Ongoing

The project BEETE & BIENEN (Beds & Bees) in the Eastern part of Karlsruhe is an awarded sustainability experiment where garden beds, flower beds and beehives create a new urban greenspace for humans and animals and increase the urban bee population. Residents - in collaboration and under the guidance of gardeners – plant herbs, flowers, vegetables, fruits and trees that provide food for humans and thereby provide a natural habitat for the urban bee population to thrive. Residents shall take over ownership of maintenance and cultivation of the garden in the long run. (Ref. 1). The project is not about honey yield, but about enabling the bees to live as naturally as possible. Hives and garden beds are established in several small gardens in the city, including one Marstallgarten and another in Grötzingen. (Ref. 8)

"On June 1st 2017, Saint-Etienne Métropole officially committed itself to the implementation of measures to promote the circulation of wildlife between the different green spaces with important biodiversity in its territory" (Ref. 3). "Saint-Etienne Métropole has signed with 13 partners a new contract called "green and blue". It is a new blue and green framework for the whole territory, a regulatory tool for the protection of biodiversity" (Ref. 2). "It aims to continue and reinforce the actions already undertaken with a transversal and urban dimension" (Ref. 2).

The nonprofit organisation of Groundwork North East & Cumbria is working with partners from across the region to protect and preserve the upper part of the Ouseburn River. The Ouseburn River Restoration Project includes several physical measures and a number of enhancements to the river and the surrounding environment to slow the flow of the river, restore its ecosystem and improve water quality. The Project also works with farmers and landowners about how to manage fertiliser and sediment runoff, thus decreasing water contamination. The project will improve in-river and bankside habitats and provide with more water monitoring data and analysis.” (1)

The project was born from the purchasing of an ex-military area in the Flaminio neighbourhood and the decision to build a city of science with a museum, a public park and residential areas that will have green roofs and sustainable, energy-efficient building. The project was proposed to several architectural studios and the Studio 015 Paola Viganò is the one who got assigned the project in 2015 (3).
Due to changes in public administration and financing already found in 2017 (7), the project still has not started (2020), as in 2019 the citizens were once again consulted over the works and the project (7). Initially, the project should end in 2023 (should last 8 years) (4).

The park acts as a source of biodiversity for the whole Padana Plain. Many species are threatened by the loss or degradation of their habitats and the invasion of alien species. Of particular concern are the loss and degradation of wetlands and the degradation of streams, springs and secondary water courses. This project aims at restoring the natural habitat and reintroducing the original plant an animal species, while keeping under control invasive alien species. (1). The project is set to end on 31st of October 2020. (1)

Just outside a densely built-up area in Bergen, a 6km nature-trail is being built. The trail brings citizens closer to nature and gives great opportunities for recreation. The trail runs up on the mountains and into the forest, and at selected points along the trail there are beautiful look-outs, picnic areas and places for children to play. Løvstien is being built with materials and a design that will tolerate high levels of rainfall, as Bergen is experiencing a lot of rain, and are projected to get even more over the coming decades due to climate change. (Ref. 1,3)

The green area which surrounds the famous museum has been renewed in the last years. It is an interesting site of botanic interest, as there are more than 400 species of plants living there, and more than 150.000 trees. In particular, the company Slow Food Campania cultivated a small vegetable garden. Is a project of small- scale agriculture, in order to enhance a variety of cultivation and biodiversity conservation. The company Slow Food has been supported by the company Lande srl, specialized in the revitalization of historical green areas at the urban level (Ref.1).
The interventions include the restoration and re-functionalization of 10 areas: the Garden and Casamento Torre, the Giardino della Fruttiera di basso, the Fagianeria, the Capraia, the Porta di Mezzo, the Cisternone, the Cellaio, the Vallone di San Gennaro, the ex Eremo dei Cappuccini (Ref.1).

Formed by residents and local organisations, the original focus of Greening Wingrove & Arthur's Hill was to address issues of litter and flytipping in Wingrove. The informal association later became a Cooperative (Community Interest Company) (1,2). Since its formation, the organisation aims to clean and green its part of Newcastle's West End through a diverse set of activities (15). These include the development of a former bowling green to become a community bike garden and community hub; encouraging locals' action on litter, promoting greening and food growing and local stewardship (4)

The Wild West End project encompasses the goals and visions of Greening Wingrove & Arthur's Hill. The project is aiming to explore local natural heritage, with a focus on species currently at risk such as bats, birds (swifts and house martins) and hedgehogs with the inclusion of residents, schools and local communities. Besides mapping the status of these species, habitat creation is also an objective to prevent the further decline of these at risk species in the area (15, 16)

The Edinburgh Living Landscape (ELL) is a partnership between the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust (EGLT), the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Green Surge and Edinburgh University, it aims to help make Edinburgh a city fit for the future by fashioning healthy and beautiful environments that are resilient to climate change as well as being highly valued and accessible to people. It is made up of a range of projects that will create, restore and connect green areas of the city to make attractive and biodiverse landscapes that are enjoyed by residents and visitors. One of the examples is the Holyrood park. Naturalisation was tested in Holyrood Park, where a once regularly mown grassland is now cut only once per year. It benefits both wildlife and public amenity and also reduces maintenance costs for the site, with the potential to spend elsewhere on greenspace maintenance. This is a part of the ongoing Edinburgh Living Landscape Case Study which aims to make Edinburgh a city with healthy and beautiful environments, resilient to climate change. A range of similar projects will create, restore and connect green areas of the city to make an attractive and biodiverse landscape (ref 2, 3).

This blue and green infrastructure project of Bergen involves the development of a river park with riverside promenades, bridges and recreation areas. Bergen municipality wishes to develop the area along the Møllendalselven to a park that in the long run will extend from Store Lungegårdsvann to Svartediket and further up to the mountains. The area's industrial history forms the backdrop of a new park that will act as a green lung for the city's residents, both locally and in a slightly larger perspective, where Møllendalselven will become the central element. (Ref. 1, 2)