Environmental quality

This intervention is about the restoration of the riverbanks of the Janon River along a street in the Terrenoire District of Saint Etienne. This area was abandoned for more than 10 years, without maintenance and cleaning. Therefore, this intervention was mandatory for clean up to avoid flood as well as bringing back vegetation and offering some quality walking areas for citizens (Ref. 1).

There are various projects under the Den Grønne Kile initiative or the Green Wedge. The Green Wedge passes through all 4 subdivisions of the new district Aarhus K, and has a building percentage of 25% within the boundaries of the "wedge". (Ref. 3) Citizens are invited to contribute with green projects through the municipal innovation project "Green Citizen" (Grøn Medborger). (Ref. 1) The first and most prominent is a park created by citizens on an old railway track. The park has the nickname 'Kilen' and is a new city park for everyone, including upcoming residents and companies in the new district 'Aarhus K'. The park helps to promote the creative energy in the area and is in line with the development of the new district; it differs from the other city parks in Aarhus by offering space for many different activities and temporary projects that give life to 'Kilen' and make the trip along the railway track an exciting experience. (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 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).

Blackburn Meadows Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has a mesophilic anaerobic digestion facility, which enables the recycled sludge to be used on neighbouring farmlands as manure. It also enables the generation of renewable energy using combined heat and power units. All the upgrade works were to improve the quality of effluent being discharged into the River Don (ref 3). Sheffield City Council and Yorkshire Water leased an unused part of the former sewage works, to turn into a nature reserve which provides habitat for migrating birds. A water meadow created on vacant land promotes ecological biodiversity and floodwater attenuation (Ref5). In 2013, the works handle a dry weather flow of more than 158,000 cu m of sewage per day, with the treated effluent pumped into the river. It is one of Yorkshire Water’s biggest assets, but with a projected dry weather flow set to hit 368,000 cu m per day by 2025, it is in need of an upgrade (ref 6). The project is fragmented into two phases as the 1st phase was completed in 2013 and the 2nd phase will be completed by 2021 (ref 3).

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)

“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)

The Leonardo Garden was a community garden in an empty building site of 8th district of Budapest, that implementation was initiated by KÉK, the Contemporary Architectural Centre. (Reference 3)
The recultivation of two neglected, empty plots of land created one of the earliest community gardens in Hungary. Plants for consumption, spices, herbs and ornamental plants were planted. The 95 plots in the Garden were cultivated by young people, families and pensioners, but the Garden also served educational purposes, as it frequently received school groups. The Garden has hosted a number of public community and cultural, gastronomic and musical events, which were well attended by both the neighbourhood and the general public. The community garden was closed in March 2018 because the company that owns the land wanted to start construction on it. (Reference 5)