Climate change

The park of "Bois d'Avaize", with an area of 30 ha, is located south-east of Saint-Étienne on a hill site between 540 and 640 m altitude. A former mining site, operated from the 15th century until 1931, it was gradually reclaimed by vegetation before being converted into a municipal park in 1996 (Ref. 1). In 2016, the site was selected for the development of a project to enhance biodiversity by creating of a conservatory orchard, increasing amphibian-friendly habitats (with creation of ponds), and improving the connection of the park with the Pilat massif (a mountainous area) (Ref. 1). It is classified with the label "Natura 2000" for the conservation of natural environments for the richness of its fauna and flora (Ref. 1). Work was undertaken between 2017-2018 with management and monitoring set to occur from 2018-2050 (Ref. 1).

The University of Sheffield has embraced green roof technology for its benefits to the built environment, and to support Sheffield City Council vision of Sheffield as the UK’s green roof capital. Most buildings the University feature intentionally vegetated green roofs and some existing buildings with suitable structures have been retrofitted with green roofs (ref 1). The first instrumented test plot for the green roof was installed on the Mappin Building roof. In 2009, Jessop West building and the Robert Hadfield – Green Roof Centre Demonstration Site are studied for replicating the model (ref 4).

The City Council transformed Bispetorve, from a public square, to a green urban space in the autumn of 2015 - available for a wide range of events and experiences - designed to attract life and activity. Bispetorvet was aimed to also play an important role as an attractive crossroads between Strøget, Store Torv, the new harbour area, light railway stop at Skolebakken and the harbour front car parks.” (Ref. 1)

The areas around MarselisborgCenter in Aarhus get a new and better life. The project will contribute to the world's first city park that handles excess rainwater and invites citizens to health-promoting lifestyles. The area around MarselisborgCenter will be converted into a public city park for both MarselisborgCenter's users (people in rehabilitation) and the citizens of Aarhus in general. At the same time, the area will make the city more robust to future heavy rainfall. (Ref. 1)

The purpose of SPARK is to create a new, vibrant urban space in and around the Marselisborg Center, which partly meets the need for outdoor rehabilitation activities for the center's users, and partly the need for a fully-fledged climate adaptation effort in the area. These needs are united by the construction of a new public park, which also has the potential to increase social inclusion by creating meetings between the users of the Marselisborg Center and the many residents in the district. (Ref. 6)

“Cooperation between, residents, businesses and the local authority to facilitate the adaptation of a large urban area in Aarhus for more rainfall in the future. They will be able to influence urban development in the direction of more attractive use of rainwater. Local Rainwater Drainage (LRD) is a current trend derived from the political desire to deal with some of the expected increase in extreme rainfall by collecting and using it for recreational purposes. Society will thus be able to adapt to climate change better whilst providing more recreational facilities and environmental improvements.” (Ref. 1)

Hellenikon Metropolitan Park will be a large urban park located in Hellinikon, Athens, Greece. The park will be the central attraction of the Hellinikon project. It will provide Athens with a much needed ecological boost. When finished the park will be the largest in Europe. It will be approximately 200 hectares spanning the site of the former Hellenikon International Airport (Ref 4). The project will follow an integrated approach to sustainability. The objective is to boost greenery and create high-quality spaces while minimizing the natural resources used, protecting and enhancing the ecosystems in the region, and also raising awareness and educating the public on sustainability issues (Ref 1). Initially, the project was planned to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2013, but with the unfortunate and unseeing financial crisis worldwide, was shelved. A part of the project has been completed in the first 5 years. In 2013, a new design strategy for the project was submitted as part of The Hellinikon Project. The team included Foster & Partners, Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, ARUP and a group of Greek design consultants. The design was revised and resubmitted to the Greek government in 2018 (Ref 3). The project is now under the consideration of the Greek Ministry of Culture for infrastructure and monuments (Ref 1).

Collaboration between the City of Aarhus and private property developer DOMIS Ejendomme has been recognised by the award of a silver certificate for sustainable urban planning for the Bryggervej project. The aim of the project is to try out various sustainability principles. Green and blue solutions are included in the project, e.g. green roofs, green facades, green open spaces and blue elements/water in the park areas to increase recreational values and add moisture to the dry urban air. (Ref. 1, 2, 3)
By 2020, the first residential project was built called Risskov Brynet (Ref 8). Information in the project since 2017 is about this project. The project is certified according to DGNB Gold because it is based on a high standard for both social, economic, and environmental sustainability. An important part of this project is a 'highly insulated climate screen', a technology of the project that is incorporated into the project to address climate change (Ref 8, 9, 10).

"The main idea of the project is to join the two parks at the end of the intervention (Pedion Areos and Lofos Likavitou) with a green mass that will flow all along the intervention, bringing back the greenery to an area that used to be a green zone in the outside of the old Athens walls.That green corridor is formed by: (1) the existing trees preserved; (2) the new trees added; (3) a continuous floor all along the project with a pattern that is an abstraction from olive tree branches; (4) The artificial activity/bioclimatic trees they create" (Ref 1).

The Community Supported Agriculture initiative in Bonn (SoLaWi Bonn) is an economically motivated arrangement between consumers, farm businesses and certified gardeners to improve the urban provision of local, organic food. Together they develop a concept for collaboration where the consumer group commits to pay an annual fee to cover all of the farmer's expenses for production (according to individual financial capabilities) and to work placements at the farm per year. In exchange, the customer members of the initiative receive a variety of fresh, seasonal, locally produced vegetables. The farmers profit from financial security and economic stability and the ability to apply environmental friendly agriculture practices without the pressure of the market economy (1,4).

The lagoon has a great local significance for its biodiversity with the presence of certain species of rare birds regularly stationed in this area. Much of the biotope was degraded in the last decade by systematic embankments, constructions, as well as the inconvenience caused by various man-made pressures. A project was developed to reconstruct the area within the framework of a collaboration of the Institute of Marine Biological Resources, Inland Waters of HCMR, and Hellenic Ornology Company. The project offers directions for completing a protected region and proposes specific projects and actions of scientific monitoring, ecological rehabilitation, regeneration, and promotion. (Ref 3)