Technological

The Park Apartments is a complex of block buildings which incorporates a green concept, such as an interior garden and balcony gardens, erected to create a space where architectural norms combine with environmental regulations and together deliver an oasis of peace in a crowded city, using holistic measures (1)

The Leeds RERF (Recycling and Energy Recovery facility) is the flagship development at the heart of Leeds Integrated Waste Strategy over the next 25 years. Amidst the timber frame on the buildings southern face there's a green ‘living’ wall creating a visually stunning feature in stark contrast to the building’s industrial use. The feature connects to a green roof and softens the building’s visual impact and provide vital bio-diversity to the site and surrounding industrial area. (1, 6)

Ben Rhydding Gravel Pits Nature Reserve has a variety of habitats. The site is largely artificial, originating from former gravel pits. The river gravels were of good quality and represented an important local source for the construction industry. The pits ceased to be worked in 1970’s and flooded. Infill materials - a variety of materials have been used: building rubble, soil and treated sewage residues from the treatment plants. Plant materials and soil from parks, gardens and building sites have added to the bio-diversity. The reserve is owned by Bradford Council and managed by Wharfedale Naturalists Society volunteers. (reference 1) With the support of Natural England, the site was declared a Local Nature Reserve in October 2013. (ref 7).

The Sun Lane nature reserve in Burley-in-Wharfedale is the second site in Bradford to receive the Local Nature Reserve (LNR) status. The land was used as a garbage dump and reclaimed in the 1970s. (ref1) Pollution from the landfill site was leaching into nearby watercourses and in 1993, Bradford Council undertook a scheme to cap the landfill and restore the site. They installed a reed-bed purification system, to eliminate pollution from contaminated water and add to the reserve’s biodiversity. The Burley Village Wildlife Group began conservation work to enhance biodiversity. (ref4) In 2003 a group of volunteers took over the maintenance of the area and now help to manage it in collaboration with Bradford Council (ref 5). As the site heals at its best, forty-two Common Blue butterflies were recorded together in 2006 (ref 5).

The sustainable garden was created in 2013. Based on the gold award-winning RHS flower show entry in 2012 by the university’s ‘water@leeds’, the garden is an excellent example of collaborative working between the Facilities Directorate, Leeds University Union and academic staff. The garden provides a multi-functional space for staff, students and visitors to campus to enjoy quiet contemplation but also to cultivate an allotment-and-forest-style edible garden. It is a great example of a functioning ecosystem with wildflower areas, soft fruit hedgerows, insect houses and pocket habitats. (1)

A digital tree path was launched in Nancy in 2011. This is a path linking 24 trees equipped with QR codes (Quick Response Codes) throughout the city in order to discover them and their richness by scanning the code with a smartphone (Ref. 2). Information on the trees is also available online through the city's website as well as an Instagram account (Ref. 6).

The North Green Belt was developed and built up in connection to investments and structures for the 2008 Expo. (Ref. 1,2) The North Green Belt is a series of connections extending the green corridor and network of green spaces in Zaragoza, with the Ebro and Gallego rivers as the two main axes of the belt. (Ref. 1,2)

The project involves building two green roofs on saunas in Water Park ‘Termy Maltanskie’ in Poznan. The roofs serve multiple purposes including rainwater retention, thermal insulation, habitat for insects, improvement of the air quality by the production of oxygen and absorption of CO2, and aesthetic functions for the visitors to the amenities [1,2,3].

Püspökerdő is a 250-hectare large forest in Győr, situated in the inner part of the city. The forest is split into two parts by Moson-Danube river. The forest is maintained by the company Kisalföld Erőgazdálkodási Zrt, which since 1998, has added new facilities to the area with the primary goal of serving the needs of those who visit the forest (Reference 1). It is equipped with educational trails, fireplaces, a clearing suitable for playing ball games, an outside gym and a playground. The educational trails give information about the flora and fauna of the forest in their natural environment. In 2013, a new adventure park was established to attract the nature-lover visitors looking for active recreational opportunities. In 2017, the local government planned a large-scale watersports project in the area, but it was cancelled due to criticism from citizens. In 2020, the forest was granted environmental protection by the local municipality (Reference 9).
Step by step the area has been developed since 1998, with the help of municipal and regional funds (educational trails), and private investment (adventure park). The adventure park was opened in 2013 and the latest development happened there in 2016.

"The Imperial Canal of Aragon acts like a green corridor crossing the city of Zaragoza from Montecanal to Torrero and passing through Casablanca and the Great Park." (Ref 2) The more than 200 years old waterway runs through 7 regional parks and green areas and it is 41 km long. (Ref. 1 and Ref 3) Its rehabilitation has been planned in 2003 for parts of the canal with bike paths built, pedestrian walkways, strengthening of its hydrological structure, and protection of its greenery. (Ref 6)