Improved stormwater management

‘De Schilde’ in The Hague was the former factory of Philips Telecommunication that had been empty for years. In 2016, it become the home to the largest commercial city facility for food production in Europe: a 1,200 m2 roof greenhouse for specialized vegetables, a 370 m2 covered fish farm and a 250 m2 area for integrated processing and packaging. In addition, 250 m2 within the farm was exclusively reserved for events and guided tours. (5) The farm comprised two-storey greenhouses on the roof and uses the UF system for the sustainable production of fish and vegetables. (5) The urban farm was initiated by the the municipality of the Hague and realised by Urbanfarmers, a Swiss technology company focused on building food production facilities in cities (5).

However, the initiative wasn't successful. In 2018, the company declared bankruptcy and terminated production in the rooftop farm as it did not produced any revenues. (12,13).

The Green Corridor Bernetal developing on the site of the former sewerage system will link the downtown of Essen with the districts of Altenessen and Freiräumen in the North of the city. New green and blue infrastructure will be introduced along the modernized way available also for pedestrians and cyclists. The project is developed along with the city policy towards environmental regeneration of the Emscher region (Ref. 1).

An old hippodrome will be transformed into a natural urban park. "The Metropole of Rouen has launched this reconversion project of in consultation with residents and associations. It is the Mutabilis group that has been chosen to carry out this transformation, the first work of which will begin in 2017. The project, called "Champ Libre", integrates all the components essential to urban life: a place of discovery, nature and innovative agriculture" (Ref. 6).

After 3 years of works, in 2020 the city of Gdynia revitalized one of its largest parks with a panoramic view on the rest of the city. Planned activities had included new greenery (suitable for the local climate conditions), rebuilding vegetation, creation of the educational paths, building water playground facilities and a sensory garden, open-air gyms and improved infrastructure for the disabled [1,2,3]. The final project focused on the renovation of the amphitheatre and the drainage system underground. Residents have been enjoying the park since June 2020 [7].

The project was implemented in the eastern coast of Poland in the Pomeranian Voivodship. A 5.98 km of the current sea coast within the administration of the Maritime Office in Gdynia was secured and fortified until 2015. The purpose of the initiative is to increase the number of marine shore sites restored to a former state by recultivating degraded areas, securing landslides, and securing marine shores from erosion [1].

The project is a part of a larger initiative to revitalize this neglected district of the city and involves redevelopment and expansion of rain drainage system in Gdynia Chylonia. It resulted in the construction of rainwater retention systems and rainwater sewage systems with safe rainwater discharge to the Chylonka River. The aim of the wider initiative is to ensure a more decent standard of living and social cohesion by revitalizing the neglected areas of Gdynia [1,2,4].

The Strasbourg Grandeur Nature Plan is engineered by Strasbourg Metropole and is focused on optimising the actions and resources and resources of local authorities in the maintenance of local biodiversity and improving the living environment (Ref. 7). It combines with local associations and citizens through organising interfaces (e.g. workshops, online tools) that allow relevant local authorities to engage with local projects and make interventions on the basis of proposals made by the community. The project aims at improving the maintenance and development of green spaces and biodiversity due to the environmental issues surrounding urban sprawls (Ref. 4).

The main problem of Lake Ülemiste is high phytoplankton biomass, which increases the cost of water treatment (ref 1). Improving the water quality of Lake Ülemiste by biomanipulation has been considered as a management alternative. Lake Ülemiste was bio-remediated after reduction of external loading and the shifts in water quality were studied during the active-phase of the measure. (ref 1). Tallinn obtains 88% of the water it needs from Lake Ülemiste. Pine forest in the sanitary protection zone surrounding Lake Ülemiste offers several ecosystem services that help to improve the quality of the city’s drinking water (ref 4).

This project aimed at the reconstruction of the Lepiku channel that is part of the drainage system, which starts next to the Tallinn Botanic Garden and includes wetlands, detention ponds, ditches and channels and flows into the Pirita river. The aim of the project was to improve the quality of the stormwater that flows into the Pirita river which is a Natura 2000 site and flows into the Baltic Sea. The work included: widening of channel bottom in different segments, creating artificial dykes and rapids and creating suitable conditions for the aquatic plants exhibited in Botanic Garden (ref 1). With the project, 200m of the channel was reconstructed (ref. 5).

The Danube Eco-District project is Strasbourg's first eco-districy and is based on previous experimental designs in sustainable urban living (Ref. 27, 30). It is situated at the heart of the axis Deux Rives, and is thus a strategic point of the large Franco-German Deux Rives project (Ref. 28). The district will have the capacity for 20,000 residents, and will include green spaces, green roofs, insect hotels (Ref. 1), various water management facilities (ditches, swales... etc.), and composting facilities (Ref. 4). The project aims to improve biodiversity, social equality, ecology, reduce urban heating, and promote sustainable consumption (Ref. 30).