Private sector/corporate actor/company

This intervention involved the removal of sediment and revitalization of the banks along with the rehabilitation of the urban part of the Segura River in Murcia. This was done to strengthen the environmental condition of the river and improve the visual aspects and the access of citizens to the river (Ref 3 and 7). In 2020, they are building the second part of the project, where the aim is to build three different walkways that join the two sides of the rivers and that will connect specific places along with it (Ref 5).

The Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat is located in the floodplains of the delta and lower valley of the river Llobregat, in the Catalan county of Baix Llobregat, in a central position within the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The territory of the park (nearly 3500 hectares), includes a rich traditional agricultural activity and comprises fourteen municipalities totaling about 818,000 residents. It is protected by a specific planning instrument and managed by the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona) (Ref. 1 and 9). The park acts as a green lung for the metropolitan area of Barcelona and at the same time as a pantry for Mercabarna, the large wholesale market that provides food and drink to the inhabitants of Barcelona and surrounding towns, although there is also production that is exported (Ref. 10). The Agrarian Park is the only one in the world so close to a large city and it promotes specific programs to preserve the productive values of the agricultural space and promotes quality local products and local consumption. (Ref. 10)

The Tree Master Plan of Barcelona is a long-term (20-year) plan, running from 2017 to 2037. The ultimate goal of the Tree Master Plan is to ensure the presence of dynamic, healthy and diverse urban trees in Barcelona. According to the Plan, urban trees are essential for green infrastructure and for creating quality public space in the city. An innovative feature of this intervention is the use of biological approaches to the tree maintenance (no pesticides or chemicals) (Ref 1, 2 and 3).

The educational project of a roof-top garden was integrated in the public primary school “Ferran Sunyer”, in the neighborhood of Sant Antoni, Barcelona. The project has motivated pupils to enter the world of urban horticulture, creating synergies with other lectures and has been well received by teachers and parents. This initiative aims to recover nature-appreciation values in children through the maintenance of a rooftop garden and orchard (Ref. 1). The rooftop school orchard has been featured in many videos in international media (Ref. 5).

The gardens of the Rambla de Sants is an elevated linear park (similar to the High line of New York) located in the Sants district of Barcelona (760 meters long and about 6 ha size). It is located over the structure of train and metro lines. It was opened to the public in August of 2016. The gardens include mainly native plantations, playground areas, and other facilities (Ref. 2).

The Barcelona Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan 2020 includes the development of several urban green corridors to increase ecological and social connectivity within the city. The green corridor of Passeig de Sant Joan is one of the first of these corridors implemented. The project consisted of the renovation of the promenade through tree and shrub planting and permeable green pavement installation, creating a green boulevard that benefits pedestrians and extend the urban green spaces, which gave new life to the neighborhood and allowed the expansion of small businesses and tourism (Ref 1).

A 5256 m2 extensive green roof was installed to the Washington School in Sunderland as part of the environmental standard set by the local government’s “Building Schools for the Future” (BSF) programme. Besides being a learning tool and being aesthetically pleasing, the roof provides a habitat, helps reduce ambient temperatures, assist in rainwater management and air filtering. The Hetton Lyons Primary school intervention is also part of this city-wide project (Ref 1).

The Senate of Hamburg commissioned IBA Hamburg GmbH with the development of the project which aims at realizing two new, family friendly residential districts in Neugraben-Fischbek, the Fischbecker Heidbrook and Fischbeker Reethen, which will offer 3000 residential units in total. (Reference 10) Out of the two districts, Fischbeker Reethen is planned to be the "Garden City of the 21st century", which is why this NBS case focuses on that project. The Fischbeker Reethen project pays attention to sustainability, having a blue-green infrastructure (large green surfaces, waterways and a lake that serves as a basis for the rainwater management of the area). A further aim of the project is to create a new district for the growing city, that with its good infrastructure, public transport connection and educational offers will help the integration of refugees into German society. (Reference 12) The construction of the buildings followed by the green and recreational elements is will start in the second half of 2020, and the handover is planned for 2022 the earliest. (Reference 7)

The city of Rouen has been redeveloping the docks of the Seine River over a number of years. The Prairie Saint Sever (park) is one part of this redevelopment planning. Completed in 2017, this park "allows its inhabitants to reclaim their river and offer new spaces of use" (Ref. 5) with "generous alleys lined with six hundred trees, cycle paths, original children's games, metal slides grafted to the stairs of the Jeanne-d'Arc bridge, picnic benches and tables, wooden deckchairs encouraging reading or idleness, sports apparatus and rollerblading equipment ... today, Rouen residents can enjoy a walking park of twenty-three hectares and more than three kilometers long, between the Corneille bridge and the Rollet peninsula" (Ref. 6).
It is a prairie in the heart of the city offering a large river walk on more than 3km (Ref. 2).

The scheme of the single storey extension building ‘the Irene Kennedy Centre’ (Wirral Churches’ Ark Project, known as, Wirral Ark; a registered charity) includes a sedum roof which provides a more pleasant outlook from the existing upper floor bedrooms, whilst also maximizing environmental potential. (Ref. 1)