pedestrian paths, sports and recreational paths, and in connection with scientific, technical and industrial culture (Ref.1).

In 2012, the City of Lisbon has implemented a 2,5 km green corridor connecting Monsanto Forest Park ( 900ha) and the city centre through Eduardo VII Park. (1) It is a concept of continuous natural structure, consisting of a coordinated set of green spaces that intend to continuously bring the natural space to the interior of the city (ref.3)
This corridor is a fundamental part of the Ecological Structure, a matrix formed and articulated by systems: the Mobility System, the Water and Air Circulation System, the Fluvial-Estuarine Transition System and the Structural Ecological Units System.

Lisbon's Biodiversity Route is a pedestrian route of 14 km, marked according to the norms of the Portuguese Federation of Camping and Mountaineering. It connects the Forest Park of Monsanto to the Tejo river, which aims to contribute to raising the awareness of the value of the city's biodiversity (ref. 4). The position and dimension of these connected areas important in relation to the climate regulation, air quality and for the diversity of habitats that the city offers. The Biodiversity Route is a circular route, which can be done on foot or by bicycle where each species of fauna and flora that can be observed (Ref.1).

The petrol station is a result of a long-term project of MOL, called as the “The petrol station of the future”. The designers created a building with excellent thermal insulation, green walls, a green roof, solar panels, rainwater utilization and an alternative heating system. Even the interior of the building was created with as much environmentally friendly materials as possible. The building uses LED lighting only to save energy. These environmental efforts resulted in Energy savings of more than 50 percent, and the neutralization of 10 tons of CO2 gas emissions. (Reference 1)