The Green Wedge and the Green Citizen Initiative

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Århus

Region

Europe

Native title of the NBS intervention

Den Grønne Kile (The Green Wedge) and Grøn Medborger (Green Citizen)

Short description of the intervention

There are various projects under the Den Grønne Kile initiative or the Green Wedge. The Green Wedge passes through all 4 subdivisions of the new district Aarhus K, and has a building percentage of 25% within the boundaries of the "wedge". (Ref. 3) Citizens are invited to contribute with green projects through the municipal innovation project "Green Citizen" (Grøn Medborger). (Ref. 1) The first and most prominent is a park created by citizens on an old railway track. The park has the nickname 'Kilen' and is a new city park for everyone, including upcoming residents and companies in the new district 'Aarhus K'. The park helps to promote the creative energy in the area and is in line with the development of the new district; it differs from the other city parks in Aarhus by offering space for many different activities and temporary projects that give life to 'Kilen' and make the trip along the railway track an exciting experience. (Ref. 1)

Address

Skovgaardsgade 3-5,
8000 Århus
Denmark

Location

The NBS is a city-wide initiative, the GIS point marks the centre of the city

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Previous derelict area

Other

Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS

old railway track (Ref 1)

Website of the intervention

http://www.aarhus.dk/da/borger/natur-og-miljoe/Groen-Medborger/Den-Groenne-Kile…

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

2015

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

2015

End date of the intervention

ongoing

Present stage of the intervention

Ongoing

Please specify "other" stage of the intervention

The Green Wedge takes place on an old railway area which the city center for culture, and a development plan for the area is expected to be finalized in 2017. In 2015, an introduction plan for the development of the area was created and here the Green wedge was included. (Ref. 2, 3)
Den Grønne Kile is a part of the municipal innovation project 'Grøn Medborger' (Green Citizen). (Ref. 4)

2. Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

The south-eastern parts of the area of the abandoned railway tracks is transformed into an active landscape with new plantations, connection of roads, and green landscape. The "wedge" (park) works as a buffer against noise from other railway tracks, acts as an area to collect water from the new housing area, and provides open areas for cultural function. (Ref. 3)

Quantitative targets

Unknown

Monitoring indicators defined

Unknown

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Green space creation and/or management

Environmental quality

Noise reduction

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Creation of opportunities for recreation

Cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Promotion of cultural diversity

Implementation activities

The Green Wedge passes through all 4 subdivisions of the new district Aarhus K, and has a building percentage of 25% within the boundaries of the "wedge". (Ref. 3) Citizens are invited to contribute with green projects through the municipal innovation project "Green Citizen" (Grøn Medborger). (Ref. 1)
Some measures, such as planted trees and ditches remain permanent, other projects are temporary. (Ref. 1)

Type of NBS project

Creation of new green areas

3. NBS domains, ES and scale

NBS domain and interventions

Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented

Grey infrastructure featuring greens

Alley or street trees and other street vegetation

Railroad bank and track greens

Parks and urban forests

Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces

Vegetation Type

Trees

Other

Please specify how many trees were planted

unspecified; 'planted trees' (Ref 1)

Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS

new housing area, and provides open areas for cultural function. (Ref. 3)

Amenities offered by the NBS

Other

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Regulating services

Noise reduction

Cultural services

Recreation

Social and community interactions

Scale

Spatial scale

Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)

Beneficiaries

Primary Beneficiaries

Local government/Municipality

Private sector/Corporate/Company

Citizens or community groups

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Led by non-government actors

Non-government actors

Citizens or community groups

Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative

Citizens, students and companies are invited to contribute (through 'Green Citizen') with green projects to 'The Green Wedge' area (the new city park). (Ref. 1) Aarhus City provides support for green projects through the innovation project Green Citizen (Grøn Medborger). (Ref. 5)

Key actors - initiating organization

Local government/municipality

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

Local government/municipality

Citizens or community group

Please specify other participatory methods

Citizens, students and companies are invited to contribute (through 'Green Citizen') with green projects to 'The Green Wedge' area (the new city park). (Ref. 1)

In citizen’s budget, it is the citizens who decide how the municipality's money is going to be used. Citizens themselves come up with ideas for projects or activities they wish to implement, and prioritize by a vote which projects are to be implemented for the amount deposited. The role of the municipality is to facilitate and support a good decision-making process for the citizens without affecting the outcome. (Ref. 8)

Land owners

Public space owned by the city

Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used

Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)

Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Citizen oversight (e.g. boards, advisory)

Other

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

Unknown

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Mandatory (based on policy)

Intervention is mandatory

Spatial planning guidance

Other

Please specify other type of mandatory intervention

The development of the new district is based on municipal development planning, although contributing to projects in "The Green Wedge" is voluntary. (Ref. 1, 3)

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

Yes

Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section

Green Citizen: Create greenery with Aarhus City (Grøn Medborger skab grønt med Aarhus Kommune); a innovation project, which include citizens providing green projects in the municipality and citizens are invited to contribute with projects/ideas. (Ref. 5, 1)

If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.

Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme

Please specify other vegetation type

"Some measures, such as planted trees and ditches remain permanent, other projects are temporary." (Ref. 1)
"wedge" (park) ; new plantations; green landscape; spaces to collect water (Ref 3)
green projects (Ref 1)

Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project

Yes

Please specify

Green Citizen (Grøn Medborger) and The Green Embassy is to act as an open, dynamic and creative workshop for citizens and stakeholders while being headquarter to the team behind the "taste of Aarhus"-project. (Ref. 6)
The Green Embassy creates opportunity to talk to local employees about your project idea. (Ref. 7)

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

Yes

Please specify

Aarhus City provides support for green projects through the innovation project Green Citizen (Grøn Medborger). (Ref. 5)

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

€100,000 - €500,000

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)

The green projects which citizens are invited to apply to (through the innovation project Green Citizen) has, for the year 2018, a budget of around 140 000 EUR (1.4 million DKK). (Ref. 4) It is unknown how much is allocated.

Source(s) of funding

Public local authority budget

Type of fund(s) used

Earmarked public budget

Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Other

Please specify other type of fund used

In citizen’s budget, it is the citizens who decide how the municipality's money is going to be used. Citizens themselves come up with ideas for projects or activities they wish to implement, and prioritize by a vote which projects are to be implemented for the amount deposited. The role of the municipality is to facilitate and support a good decision-making process for the citizens without affecting the outcome. (Ref. 8)

Non-financial contribution

Yes

Type of non-financial contribution

Provision of labour

Other

Please specify other type of non-financial contribution

ideas: In citizen’s budget, it is the citizens who decide how the municipality's money is going to be used. Citizens themselves come up with ideas for projects or activities they wish to implement, and prioritize by a vote which projects are to be implemented for the amount deposited. The role of the municipality is to facilitate and support a good decision-making process for the citizens without affecting the outcome. (Ref. 8)

Who provided the non-financial contribution?

Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Business models

Green densification model

Local stewardship model

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Public actor (e.g. municipality)

Citizens / local communities

5. Innovation

Type of innovation

Technological

Infrastructural innovation

Social

Cultural innovation

Please specify technological innovation

The locations where The Green Wedge is situated will act as an area that collects water from the new housing developments. (Ref. 3)

Novelty level of the innovation

The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) without substantial adaptation

Please specify novelty level of the innovation

The innovation project Green Citizen (which The Green Wedge is also a part of) has conducted green projects before. (Ref. 4, 5)

Replicability/Transferability

The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) with substantial adaptation

Please specify Replicability/Transferability

The Green Embassy creates opportunity to talk to local employees about your project idea, and provides e.g. creative workshop for citizens and stakeholders (Ref. 6, 7)

Also, the innovation project will continue collecting and supporting new green project ideas in 2017, and 2018. (Ref. 4)

6. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Environmental quality

Reduced noise exposure

Water management and blue areas

Increased protection against flooding

Improved stormwater management

Green space and habitat

Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development

Increased green space area

Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales

Description of environmental benefits

Economic impacts

Unknown

Please specify other socio-cultural impact

inclusive governance:
Citizens are invited to contribute with green projects through the municipal innovation project "Green Citizen" (Grøn Medborger). (Ref. 1)

In citizen’s budget, it is the citizens who decide how the municipality's money is going to be used. Citizens themselves come up with ideas for projects or activities they wish to implement, and prioritize by a vote which projects are to be implemented for the amount deposited. The role of the municipality is to facilitate and support a good decision-making process for the citizens without affecting the outcome. (Ref. 8)

The Green Embassy creates opportunity to talk to local employees about your project idea, and provides e.g. creative workshop for citizens and stakeholders (Ref. 6, 7)

Description of economic benefits

Unknown

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts

Achieved impacts

Indicators

Creation of a new park (green space) which promotes the creative energy in the area. (Ref. 1)

Environmental, social and economic impacts

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Analysis of specific impact categories

Job creation: The NBS created ...

No information available

Please specify other method used to evaluate the impacts of NBS

Working with citizen's budget as a participation method (this regards the green projects, which citizens are invited to contribute with through the innovation project 'Green Citizen'). (Ref. 1, 8)
Also, The Green Embassy creates opportunity to talk to local employees about your project idea, and provides e.g. creative workshop for citizens and stakeholders. (Ref. 6, 7)
Furthermore, during the green project process, dialogues are held between the citizen who contributes with the project idea and specialists/supporters. (Ref. 9)

Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?

No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project

COVID-19 pandemic

Unknown as of 21 September 2020

Methods of impact monitoring

Process of recording NBS impacts

No evidence in public records

Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS

Other

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

Impact assessment mechanism

Name of any specific impact assessment tools

Working with citizen's budget as a participation method (this regards the green projects, which citizens are invited to contribute with through the innovation project 'Green Citizen'). (Ref. 1, 8)

Link to the output of assessments

http://www.aarhus.dk/da/borger/natur-og-miljoe/~/media/D50BA4AE12E14E68988DBED5…

Use of GIS in mapping impacts

Citizen involvement

Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation

Yes

Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment

Other

Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment

Citizens are invited to contribute with (green) projects through the innovation project 'Green Citizen', where they are involved during the process (e.g. through application for grants). (Ref. 1, 4)
Also, The Green Embassy creates opportunity to talk to local employees about your project idea, and provides e.g. creative workshop for citizens and stakeholders. (Ref. 6, 7)
Furthermore, during the green project process, dialogues are held between the citizen who contributes with the project idea and specialists/supporters. (Ref. 9)

Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment

Yes

Please specify

Working with citizen's budget as a participation method and evaluating projects. (Ref. 8)

7. Sources

References

Web links relevant to the intervention

List of references

Ref. 1. Aarhus kommune (2016) Den Grønne Kile. Natur og miljø. Information obtained: 2017-06-25. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 2. Aarhus kommune (2016) Godsbanearealerne. Information obtained: 2017-06-25. Source: https://godsbanearealerne.dk [Accessed 20 September 2020]
Ref. 3. Aarhus kommune (2015) Godsbanearealerne. Oplæg til udviklingsplan. Source: https://www.aarhus.dk/media/13921/udviklingsplan-for-godsbanearealerne.pdf [Accessed 20 September 2020]
Ref. 4. Aarhus kommune (2017) Grønne Projekter. Natur og miljø. Information obtained: 2017-06-25. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 5. Aarhus kommune (2016) Grøn Medborger - skab grønt med Aarhus Kommune. Natur og miljø. Information obtained: 2017-06-25.[Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 6. Smag Pa Aarhus (n.d.) The Green Embassy. Denmark, Aarhus. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 7. Aarhus kommune (2016) Grøn Træffetid i Den Grønne Ambassade. Natur og miljø. Information obtained: 2017-06-25. Source: http://smagpaaaarhus.dk/om-smag-paa-aarhus/den-groenne-ambassade/ [Accessed 20 September 2020]
Ref. 8. Aarhus kommune (2016) Borgerbudgetter i det grønne - Erfaringer og anbefalinger fra Aarhus Kommune. Grøn Medborger. Source: https://issuu.com/gronmedborger/docs/borgerbudgetter_august_2016_enkelts [Accessed 20 September 2020]
Ref. 9. Aarhus kommune (n.d.) Medarbejder positioner. CBA/Team Medborgerskab. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 10. Jyllands-Posten (2019) Bevar den grønne kile fra Havreballe Skov til Højen. Source: https://jyllands-posten.dk/jpaarhus/opinion/ECE11400299/bevar-den-groenne-kile-fra-havreballe-skov-til-hoejen/ [Accessed 20 September 2020]

Comments and notes

Pictures of the NBS

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