Transformation of previously derelict areas

Approximately one-fifth of the rain that falls in Malmö's urban area is led to Risebergabäcken, which makes it by far Malmö's largest watercourse. None of the other watercourses receives more than a very small part of the municipality's stormwater. The flow in Risebergabäcken is in many places it is narrow and deep, which means that the water rises quickly when there is a lot of rain (ref. 7). Large precipitation and asphalt industrial environment in Skogholm's meadows (Skogholms ängar) have long been a problem of overload in Risebergabäcken, but the ecological stormwater system delays and cleans the water, as well as preventing erosion and floods (ref. 1).

The Nature Island Pennenfeld-Bonn ("Naturinsel Pennenfeld") is a community garden project of the Lebensqualität im Alter - LeA (Quality of Life in Old Age) Association, the District Management (QM) of Pennenfeld and the municipal housing company VEBOWAG (9). The project started in 2012 and its aim was the transformation of a 1,800 sqm large tree-lined lawn area (9). The lawn was to be transformed into a park-like natural community garden for recreation where elderly residents have more opportunity to experience nature, while at the same time it is a place of encounter that promotes social stability by encouraging all other residents to get engaged in the planning, implementation and maintenance processes (1,3,9). Besides enhancing the quality of life for residents and elderly people living with dementia, other project objectives were to foster and increase the local biodiversity as well as to strengthen community building and mutual support in the neighbourhood (2).

The first stage of the investment: Building an urban park in the city area where there is a lack of green recreational spaces for the citizens. The park is to be built on the undeveloped ground. The initiative involves cleaning the area, planting greenery, purification and regulation of the watercourse Warszowiec and building stone stream edges, building the bike and running paths, 2 playgrounds for various age groups, open-air gym, and a multifunctional field for basketball, volleyball, tennis and table tennis (planned). The project is supplemented with the so-called small architecture including benches, rubbish bins, bicycle racks, tables and bowers [1,2]. The second stage: executing the planned multifunctional sports field and building a so-called physical activity square with a wooden platform, wooden pergola by the stream. A fence around the playground is built and new lighting and monitoring systems introduced. The second stage assumes management and maintenance of the green areas too [5,6].

Revitalization of the Brodowski Pond and its surroundings that include: revitalization of the pond itself, modernization of the viewpoints, building alleys, new lighting system, senior corner, playground, gym, greenery, recreational areas and a dog run. The justification for the project emphasizes revitalization of the area, improving its functionality and usefulness as well as aesthetics while preserving the terrain and raising the importance of the pond as a public space of a city of particular aesthetic values. (1)(2)

The Svoradova small park is an NBS site of the Bratislava zelenaj project. The newly renovated park (once part of the historical Pálffy Garden) on Svoradova Street in Old Town was previously abandoned and neglected. (14) It is part of the citywide Bratislava zelenaj project aimed at protecting and promoting the welfare of the city’s vulnerable citizens from the effects of climate change, (1) providing a safe recreational space for children (with a small playground for playing and swings). The park also has new lighting, and the whole space is home to new flowers, bridges and trees. (10, 12, 18)

Agora Budapest is a large scale urban redevelopment project initiated by private investors. Besides implementing five high-quality office buildings, the investors aim at creating green public spaces the size of 7000 square metres in order to provide a healthy and vivid working environment. The green surface involves green roofs, parks and tree lines, all which will be irrigated using collected rainwater. The solar panels on the roofs of the buildings are also part of the sustainability plans of the investors. (Ref 1. and Ref 4.)

The Rákos-patak Green Corridor is a large-scale development project aimed at revitalizing the environment of the Rákos Stream on a 23 kilometre long path from it's areas in the outskirts of Budapest to the city center. The most important element of the development project is the planned bicycle lane, which would connect the already existing bicycle lanes along the stream into a full 23 kilometre one. In some areas of the planned corridor, other developments will happen with the goal of preserving and restoring habitats which originally existed in the area before it was first regulated. Near the outer areas of the stream, afforestation will also take place. (Reference 9) The area of the stream is currently underdeveloped. According to the plans, the new green corridor could help decrease urban stress.

In 2014, the Bielefeld Botanical Garden was expanded with a 2,700 land, previously owned by the local municipality. The extension area and the “old” part of the Botanical Garden were visually and functionally separated by the dense, sometimes gloomy woody vegetation of the "new" area where the watercourse and the small reservoirs were barely noticeable. The aim of the redevelopment is to integrate the entire extension area into the old botanical garden using pathways between the old and the new areas of the botanical garden, the improvements of water body and vegetation areas. The redevelopment also includes the renovation of buildings in the "old" area of the botanical garden, the installation of new recreation facilities and the building of a pharmacy garden. The planning and implementation process is lead by the Friends of the Botanical Garden Bielefeld Association (Verein Freunde DesBotanischen Gartens Bielefeld e.V) in close cooperation with the Environmental Agency of the local municipality (1,2, 7,10,11)

The city of Malmö works for a sustainable urban environment, e.g. through planning the city's new construction, working on existing buildings and at the same time striving to reduce the environmental impact. Västra Hamnen (Western harbour) is a new and ultra-modern district in Malmö. It is located on a former shipyard area right beside the sea, only less than a kilometer north-west of the medieval old town of Malmö (ref. 10). In the Western Harbour where land was available after the shipyard’s closure, high sustainability has been sought from the beginning. In dialogue with builders and other actors, Malmö City has developed guidelines for energy use, green structure, waste solutions and a healthy indoor environment. (Ref. 1)

The area was planned to be the Öresund Region's most climate-smart city district: an energy efficient, resource-saving and green district with a hundred percent renewable energy use.” (ref. 2). The area's development program focused on the ecological aspect of sustainability and took responsibility for that part of the city's sustainability work (ref. 7).