Public local authority budget

The Recreio green corridor project, launched in 2012 by the Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and several city departments, aims to protect and enhance the rich biodiversity and ecosystems of the area, to help with the resilience and adaptation of the west side of the city, an area affected by coastal flooding and erosion. The project mostly focused on preserving, connecting, and expanding the existing local urban nature elements and protecting their ecology. Lastly, the project also aimed to educate the residents about native vegetation and help build social interaction and cohesion between the local communities [Ref 1]. The project was designed to preserve and connect 320.76 ha of protected areas and add 60.73 ha of open public spaces and squares. And in total, the corridor has a linear extension of close to 8 kilometers, passing through very diverse urban areas (Ref. 7), including natural parks, a lagoon system, water canals, and social housing areas.

Mexico City's (CDMX) Water Fund was established in 2015 by The Nature Conservancy Mexico on behalf of the Latin American Water Funds Partnership aiming to reduce the imbalance of the aquifers providing significant water supply for the territory of the CDMX and promoting positive long-term water balance (1). "The Water Fund emphasises good science in relation to the selection of sites and interventions, and in comprehensive monitoring. It seeks to make the business case demonstrating that these activities show returns with respect to water security" (1 p22). The first pilot project of the CDMX Water Fund engages small-scale producers in sustainable agriculture practices, works to restore and conserve water-absorbing land and reconvert land to water-friendly agriculture practices (1)

The City of Melbourne, through its Urban Forest Strategy, has a comprehensive plan for greening major streets and precincts, but not the smaller laneways. Across the municipality, laneways occupy a ground area of 60 hectares, with a further 150 hectares of space on the walls in these laneways (3). "The City of Melbourne has established the GYL program in 2016 with the vision to help transform the city’s smaller laneways into leafy, green and better usable spaces for the residents and other visitors to enjoy while addressing the city’s sustainability challenges." (1 p27). So far, a pilot project has been carried our including the transformation of 4 laneways: Coromandel Place, Guildford Lane, Meyers Place and Katherine Place (1,3). The intervention included an intensive planning process with the involvement of stakeholders from the private and public sectors and the creation of an interactive map of laneways ideal for greening. (1,2). The GYL program aims to address the issues of urban heat islands, climate change impacts of flood mitigation while also improving local aesthetics, amenity and creating opportunities for recreation (1).

The Urban Forest Fund (UFF) was launched in May 2017 by the City of Melbourne to provide financial support to new greening projects that otherwise would not be able to be funded. Such projects include green spaces, tree planting, vertical greening or green roofs on private land" (1 p20). The City of Melbourne has multiple strategies and programs in place to increase the quantity and quality of green space in the city. The UFF aims to support such sustainability lead initiatives by providing match-funding grants to green projects in the private realm. The UFF is a key initiative in tackling sustainability challenges in the entire city, as 75% of its land is privately owned (1)

"The Urban forest strategy (UFS) is a central part of an innovative overarching policy framework of the City of Melbourne underpinning the city's aim to create healthy ecosystems for people and nature" in the period between 2012-2040 (1 p9). The UFS outlines a scientifically-vetted long-term process to re-nature the city with a diverse selection of urban trees and open space for and with the citizens, combining elements of an eco-managerial governance arrangement with an open and reflexive co-governance approach. (1 p11). The Strategy concentrates on 6 areas to achieve its goals: canopy cover, forest diversity, vegetation health, water quality and soil moisture, urban ecology and environmental stewardship among citizens. (1)

In 2014 a counselling office of the NGO Green City was established, entitled The Greening Office (Begrünungsbüro), with the objective of better engaging citizens in green adaptation measures, such as green roofs, green façades, green walls or green courtyards (Reference 1, 5). Financed by the City’s Department of Health and Environment, the project addresses climate change adaptation through greening private properties, achieved through counselling citizens and companies, with diverse outreach and networking activities. The NBS recognised the potential of the many unused private spaces, such as south-facing facades and flat roofs to better adapt to climate change across the entire city (Reference 1).

Parc Marianne is an ecodistrict that aims to address multiple challenges such as climate action for adaptation, environmental quality, flooding, and in response to the high population growth in Montpellier. Parc Marianne is connected to public transportation, has bicycle lanes and car parks, and the sidewalk is shared between pedestrians and bicyclists and structured with trees and other greenery. The park was certified with the ecodistrict label in 2015 following requirements like environmental sustainability, thermal performance, quality of life, nature and biodiversity, and mobility (Ref. 1). Parc Marianne is a mixed neighbourhood with an ability to combine city and nature, quality of life and centrality (Ref. 2).

The 2,044 square meters green roof on Sharrow School in Sheffield is designed to reflect the different habitats surrounding the city and includes a wildflower meadow and grassland plants as well as a wetland area with a small pond. The aim of the green roof was to provide added value by assisting the control of stormwater, humidity, noise, heat and pollution. It has been declared as a Local Nature Reserve by Sheffield City Council with the support of Natural England, in recognition of the importance of the roof to wildlife and educating the school's pupils about nature and the environment.[1][2]

The Porto Biospots Network is a partnership of the Municipality with "Infraestruturas de Portugal", and is a network of urban forest areas (predominantly autochthonous) that aims to allow the reforestation of adjacent transit routes, major highway nodes, and routes of circulation within the city, transforming environmentally poor lands into green areas that provide multiple ecological services. This initiative foresees the reforestation of 14 areas and the planting of 10,000 trees by 2021, having already completed 2 roads, with a total of 1305 native trees planted. The biospot is the materialization of a part of the Municipal Ecological Structure of Porto. [1][4]

Work is underway to build an Urban Park at Rua Ramada Curto, in Monte Abraão. The leisure park will be 6,200 m² and includes a children's playground, a space for seniors, the creation of green space for recreation and park protection with a perimeter of bushes and trees. It will be a continuous green zone of recreation and leisure with numerous access points[1]."People will be able to enjoy this place that is an added value to the community and an investment in the quality of life of our citizens"[2]. For improving accessibility parking spaces and paths were created to benefit the residents[1].