Public local authority budget

Preserved from urbanization, the square of Chalampé is a bubble of greenery in the heart of old Neudorf. The square had become aged, under-equipped and surrounded by a thin vegetated strip (Ref. 1). The project aims to revitalize Chalampé Square by removing invasive species, replanting vegetation that will remove the shady character of the square and by recreating the plant lines that line the square (Ref. 2).

This NBS is Porto’s largest green roof, sometimes referred as the "Fifth Façade Urban Rooftop Garden", the "Olive Trees Garden" is an oasis of 50 olive trees and lush grass on top of a semi-open gallery of shops, restaurants, and cafés with an underground parking garage.
It’s an urban park escape for city workers, tourists, and university students. Located on top of "Praça de Lisboa" (Lisbon square), this is a fantastic concept of urban planning done right: green space co-existing with commerce and vehicles below street level. This project was completed in 2013 as an effort to improve an area in decline in the middle of the cultural centre of Porto by creating a green space for the community (Ref. 1, 2).

The park of Dondaines is an agro-urban park of the city. This contrast is guaranteed by the ecological management of space that aims to promote biodiversity in this highly urbanized area. The Park of Dondaines is located in a strategic position, between the old and the new Lille, and creates a link between these two entities. The park hosts a pedagogical farm. It is a framework where the urban, the animals and the plants meet. It preserves plants and small animals by providing them with food and habitat. The cover of the periphery, planted with pines, ensures the continuity of the park with the new districts of Euralille(Ref 3).The place is a garden of representation, park of proximity, urban agriculture and food production space, pedagogical farm and event platform, and a place for sports and games (Ref 2, 5).

The Garden of (Re) Finds, was born in Lille in 1997. It is the first "community garden", directly inspired by the model of the gardens New York, which was created in France (Ref 1). There is an organic vegetable garden, a scented hill, a rainwater harvesting system, a regional hedge of regional species, a compost corner and a convivial shelter in corded wood and vegetal roof (Ref 2).

The 100-hectare site that is situates in the socially disadvantaged neighbourhood and river island called Wilhelmsburg was designed for the IGS 2013 (International Garden Show) and was opened to the citizens of Hamburg in 2014. On the 9-hectare large area that was a former brownfield site, mostly free or inexpensive outdoor leisure facilities were planned. The new park, named “Island Park” aims to attract people of all ages to do sport, including recreational and professional sports outdoor. Among others, the park is equipped with a high-rope course, a climbing wall, a canoeing canal a running track, a boules pitch and a garden for meditating (Reference 1, 2). The park also offers additional services, such as workshops and hands-on activities for people who want to experience a sport under expert guidance. (Reference 3)

Hamburg decided to increase the number of trees in the city, however, the budget was not enough to completely fulfil this goal. Therefore, the city not only tripled the municipal budget dedicated to tree planting and but began encouraging the citizens to contribute to greening the city through the donation campaign "My tree - My city”. The project was launched in 2011 as part of the European Green Capital programme of Hamburg. Citizens can donate and by using an interactive map, can choose a site and a tree species to be planted, and follow-up the implementation of their tree. (Reference 1, 3) The City of Hamburg gave for each tree that reached donations of 500 Euro the same amount on top to cover the average costs of 1.000 Euro per tree, which includes the preparation of the planting pit, the planting itself and maintenance. (Reference 4) The campaign was so successful that it continued even after Hamburg’s year as the European Green Capital and is still going on in 2020. (Reference 2, 7)

Opened in June 2006, the Jean-Baptiste Lebas Park, which occupies a space once used for illegal parking and marred by 11 lanes of traffic, is surrounded by the boulevard of the same name. This park plays an important role in creating an urban green space into a derelict grey area. The park helped to increase the biodiversity of the area. It has an area of 3-hectare (7-acre) and it contains a large lawn with flowerbeds, play areas for children and places for playing "boules" (Ref 1).

Zollverein is an abandoned colliery and coking plant near the center of Essen in Germany (Ref. 6). Since 1993 the mining here stopped, and the site was turned into a derelict area, so nature could win back its territory. Most of the railway tracks and the smaller industrial leftovers are now covered with moss, grass, and weeds (Ref. 4). After the site was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 2001, it started being developed as a multifunctional cultural, tourist and recreational center keeping and developing biotopes that emerged over time (Ref. 11).

While Hamburg has already had an impressive green infrastructure, it is now (since 2013) implementing an interconnected green network that will cover the 40 % of its area and support commuting by bicycle, recreation and climate change resilience. The project is planned to be completed by 2034. (Reference 9) The project aims to connect the two green belts, parks, recreational areas, cemeteries and animal habitats to each other with green paths and with the already existing “green axes” leading from the agglomeration to the urban core. The green network could not only absorb more CO2 but also prevent flooding by soaking up an increased amount of rain- and seawater caused by storms. (Reference 1, 2). An extensive network of cycle paths is also being built as part of the project. (Reference 2)

According to City Hall, the project revitalized a neglected green area and cleaned the local ponds to create an outdoor recreational space for the citizens and school children. It aimed to develop a new park infrastructure, plant new and protect the existing greenery, and purify the water to improve the ecosystem and provide healthier habitat for water and land species in a slowly decaying area. The ponds were utilized for recreation for the local community in the past [1,4].