Public actor (e.g. municipality)

Due to human interventions into the natural river flow with dykes, drainage of agricultural and grassland or cutting off its water bodies, the wetland Elster-Luppe had lost its groundwater base which decreased its biodiversity. With the support of the regional biodiversity fund and building on previous efforts, the city of Leipzig, together with partners such as the NABU Sachsen and research institutions, has revitalized, renaturalized and connected the water bodies of Leipzig's North-Western wetlands to one continuous watercourse since 2012. Its objective is restoring its ecosystem functions and increasing awareness for the importance of wetlands (4, 5).

This NBS is part of a building complex which includes also a mall. The PALAS urbanization complex, developed by IULIUS in Iasi, introduces the "lifestyle center" concept in the "mixed-use developments" market in Romania. Designed as a large urban, economic, social and cultural development project, PALAS contributes to the development of Iaşi by attracting foreign investors and repositioning the capital of Moldova in the national and international tourist circuit, bringing also new concepts to the Romanian business market. More than being a public garden, this green space is viewed as an endowment to the development of the city (1)

In 2010, rehabilitation works on the Huveaune riverbanks, in the city of Marseille, were carried out by volunteers from three associations: Rives & Cultures, Planète Sciences Méditerranée, and Hunamar. Work included clearing, revegetation, and maintenance of riverbanks (Ref. 1). Since this initiative took place, the l'Huveaune Watershed Union has been formed and taken steps to formalize the rehabilitation of the Huveaune riverbanks (Ref. 2, 3, and 4).

The development of the sustainable district of the Haute Deûle River Banks, associated to Euratechnologies TIC center, leans on recognition of water as an element of its foundation. The current innovation is about the water garden. It is a part of the bigger project, building an eco-district on the banks of the Haute Deule river. The water garden, which plays the role of storage (stormwater) and of phytoremediator, evolves with the rhythm of rain and becomes the emblematic place for this work with water. Its vegetation improves every year and the natural seeds of young willow trees contribute to the establishment of a dynamic ecosystem (Ref 1).

The river Emscher is the symbol of one of the internationally most renowned industrial regions: the Ruhr area with its 5 million inhabitants and an important location of key industries such as steel, chemical, and materials industry. The revitalisation of the Emscher over the last 20 years marks a new phase in the region‘s history and is an impressive example of ecological and socio-economic transformation affecting all aspects of life along the river (Ref. 1).

The garden is located on the territory of the social welfare home 'Helclów' in Kraków under the protection of a regional monument conservator. It is supposed to integrate the residents of various age and support physical rehabilitation and leisure with elements of garden therapy. Its main goal is to integrate the elderly from the social welfare home with other citizens through joint activities, such as flowers and herbs planting and caretaking. The initiative involves planting greenery (including 314 trees and 134 square meters of shrubs between 2010 and 2016), setting a grill area, and renovating the infrastructure for the disabled. The garden is supposed to serve as an offset for harmful developments in other parts of the city. Private investors are often obliged to provide resources for new trees in the garden’s natural wall and a noise and pollution barrier. The park is publicly accessible between 9 AM and 6 PM and is available for the organization of events and meetings. The concept to open the previously closed garden to the public was initiated an application for a participatory budget in 2016 and very much supported by all parties involved [1,2,3].

This project was created on the occasion of Lille being the European Culture Capital in 2004. The Park of the Deule was designed to connect the city of Lille with the old mining industry areas along the Deule River. The graphic inscription is a landscape guided by the necessities of topography and control of water (Ref 1). Mosaïc has an area of 33 ha gardens with a pond, woods, and landscapes. Each garden mixes botanical, art and rare domestic animals (Ref 2). The park got the National Landscape Award in 2006 (Ref 4).

The aim of the project is to implement a sustainable rainwater management in Hamburg that is adjusted to the heavy rainfalls attributed to global climate change. The project involves the analysis of pilot projects, including GIS-based analysis and the development of the city's rainwater structure plan 2030, Strukturplan Regenwasser 2030, (Reference 1) that will serve as a basis for the Integrated RainWater Management (IRWM) in Hamburg (Reference 5).

Together with the Office for Urban Greenery and Waters of the City of Leipzig, the charitable association Ökolöwe Leipzig started the green facades initiative "Kletterfix - Green Walls for Leipzig" in 2015. The project aims at creating awareness about the multiple benefits of urban green walls and inspiring action of tenants and landlords on private property. As a measure mandated by the Urban Clean Air Plan, green facades improve the urban microclimate, general living conditions and combat particulate matter pollution. On-site advice about suitable plants and maintenance is provided upon application and respective seeds for up to 5 plants are sent for free to the applicants by the city department (1, 3, 7).

EPAEM (Euromediterranean public development establishment) launched the development a new park of 14 hectares. Located in former industrial area at the gates of the northern districts of Marseille, it is considered to be one of the poorest districts in France (Ref. 1). The planned park Aygalades is divided into two parts: the southern part of 4 hectares called Bougainville Park and the northern part of 10 hectares which runs along the Aygalades river (Ref. 1). Development work on Bougainville Park is set to begin in September 2020 with completion in 2023 (Ref. 12). The park is described as "the first step of a large project to restore a highly degraded industrial site" (Ref. 12).