Local government/municipality

The Bahlui river was prone to floods especially during spring and autumn and as a result of the fact that for almost 40 years there has been no work for the decolouration and sanitation of the river and the industrial enterprises in the county have discharged polluting substances in water (mainly nitrogen and phosphates), Bahlu River has become a polluted river. In addition, some citizens of Iaşi have discarded waste in its bed (especially in peripheral areas). In 2011, a larger project funded by the EU, implemented the regularization of the river. (1)

An ongoing extensive expansion of park Lauta in Plovdiv has been carried out. The primary nature-based means used in the project is tree planting. However, animals were also introduced to the habitat. The project aims at creating a suitable place for recreation, purifying the air of Plovdiv, and enriching the park's fauna (Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref. 7).

Renovations were conducted on Bayard Street, an artery in Toulouse, between 2016 and 2017 Rue Bayard, in anticipation of the arrival in 2024 of a new metro station and the complete overhaul of the Matabiau district (Ref. 10). Renovations included introducing vegetation to the commercial street leading to Matabiau station (Ref. 5) and its newly renovated city centre via planting 81 trees (44 pear trees and 37 hazel trees of Byzantium) (Ref. 2). Furniture was also added and sidewalks were widened for greater pedestrian comfort (Ref. 2).

Iasi is a city with a relatively high number of parks and this NBS is part of an initiative of the municipality of Iasi to restore green area affected by the passage of time. The green space in the Orăşel Park was inhomogeneous as vegetation with unpopulated areas of trees (the centre of the park) in contrast to agglomerated vegetation areas.
The growth of woody vegetation had in some respects changed the appearance of the landscape ensemble, creating agglomerations of shrubs and trees. As such the municipality took the decision to rehabilitate the area (1)

The former site of the Krupp cast steel factory was transformed into a 230 hectares green belt stretching from the city
center to the district of Altendorf, while the adjacent industrial wasteland was turned into an 11 hectares add-on to the Krupp Park (Ref. 1). The landscape vision "Freiraum creates urban space", in which the Krupp Park is a building block, is a comprehensive strategic approach that aims to gradually build up new urban landscape structures and to create diverse qualities of location for different urban uses" (Ref. 9).

The city of Leipzig initiated the project "Für eine Baumstarke Stadt" in 1996 to integrate community support into the greening of Leipzig through tree planting. Citizens can become tree sponsors with a donation of 250 Euros or more supporting the increase of the tree stock in parks, on the street and at squares since they are planted in addition to the tree stock determined by the city department for urban green. The sponsorship includes a sign with the indication of the tree species and a personal message. This programme contributes to a greener city landscape and strengthens the attachment of citizens to their urban environment (1, 2, 3).

The "New Nature" also called "La Calanque" is a new housing residency and business designed by the famous architect Jean Nouvel. The building design is inspired by the typical Mediterranean sea landscape called "calanque" (creek in english). "As an essential component of the project, vegetation is ubiquitous from the ground to the façades, from the heart of the buildings to the terraced roofs" (Ref. 2).

The Institute of Landschaft and Freiraum together with Grün Stadt Zürich and ETH Zürich is developing a project on how plant biodiversity in the city of Zurich can be maintained through urban ecological design. In collaboration with the University of Lausanne, they will assess fragmentation effects on the species, functional and genetic diversity of wildflower patches, and, more specifically, on the population viability, evolutionary potential and connectivity of selected model species. These results will feed directly into the biodiversity programme at Zurich’s office of parks and open spaces (Grün Stadt Zürich). (Ref 1)

The initiative created the first in the city anti-smog garden around a local school. The garden serves multiple purposes as it will include: a greenhouse and a composter, the air-pollution absorbing plants that will attract birds and insects and protect the school from urban dust and noise, a vegetable garden, houses for hedgehogs, birds and butterflies, a 'sensory' path for medicinal gymnastics, a roofed gazebo, a meteorological station and a book exchange booth. It is open to other schools and kindergartens and the general public during the school working hours - for educational purposes and recreation [1,2].

The NBS includes the establishment of a new country park, Elba Park, with the goal to create a haven for wildlife and a space for people to enjoy nature. 52 hectares of former coal-mined were transformed under the management of Groundwork NE (Ref 2 & 3).