Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place

The University of Portsmouth Library extension project includes a green roof with sustainability features signed up to a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) assessment. (3) The award-winning features include the rainwater collection system for flushing toilets and a sedum roof. (2)

Skainos is a community regeneration project developed by the Methodist Church in Ireland’s East Belfast Mission. The Skainos Project has created the Vertical Gardens where around 6,500 plants make up the vertical panels, with a height of 12.5 m. The panels are designed to change colour with the seasons and will attract wildlife. The plants condition the air, remove pollutants, and provide seasonal colour and vegetation. A variety of roof gardens harbour natural flora and fauna. Green Roof technology is used to help with water retention. (Ref 2, Ref 6, Ref 7)

The project started in 2013, when a group of private companies started a collaboration with the municipality of Bari to build a series of gardens on the top of households roofs in the city. With a total extension of 2000 sqm for the experiment, the main goal is to create a small micro-climate. The main advantages of this experiment is an improvement in the process of absorption of rain and to reduce energetic costs for heating. The green roofs are expected to play a role in facing the challenges posed by climate change. (Ref.1.)

The project has been implemented in a derelict and dumping site. It includes the creation of a community food garden (Ref 2). The locals are enjoying good quality foods with a green space inside the city centre. Today this area is a vibrant community vegetable growing garden comprising five 17ft raised growing beds; a 20ft polytunnel; a 16.5ft greenhouse (made from recycled 2lt plastic bottles) and a tool shed (Ref 2). The place is overlooked by 120 homes and is contributing to the urban green space as well as local food and market creation (Ref 2)

The Willowbank Community Garden is a council-maintained recreational area consisting of both turfed and concreted areas and waist raised beds, edged by some shrubs and trees. It is a small space (460 sqm.) but offers a variety of growing environments. The site is located within the residential community of Willowbank Crescent, easily accessible from Woodlands Road and a five-minute walk away from the Glasgow University main buildings. Local schools are also in close proximity. The place offers locally grown foods with aesthetics and contributes to urban green space. In 2012, it won "Keep Scotland Beautiful" Award (Ref 2).

Trees and a park have been created and designed for the double building project called CEMAGREF/ENGREF in Clermont-Ferrand which was planned in 1994 (Ref. 2 and 4). CEMAGREF (Center for the Study of Agricultural Mechanization of Agricultural Engineering of Water and Forests) and ENGREF (National School of Agricultural Engineering of Water and Forests) are located within the IRSTEA (National Science and Technology Research Institute for Environment and Agriculture) (Ref. 3).

"The garden was created in 2012 with the Parenthesis Association. The association closed in 2015. In January 2016 a group of gardeners decided to create a new association to continue their garden, that is when the gardens of Fontgiève were born. In the garden one discusses, one shares, one exchanges, one helps one, one gives oneself advice. The garden produces much more than vegetables and fruits; Ideas germinate there, sharing them is collective intelligence" (Ref.1).

Used by a skip hire company until 2016, this riverside Pocket Park will link other fragmented green spaces and routes. Once the rubble is cleared a level riverside walkway will be created that is accessible to walkers, runners, cyclists and wheelchair users. Invasive plants will be removed and new soil mounds will add shape to the land and act as places where native plants can grow. Self-seeded trees will be thinned out and the best allowed to grow on. Once complete the path through it will form part of the sustainable travel network in the upper Aire valley. (1)

The intervention concerns the regeneration of the neighbourhood Liberta, which is actually in a state of decay. The Gasometro, renamed Maria Maugeri park is one of the few green spots of the area, and the municipality decided to invest 2 million € in the regeneration process. The park was renamed after one of its promoters and advocates, Maria Maugeri passed away suddenly. The project expects the creation of a public urban park (within an area lacking of green spaces) with several activities, such as a cycling path, restaurants, playground for children, sport infrastructures. The overall plan is the result of an announcement promoted by the Council of Ministries of the Italian parliament (Ref.4.)

The project was part of a series of development projects which addressed the water management issues of the city. (Reference 1) The rehabilitation of a lake in the Adyváros neighbourhood included the renewal of the water reservoir, surrounding green areas, footpaths, and vegetation, as well as the installation of a new street light system, benches, trash cans, and unique street installations such as an interactive message board. (Reference 2) The interventions transformed the lake and its surroundings into a popular recreational area, frequented by locals. Since the completion of the project in 2014, there have been minor developments to the lake and its area, such as the renovation of the playground. (Reference 4) Apart from Adyváros, several other lakes were rehabilitated in several neighbourhoods (Adyváros, Győr-Szabadhegy, Marcalváros). (Reference 6)