Green space and habitat

The Royal Gardens, situated between Piazza San Marco and the Bacino di San Marco, came into being during the Napoleonic occupation of the city and used to be a space for recreational activities for locals for many years after the monarchy was over. During past decades, the gardens have progressively deteriorated. Their original design is now barely legible, in terms both of geometrical patterns and the placement of trees and shrubs. They were rapidly becoming a derelict area. This intervention consists of their recovery by restoring the original vegetation by recovering still-living plants and introducing new ones. Between 2015 and 2019 the Gardens underwent complex restoration, carried out by the Foundation and planned by the gardener and landscape architect Paolo Pejrone, student of Russell Page and Roberto Burle-Marx, while architectural renovation and the rebuilding of the greenhouse was planned by architect Alberto Torsello, based on a project drawn up by Carlo Aymonino and Gabriella Barbini. Reopened in December 2019, the Royal Gardens, rich in unexpected perspectives and luxuriant growth, have reacquired their formal excellence and botanical complexity, in coherence with their historic nineteenth-century design. (1, 2 and 7).

There is a quickly growing number of residents, who want to grow their own food within a short distance of their locality, but new areas for allotments are not sufficient. The environmental NGO Dodo started a "guerilla gardening" movement, part of which is the temporary use of otherwise abandoned spaces. Specifically, at Kalastama area, an empty space waiting to be built upon, 36 farmers created an urban farm with recycled industrial bags to grow crops that can be removed afterwards (ref. 1). The garden in Kalasatama is a collaboration with the city of Helsinki, part of the temporary uses of the area, which in the next 20 years will be built into a new urban district of Helsinki (ref. 4)

The enlargement of the Dona Casilda park started in 2006 when Bilbao Ria 2000, a public limited company created in 1992 with the collaboration of the Public Administrations in order to lead the recovery and transformation of degraded areas of the Metropolitan Area of Bilbao, decided to invest in the renovation of the park. (Ref 2,4) The park was considered the main lung of the city, thus its enlargement (which is the presented NBS) was seen as necessary. (Ref 3) As such, the main road that traversed the park was removed and 30.000 sqm of land has been added. (Ref 2,7) The green area was broadened, by removing the road and enlarging the park. (Ref 2)

The Zabalburu square is a square located in the city of Bilbao at the confluence between the streets Autonomía and Hurtado de Amézaga . In 2008, the creation of the square, situated on one of the main roads leading into the city, enabled the recovery of almost 3,000 m2 for leisure and recreation space. It was designed as a forest that protects citizens from road traffic, and has 77 different sized trees that act as a plant barrier. This NBS was necessary since it is located in a quite crowded area (Ref 1)

As part of the Fifth Dimension research program of the University of Helsinki that examines green roofs from the perspectives of biodiversity and the three dimensions of sustainable development (ecological, social and economical sustainability), 8 green roofs were installed in Helsinki. The aim was to find economically viable solutions that are applicable to Helsinki’s and Finland’s conditions. The project experimented with green roofs in different parts of the country, over half of which are in Helsinki (ref. 1, 2, 3).

Situated on an area of 52 acres, Father Collins Park incorporates many sustainability-focused features and has won a number of awards. Over 1200 trees and 2000 native saplings were planted to help integrate the existing woodland, maximise biodiversity, and vastly increase the ecological value of the park. Also, wetland areas were created to filter and clean the water in the park as part of a recycling system that replenishes and helps clean the lake and water features. The wetland areas mimic the characteristics of natural wetlands and create a special ecosystem that encourages greater biodiversity in the park. (Ref. 1)

To test the newly developed Green Factor Tool for the City of Helsinki, with a focus on water management, two test sites (ätkäsaari pilot block and the three model yards in Kuninkaantammi) were created at residential blocks in Jätkäsaari and Kuninkaantammi. The tool itself is an Excel interface that calculates the quantity and quality of the city's green spaces per unit of area, It is part of the larger iWATER (integrated stormwater management) project (Ref 2). Specifically, after testing it on these two pilot sites, it is to support land use planning processes by providing a way to account for the quantity and quality of green space. The project aimed to analyze the cost-benefit of implemented sustainable stormwater solutions, compile stormwater-related planning tools as well as increase and strengthen the capacity of cities to work with stormwater issues (ref. 2).
One of the key objectives of developing the green factor method was to create green urban environments that have social value. Also, functionality was the second most important and cityscape (or landscape value) was the third most important category in green factor scoring.

The civil society association "Permaculture vorm Eichholz" has made it their agenda to turn a since 2016 abandoned farmhouse into an experience-based, educational, co-design space around the concept of permaculture which is an ecologically inspired design concept for creating resilient and durable agricultural areas while maintaining the diversity of cultural and natural habitats. The farm, which was established in 2017, promotes alternative cultivation methods and energy concepts via seminars and workshops and constitutes an experimental lab for interested citizens who can implement their own ideas or even take over responsibility for parts of the farm they develop and cultivate themselves (Ref. 1, 2, 3). The leaders of the project also plan to implement a sustainable energy concept, with the goal of making the farm self-sufficient in it’s energy consumption by producing renewable energies in a variety of ways. (Ref. 9)

The biggest park to date for the new town of Cherrywood in South Dublin is being developed. Tully Park will be part of a major strategic development in the area which will contribute to the economic growth of the county through the development of a vibrant residential and economic community anchored around a town centre. The park will act as a recreational space, and the plan is to create a high profile, high quality and distinctive flagship park with a range of visitor attractions and diverse active and passive recreational facilities. Schedule of provision to be informed by the current Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Open Space Strategy and local needs at the planning application stage but may include e.g. flagship playground, local pitches, courts, tea-rooms, toilets, public art, litter bins, street furniture, interpretation. The development of Tully Park shall be appropriate to the tranquil character and setting of the cluster of national monuments at its centre. The mature trees in the vicinity of the Tully Church complex shall be retained in so far as possible. (ref 1, 3, 5)

An enterprise called Alicante Forestal constructed a vertical garden in Mallorca, in an office in Santa Ponca (Ref 1). The garden was installed indoors, making a green wall in the headquarters of the local business (Ref 1). There is in 2020 not only this garden, but a service given by Alicante Forestal in Mallorca to design and install these in other parts of Spain, as well as courses for building these gardens in different countries in the world including Spain, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico (Ref 3).