Ongoing

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).

The Haumanngarten is a community garden in Essen founded by the Transition Town movement (Ref. 1). Since May 2015 a mixed group have been growing vegetables, herbs, flowers and berries on a former playground. Fellow gardeners with and without knowledge of gardening participate in the garden (Ref. 2).

The aim of the project is to restore the near-natural state of the Alster, the neighboring floodplains and side waters and thus support biodiversity, the recreational function of the riversides and promote environmental education (Reference 1). The implementation of the project began in 2012 and is planned to continue until 2021. It’s second phase started in 2018, which focuses on redeveloping the inner-city areas of the Alster. (Reference 8) The developers of the project focus on improving biodiversity and habitats. Recent nature conservation efforts included the installation of bee hotels, installation of gravel depots where fish lay eggs and the building of three fish ladders at the Poppenbüttler, Mellingburger and Wohldorfer locks, so that salmon, sea trout and sticklebacks can migrate there again. (Reference 6) In the future, other biotope structures in the urban river environment are to be improved. The project also provides opportunities for voluntary work and educational field trips for schoolchildren. (Reference 9)

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).

The Molenvlietpark is a large park in the Viletzoom area of The Hague which will serve as an ecological corridor and stormwater storage. Beside flowery grasslands, the park has several interconnected ponds serving as water storing facilities that can temporarily collect a large amount of water during heavy rainfall. The green and blue areas with diverse vegetation provide habitat for a large variety of species and a fish spawning ground supporting biodiversity (1,5,6,7). It will also include paths for cyclists and pedestrians. (1) The first phase of the park construction has been completed, while the second phase is planned to be executed in 2021-2022.

This citizen-based initiative takes place in the heart of the city, in between the streets Montesano, San Michele, Carcaci, Sangiuliano. The project is the result of a collaboration among residents, artists and shop owners who are planning the regeneration of the area, which is currently in a state of decay. In particular, they realize green interventions (biological horticulture gardens, 100 new plantations) in the streets and on the buildings, to make the area more liveable and attractive for tourism. The initiative is fully supported by the municipality, who implemented the public areas to implement the interventions. (Ref.1.) This NBS has been an annual event, happening since 2013 (Ref. 2).

The project aims at realizing a large urban park to link the city and the sea coast. It is a project of significant social value, as it takes place in a neighbourhood which has been in a state of decay for 50 years. The intervention includes new facilities for recreation and sport, but first of all new plantations and the creation of rooftop gardens. It would be the second-largest park of the city, by linking the city and the sea. (Ref.1.)

The aim of the project was to extend and cover one of Germany’s busiest highways, the south-north highway (A7). The highway had divided neighborhoods from each other and had had negative environmental effects like noise and air pollution. The new green roof will have three parts that connect the existing green surfaces to each other, these parts constitute the three phases of the construction. The urban areas in the vicinity of the noise-reduced motorway will be developed for residential construction. The project also includes the reconstruction of the Langenfelder Brücke in a way which makes the bridge wider, and also provides better noise protection for locals. (Reference 10) In September 2020, only the first phase has been completed, and the final completion is planned for 2028. (Reference 1, 3, 12).

In 2017, under a bigger project, the municipality of Sintra started the work for the rehabilitation of an area that included beaches and rivers, such as the Mata river. The NBS solves a problem of accumulation of water and sludge that was unsolved, through the recovery and cleaning of Ribeira da Mata (small river/brook), planting trees and promotion of an improvement in water quality and sand on the beach.
(1)

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).