Local government/municipality

The proposed masterplan for the "Città della Scienza" or the City of Science by Vincent Callebaut Architectures and Studio d'Architettura Briguglio Morales focuses on sustainability with history to propose a self-sufficient urban ecosystem in Italy. More than a spatial work of art, it encourages the promotion of sustainable design, low carbon transportation, renewable energies, automation technologies, and green building materials. Because of these features, the project has many examples of nature-based solutions (e.g.vertical gardens, green roofs/walls, orchards). Operating on the principle of living facades, the Città della Scienza revitalizes Rome's forgotten military district into a vibrant, regenerating living city. [1][3]

The creation of pocket parks is an urban initiative that has steadily grown throughout Budapest since 2010 (Reference 1). Most of these projects are citizen-led, but there is often support provided in the form of education and consultancy by initiatives such as the Contemporary Architecture Center (KÉK), or sometimes the local government (Reference 8). These spaces, typically covering an area of 1400 square meters only, are multi-functional and provide a space for small-scale food production, recreation, community sharing, and can be a fundamental element of neighbourhood rehabilitation. Moreover, it provides positive environmental effects such as water retention and the improvement of the area's micro-climate. Pocket-parks are critical in increasing the number of green areas in neighbourhoods that have limited space. (Reference 9)

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].

The field is a 3.5 hectare of grassland, grazed by horses for over 20 years. After it fell vacant in early 2011, a group of local residents (“The Field Group”) negotiated a community lease with its owners, City of Edinburgh Council, with the aims of creating an orchard, creating/restoring semi-natural habitats and encouraging its use for quiet recreation and informal education. Members can volunteer their gardening labour or donate money. They can then participate in a garden run for the community – whether to pick the vegetables, learn fruit-growing, help to keep the chickens or just enjoy the space. [ref 1, 2]

The Gorla Maggiore water park, inaugurated in March 2013, is situated within the municipality of Gorla Maggiore, in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 kilometers northwest of Milan. The water park is a constructed wetlands (CW) built on the banks of the Olona river that includes (a) a pollutant removal area composed of a grid, a sedimentation tank and four vertical sub-surface flow constructed wetlands; (b) a multipurpose area with a surface flow constructed wetland or pond with multiple roles; and (c) a recreational park with restored riparian trees, green open space, walking and cycling paths. [1]

The Gran Recorrido de Bilbao (GR), known as the Green Ring or Great Route of Bilbao, is a part of Bilbao’s Green Belt, a municipal initiative that encompasses forest and urban parks surrounding the city. The Green Route aims to skirt the City passing through the forest parks of Artxanda, the mountain of Avril, Arnotegi, Pagasarri, and Arraiz. It completes a route of 99.3 kilometers in a closed belt of trails, paths, roads and streets signposted with references to routes, interesting places, and general information. The Green Route is reachable from the center of Bilbao through eleven additional routes that all lead to a central point. [3][4]

The Lama Balice Nature Park is located near a long 'lama', which is a deep karst gorge, located north of the city of Bari. Established in an abandoned site, the nature park protects the area of the riverbed in the periphery of the city, acting as a natural channel for regulating water flow. It also serves as a recreational and cultural hub, while conserving agricultural functions and maintaining biodiversity. An administrative body consisting of the participating local mayors has been set up to manage the protected area. [1][2]

The "Oasis for Children" project, implemented in Zagreb, is based on the experience of implementing non-institutional education in 5 primary schools in Zagreb. The main objective of the project is to promote the principles of healthy lifestyles, environmental protection, sustainable development and volunteering among pupils of partner primary schools. Throughout the year, students will be educated outdoors in school gardens, on environmental protection, sustainable development, healthy lifestyles and volunteerism. Students will also work on the garden for the opportunity of practising the knowledge gained from the regular education system. Every academic year, new primary schools are added to the project with the increased popularity of the school gardens [Ref 1]

The John Muir Pollinator Way is an initiative by the NGO Buglife to create and restore pollinator habitats along a 215 km long-distance active travel route – The John Muir Way – across the densely populated central belt of Scotland. The John Muir Pollinator Way is the first B-Line ‘pathway’ in Scotland and stretches from Helensburgh in the west to Dunbar in the east (Emilie). It is an ambitious project given the length (215 km) of this pathway. It connects nine different local authorities and 40 km of the total length falls within the Edinburgh local authority area (Burgess, 2016). This not only serves to halt the process of declining pollinator numbers providing crucial ecosystem services, but also helps people to connect with nature. Between July 2015 and March 2017, project partners and volunteers have transformed 19 sites into species-rich grassland. [ref 1]