Improved air quality

Green roofs were created on vehicles in the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Girona, Córdoba, Valencia. This initiative is based on the project of Marc Grañén, who developed PhytoKinetic a project for the development of moving gardens. (ref 1) The city of Palma de Mallorca was also considering its introduction as a measure of sustainability. (ref 1) The intervention, however, remained in the pilot stage (ref 1 and 4).

The project "Sustainable Support Program for Greening Buildings and Minimizing the use of space using the example of Hanover" was established jointly by BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland) and the state capital of Hanover. The goal of the project is to transform as many barren house walls and dull grey roofs and asphalted areas into green oases throughout the city. Since May 2013, all house and landowners, housing associations and building communities have been able to apply to the BUND for a subsidy for green roofs and facades. On 2017, the project was expanded to include unsealing of areas like inner courtyards, driveways, etc, thus creating new green areas. Advice on the correct greening measures and on professional unsealing have been also offered by BUND.
The project is funded by the state capital of Hanover, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), the Sparkasse Hannover and by proKlima. The "Green Hanover" funding program will end on December 31, 2020. (Reference 1)

The Sea's Corridor is a project that created green spaces with good quality that act as green belts of the city while serving as a support for the sustainable and not motorized means of transport. It was part of a project Plan called "Plan E" of the Municipality of Palma (Ref 1). The project was completed and in 2020 there are plans to do some renovations. They want to join the Sea's Corridor to Platja de Palma, as well as create new green spaces with a wider link with the ocean (Ref 5).

Hanken School of Economics has placed green walls on its campus in Helsinki. The walls are placed in libraries and group rooms where students spend long periods of time to provide better air quality (ref, 2). The NaturVention (now known as Naava) patented active green walls are claimed to filter air 100 times more effectively than regular indoor plants (ref. 3). With pure and fresh Naava air, it is claimed that people can focus on their day, while Naava takes care of their air (ref. 5).

The intervention includes two elements, part of the project aims to create a park and then a green corridor that unites that park with the city. This last corridor project was then planned as a rehabilitation and development project in three phases along an urban transitway. It aims to be recovered as a public space for citizens to improve the urban sustainability of Palma. Aside from the infrastructural development the intervention also included tree planting and green cover maintenance (ref 1). The work on this development began, but it was unfinished.
After public protests (Ref 11 ), in 2019, there was another phase proposed for this project, to retake this unfinished initiative and make a long corridor from the Parc de Ses Estacions to the Son Forteza District. This part of the project was on the planning phase due to the complexity of urban planning change as well as the costs of this initiative. There has been no development of this new proposal (Ref 10).

The reduced green space in cities and the declining level of unstructured physical activity affect especially children as major developments in the immune system occur during the first years of life. Interacting with nature also increases perceived well-being and promotes environmental responsibility. The KOTA-project was funded by Helsinki Metropolitan Region Urban Research Program and the University of Helsinki conducted the study. KOTA examined how greening of kindergarten yards affects children’s health and well-being in the urban environment. Six kindergarten yards were transformed and a control group of non-modified kindergartens was used. The project extended beyond Helsinki, with the transformed sites being not only in Espoo (part of the Helsinki Capital Region). (ref. 1).

Nelson Mandela Square is located on the south side of the main railway station in Nurnberg. Serving as an important transition zone for pedestrians (25,000 people daily), the neglected square, which was mostly used as a car park is to be redeveloped into a green park providing recreational facilities in the densely populated residential area. (2, 7). The square and the bicycle storage facility opened on September 15, 2020. 70 new trees, a spacious lawn, safe bicycle paths, benches, parking spaces and Nuremberg's first bicycle parking garage now ensure both quality of stay and functionality. (7)

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).

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 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)