1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Aix-en-Provence
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Mur Végétal du Pont Max Juvenal
Short description of the intervention
In 2008, a green wall of more than 500 m^2 using a hydroponic watering system was developed on the side of the Max Juvenal bridge. Designed by Patrick Blanc, french botanist and pioneer in the development of green walls, it is considered an "authentic work of art, which evolves over time and the seasons and contributes to "renaturing" the urban space" (Ref. 4, page 7). The wall is intended to illustrate the benefits that green walls can bring to the environment, such as the reduction of heat islands in urban areas and their contribution to cleaner air due to the production of oxygen and the reduction of CO2 rate by photosynthesis (Ref. 1).
Address

380 Rond-point Max Juvénal
13090 Aix-en-Province
France

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
650.00m²
NBS area
650.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Central Business District / City Centre
Website of the intervention
http://www.semepa.fr/actualites/un-mur-vegetal-en-constante-evolution
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2007
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2008
End date of the intervention
2008
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
"Originally a brick lining was planned. A stone or even colored coating was then considered. Ultimately, the choice was made on a vegetal covering to break with the concrete (grey) aspect of the place." (Ref. 3)
Goals of the intervention
-"It is for the visitor"... "a source of serenity and wonder in the heart of the urban space and the most futuristic areas of the city." (Ref. 3)
-"An authentic work of art, which evolves over time and the seasons and contributes to "renaturing" the urban space." (Ref. 4, page 7)
Quantitative targets
"Covers 650 m2 on 15 m high"
"30 to 35 plants per m2 have been installed, representing a total of 20,000 plants." (Ref 1)

Monitoring indicators defined
number of plants installed per m2; total # of plants installed, -# of m2 covered; # of m in height (Ref 1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
Create or improve outdoor spaces to help people escape from urban heat
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Sequester and store carbon
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Install vertical or horizontal artificial surfaces that help with carbon storage and cooling
Implementation activities
"The principle is based on layers of felt in which the plants will root. The whole system is traversed by a network of pipes that brings a nutritive solution." (Ref. 3)
"We may just regret that the plants used are mainly tropical and not local." (Ref. 2)
"The vegetal wall at the Max Juvenal bridge illustrates the benefits that green walls can bring to the environment, such as the reduction of heat islands in urban areas and their contribution to cleaner air thanks to the production of oxygen and the reduction of CO2 rate by photosynthesis" (Ref. 1)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green walls or facades
Please specify "other external building green"
Green wall of bridge (road overpass)
Type of Green Wall
Hydroponic living wall (soil-less)
Vegetation Type
Grass
Shrubs
Other
Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS
"an authentic work of art" (Ref 4. page 7)
Amenities offered by the NBS
Other
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Inspiration for culture, art and design
Spiritual and / or emblematic (symbolic, sacred and / or religious)
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The SEMEPA (the developer in charge of the works), under the direction of the Mayor of Aix-en-Provence, decided in 2007 to carry out 2 major works (a fountain and a vegetal wall).
"PATRICK BLANC, creator of the Vegetal Wall concept in France, was responsible for designing and conducting this project." (Ref. 3)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Other
Please specify other key actors – Initiating organization
As an 'authentic work of art', "PATRICK BLANC, creator of the Vegetal Wall concept in France, was responsible for designing and conducting this project" (Ref. 3) and therefore is notably acting as a kind of artist or consultant as they are a paid contributor to the project.
Land owners
No information found
Please specify other Key actors - Other stakeholders involved
As an 'authentic work of art', "PATRICK BLANC, creator of the Vegetal Wall concept in France, was responsible for designing and conducting this project" (Ref. 3) and therefore is notably acting as a kind of artist or consultant as they are a paid contributor to the project.
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Other
Land owners
No information found
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
"The mayor of Aix en Provence was behind this project, and it was originally planned to be a brick wall, but in the end they wanted this large-scale project to respond to the vegetal mass that is planted on the garden of "Aigle d'Or", south of the building the Aigle d'Or." (Ref. 3)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify other vegetation type
tropical plants: "plants used are mainly tropical and not local." (Ref. 2)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
SEMEPA and the city hall are working towards different projects of the city jointly (Ref. 3)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Risk reduction model
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
Vegetal wall installed with a specific nutritive solution system with more than 30,000 plants. (Ref. 3) "The principle is based on layers of felt in which the plants will root. The whole system is traversed by a network of pipes that brings a nutritive solution." (Ref. 3)

Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Reduced emissions
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present
Description of environmental benefits
Climate Change
-Lowered local temperature: no indicator given, expressed qualitatively regarding heat island effect (ref. 4)

Environmental quality
-Improved air quality: no indicator given, expressed qualitatively regarding "cleaner air thanks to the production of oxygen and the reduction of CO2 rate by photosynthesis" (Ref. 1, 4)

Green space and habitat:
-Increased green space area: quantitative, measured in # of m^2 and m of height-- increase of 650m^2 and 15m of height of greenspace from unknown starting point
- # of plants per m2 installed, quantitative, "30 to 35 plants per m2 have been installed" (Ref 1)
- total # of plants installed, quantitative, "a total of 20,000 plants" (Ref 1)

-Reducing CO2, production of oxygen as indicators of improving air quality and regulating local climate (Ref. 1)
-"The plant wall is constantly changing over the seasons and the development of plants that have found refuge there." (Ref. 3) "The Max-Juvénal bridge in Aix-en-Provence, illustrates the advantages that green walls can bring to the environment, such as the reduction of urban heat islands and their contribution to the improvement of the environment, air quality through the production of oxygen and the reduction of CO2 through photosynthesis." (Ref. 1)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved liveability
Improved access to urban green space
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
Please specify other environmental justice issue
not specifically addressed in this project, aside from universal public access to the green wall installment
Description of social and cultural benefits
Cultural heritage and sense of place:
-Improvement in people's connection to nature: Qualitative, no indicator given but described as an authentic work of art that is appreciated by citizens (Ref. 4)
-"The plant wall is constantly changing over the seasons and the development of plants that have found refuge there. It is for the visitor a source of serenity and wonder in the heart of the urban space and the most futuristic areas of the city." (Ref. 3)
-sense of place: "It is for the visitor a source of serenity and wonder in the heart of the urban space and the most futuristic areas of the city." (Ref. 3)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
qualitative:
-An authentic/original piece of art (Ref. 4)

quantitative:
-Reducing CO2: production of oxygen as indicators of improving air quality and regulating local climate (Ref. 1)
-reduce heat: "The Max-Juvénal bridge in Aix-en-Provence, illustrates the advantages that green walls can bring to the environment, such as the reduction of urban heat islands and their contribution to the improvement of the environment, air quality through the production of oxygen and the reduction of CO2 through photosynthesis." (Ref. 1)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Preservation of natural heritage
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Paid employment positions
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Other
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
Yes
Please specify the negative impacts
"We may just regret that the plants used are mainly tropical and not local." (Ref. 2)
COVID-19 pandemic
No information available in references (6 July 2020). There may have been less appreciation of the green wall due to stay at home orders active in all of France from March 16, 2020 to May 11, 2020 (https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/coronavirus-covid-19).
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1
Ref. 2
Ref. 4
List of references
1. Institut National de Santé Publique Québec (n.d). "LES MURS VÉGÉTALISÉS : LE PONT MAX-JUVÉNAL À AIX-EN-PROVENCE". Available at: http://www.monclimatmasante.qc.ca/murs-v%C3%A9g%C3%A9talis%C3%A9s-%C3%A0-aix-en-provence.aspx (Accessed: 06, 07, 2020).
2. Anon. (n.d). "MUR VÉGÉTAL - MUR D'EAU". Available at: http://www.marseilleprovence.net/detail.php?lang=fr&table=Monuments&id=murVegetalAix (Accessed: 06, 07, 2020).
3. SEMEPA (n.d). "Un Mur Végétal en constante évolution". Actualités. semepa.fr. Website not available in 2020.
4. Aix en provence (2013). "Aix-en-Provence, la métamorphose d’une ville". HORS-SERIE - Supplément aixendialogue n°58. Available at: http://www.aixenprovence.fr/IMG/pdf/supplement_aed58.pdf (Accessed: 06, 07, 2020).
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/25-9-201014-19-0921.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/5-10-201014-43-42859.jpg
Public Images
Vegetal wall at the Max Juvenal Bridge
Vegetal wall at the Max Juvenal Bridge
Source: http://www.monclimatmasante.qc.ca/murs-végétalisés-à-aix-en-provence.aspx