Private sector/corporate actor/company

Intercultural Garden Nuremberg Langwasser e.V. is a community garden project aimed at sustainable urban development and tolerance between different social and cultural groups. People of different origins work together on their own plots (about 25 m² each), without a fences between neighbouring plots and consciously in interaction through horticulture and other activities. All the grounds are used as vegetable and flower gardens. Environmentally friendly production is desired and promoted (1). Other opportunities offered in the garden are intercultural activities and self-designed educational work. (10) The association actively promotes integration through social activities, which, as stated by the association “can include things like providing German lessons, organizing small festivals and even settling of a dispute happened once”. (7)

The city garden was a 2000 square meter large communal garden in Nuremberg Eberhardshof district that invites all citizens to take part in gardening and co-operating activities without any costs attached. The project was aimed at promoting sustainability for Nuremberg and the Bavarian region (1). The gardeners try to rely on a variety of different plants, even in their last season, they planted 35 tomatoes, 14 chili, ten potato, and twelve bean varieties alone. In 2013, a bee colony was also established. (7) The project had its last season in 2018, after which it had to be closed because of plans to create a district park in its area. (5) The city garden has established itself as an important leisure facility in Eberhardshof by offering, for example, cooking courses and training courses on tree pruning as well as numerous other topics. (6)

Portsmouth and its surrounding areas are under ‘serious water stress’ and water companies are being asked to take less water from some of their sources. This includes reductions to the amount of water that Southern Water can take from the rivers Test and Itchen in Hampshire. To address this, Portsmouth Water started the planning of a new Havant Thicket Reservoir.
The water to be stored in the reservoir will be supplied from surplus winter yield from the Havant & Bedhampton Springs. In winter, higher rainfall leads to a higher springs yield which flows into the sea, but a portion would now be pumped to the new reservoir. Long-term benefits of the proposed reservoir include enhancing the local environment and providing a new wetland habitat. (1,5)
In November 2020, the Havant Thicket Reservoir planning applications have been submitted to Havant Borough Council and East Hampshire District Council for validation. (7)

Based on an urban regeneration project in the city district of Arrenberg, an association called “Awakening of the Arrenberg” formed in 2008, consisting of citizens, entrepreneurs and real estate owners seeking to transform their district. Under the umbrella of the project “climate quarter Arrenberg” initiated in 2014, whose goal is to make the district CO2 neutral by 2030, the development of a city farm covering 60,000 sqm on former railway premises - a Europe-wide unique project in urban farming – is one of their most important plans that make up their vision of becoming carbon neutral. (Ref. 1, 2 and 3). The goal of the farm is to produce healthy and locally produced food, while creating employment opportunities and remaining carbon-neutral, using power only from the sustainable power plant that will be installed for the project. (Ref. 2) In February 2020, the implementation has not yet started, but the “Awakening of the Arrenberg” association says the vision of the urban farm is stronger than ever before and that the project has received funding approval, with experts now working on feasibility studies. (Ref. 8).

The project aims to completely redevelop ‘Rozemaai’, a neighborhood in Antwerp, focusing on climate change adaptation, green spaces, and recreation. This includes a sustainable drainage system in which storm water flows via swales into a water stream with nature-friendly river banks, trees and bushes in the neighborhood, green parking lots, allotments and recreational facilities such as picnic tables (Ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Since 2019, the district has had a new, accessible park in which the Donkse brook plays a leading role (Ref. 7).

From 1850 to 1956 the area Eskesberg was a limestone mine, after that up until 1972 it served as a landfill. When taken over by the city of Wuppertal, groundwater contamination and outgassing required a large remediation to remove toxic substances and recover the area according to nature conservation guidelines. (Ref. 8) Since 2005, it has been turned into a nature conservation area covering 8.5 ha where several rare plants and animals have resettled and thus the area also serves as an important recreational space for residents (Ref. 1, 2, and 3). The project was initiated by the local government, who also collaborate with different partners for maintaining the nature conservation area, such as the biological station, which organizes excursions, performs monitoring on the terrain and sets up bee hives. Also, residents apart from visiting the area can actively participate in its maintenance as volunteers, guided by the city of Wuppertal and the NGO Biologische Station Mittlere Wupper. Furthermore, the nature conservation association of Wuppertal and scientists from the university of Cologne are involved in the intervention by conducting research on the terrain (Ref. 1, 2, 3 and 6).

The Dee Park Regeneration Project aims to rebuild the 1,100 homes from the 1960s-built estate, that has been worked on in close consultation with the community. The estate is one of the 20 per cent most deprived areas in the country. The vision for the regeneration project is to create “a safe, inclusive and sustainable community, economically, environmentally and socially, as part of the wider Reading, where people want to live and work, and which will inspire a sense of pride”. The third and final phase of the project is ongoing and is expected to be completed soon. (Ref. 1, 4, 8, 9)

On the territory of the former train station Vohwinkel (including the train tracks) a brownfield site of 15 ha was turned into a commercial urban area which was created as an economic driver for Wuppertal. However, the site was inhabited by the highly endangered sand lizard, which is why a species conservation island was created as the commercial park was being built. As a habitat of the endangered sand lizard species, the conservation area in the South-West of the commercial park remained free from construction development, and an adequate conservation concept was elaborated and implemented. The nature conservation area is maintained by the environmental protection department of the city. (Ref. 1 and 6). The project succeeded in its goal of creating a commercial area on the former Vohwinkel marshalling yard while simultaneously paying attention to the protection of the endangered sand lizard. (Ref. 2) Additionally to the conservation area within and around the commercial zone, lizards have also been relocated beyond the city limits as a biodiversity offsetting measure. (Ref. 8) Furthermore, the dried out Krutscheider stream, forming part of an important biotope system with its gravel surfaces, was dug out again to serve as a green corridor for compensation against the habitat loss. (Ref. 1, 4 and 6)

The Heinickeplatz in the Muggenhofer Strasse and its peripheral areas are being upgraded as a new green area in accordance with the objectives of the city redevelopment plan. The new landscape design for the Heinicke Square was developed in dialogue with local citizens through planning workshops followed by the opportunity to vote for one of the 4 landscape bureaus who applied for the reconstruction of the square. (1, 2). The implementation of the plan began in 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2021. (4) The implementation will include the plantation of new trees, grass, the creation of sports areas and the establishment of a new playground. (2)

A project for the creation of a new central park was launched in 2018, where a harbor consisting of three docks used to be and is now used as primarily as a car park. The park was planned to consist of three large green spaces that are the exact same size as the original docks. As the green areas are planned to be surrounded by rows of trees, the park will look like New York’s Central Park. The park is set to contribute to Antwerp’s climate change resiliency as the central green area will contain a water basin in which stormwater can be stored temporarily and slowly infiltrate, which is enhanced by the riverbank vegetation (Ref. 1, 2, 6).