1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Bydgoszcz
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Skwer Siła Ciszy Mariampola
Short description of the intervention
Owing to the city’s participatory budget, the residents created a well-equipped green recreational square in a vacant area of one of Bydgoszcz's neighbourhoods. The initiative involved the creation of an outdoor gym with several exercise equipment stations, as well as planting pollution-resistant trees and bushes - including oaks, maples, pine and spruce. The initiative aims to manage vacant space and increase access to the green space in this city district [1].

Address

Osiedle Tatrzańskie
Bydgoszcz
Poland

Area boundary
POINT (18.157894 53.170544)
POINT (18.158211 53.170493)
POINT (18.158436 53.170805)
POINT (18.158125 53.170872)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
https://www.google.pl/maps/place/Skwer+SI%C5%81A+CISZY+MARIAMPOLA/@53.1705942,18.1577791,92m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4703172a12edf621:0x7d502e346289677b!8m2!3d53.1706987!4d18.1577066?hl=pl&authuser=0
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2016
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2017
End date of the intervention
2017
Present stage of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
Providing green space for sport and relaxation in the vacant area of the city [1];
Increase green space area [1];
Quantitative targets
1) Building an outdoor gym with 4 multi-station exercise equipment;
2) Planting nearly 200 bushes [1].
Monitoring indicators defined
Visitors’ traffic and satisfaction [1]
Implementation activities
1) Building a wooden gazebo;
2) Assembly of litter bins and bicycles racks;
3) Planting of the maximum number of trees and bushes that do not require complicated treatments, grow fast and tolerate environmental pollution and difficult urban conditions;
4) Dividing the recreational area into several different zones;
5) Building an outdoor gym with 4 multi-station exercise equipment;
6) Planting oaks, maples, pine and spruce and nearly 200 bushes [1].
Type of NBS project
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Green playgrounds and school grounds
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Vegetation Type
Please specify how many trees were planted
Planting oaks, maples, pine and spruce and nearly 200 bushes [1].
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Habitat and supporting services
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Governance
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 developed a proposal and applied for funds from the participatory budget of Bydgoszcz.
Key actors - initiating organization
Land owners
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
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"
All projects submitted to the participatory city budget of Bydgoszcz have to be compatible with the urban spatial development plans.(2) The valid plan in the area of the project is the 'Local spatial development plan for Osiedle Tatrzanskie in the Fordon district of Bydgoszcz'.(3)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Citizens developed the project proposal on their own initiative.
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
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
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
Participatory city budget of Bydgoszcz.
Co-finance for NBS
No
Co-financing governance arrangements
No
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Financing
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
226 000 PLN (around 50 177 PLN) [5]
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)
415 000 PLN (around 92 154 EUR).(1)
Source(s) of funding
Type of fund(s) used
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Type of innovation
Please specify social innovation
Providing a multifunctional green recreational space for the first time in the area.(1)
Novelty level of the innovation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Description of environmental benefits
After the completion of the infrastructure implementation, landscape architects have also prepared a green densification plan. It involved planting the maximum possible number of trees and shrubs which do not require complicated treatments, grow quickly and tolerate environmental pollution and difficult urban conditions fairly well [4,5].
With the implementation of the project, trees such as oaks, maples, pine and spruce were planted as well as nearly 200 bushes [1].

Economic impacts
Description of economic benefits
unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
With the implementation of the project, an outdoor gym with 4 multi-station exercise equipment and a gazebo was created [1] Altogether, there are 12 devices which allow for a full-body, recreational training. In the other part, there is a wooden gazebo with benches, and the following facilities: a chess table, litter bins and bicycle racks. The area is fenced to increase the safety perception of users.
To improvise the resident's sense of identity, the residents invented the name themselves, and it is “The Power of Silence of Mariampole”. A red bench and a metal heart for lovers is an interesting initiative. It is a space for padlocks with engraved initials.
Additionally, special educational boards with the history of the area have been prepared. The boards with old maps and photos of former villages inform about the cultural heritage of the place [5].
Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Visitors’ traffic and satisfaction [1,4,5]
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of September of 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Uknown
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
Documents relevant to the intervention
List of references
1. City Council website - project description, 'Square 'strength of silence' in Mariampol' ('Skwer Siła Ciszy Mariampola'),
https://www.bdgbo.pl/2017/12/skwer-sia-ciszy-mariampola-na-osiedlu.html (Accessed: 23 September 2020).
2. City Council website - rules of the participatory budget, 'Submit a proposal' ('Zgłoś projekt!'), http://www.bdgbo.pl/2016/11/zgos-projekt.html (Accessed: 23 September 2020).
3. Local spatial development plan for Osiedle Tatrzanskie in the Fordon district of Bydgoszcz (2004), (See attachment)
4. Unknown. (2017). Skwer Siła Ciszy Mariampola na osiedlu Tatrzańskim gotowy! (The Square of The Power of Silence Mariampol in the Tatrzanski neighbourhood is ready!). Bydgoszcz.pl. Available at: https://www.bydgoszcz.pl/aktualnosci/tresc/skwer-sila-ciszy-mariampola-na-osiedlu-tatrzanski/ (Accessed: 23 September 2020).
5. Unknown. (2017). Siła Ciszy Mariampola gotowa. Jest też coś dla zakochanych (The Power of Silence of Mariampol is ready. There is something for lovers too). Gazeta Bydgoszcz. Available at: https://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgoszcz/7,48722,22765722,sila-ciszy-mariampola-gotowa-jest-tez-cos-dla-zakochanych.html (Accessed: 23 September 2020).
Comments and notes
Public Images
Image
Source: https://www.bdgbo.pl/2017/12/skwer-sia-ciszy-mariampola-na-osiedlu.html
Image
Source: https://www.bdgbo.pl/2017/12/skwer-sia-ciszy-mariampola-na-osiedlu.html
Image
Source: https://www.bdgbo.pl/2017/12/skwer-sia-ciszy-mariampola-na-osiedlu.html
Image
Source: https://www.bdgbo.pl/2017/12/skwer-sia-ciszy-mariampola-na-osiedlu.html
Image
Source: https://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgoszcz/7,48722,22765722,sila-ciszy-mariampola-gotowa-jest-tez-cos-dla-zakochanych.html
The silence zone in Bydgoszcz
Source: https://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgoszcz/7,48722,22765722,sila-ciszy-mariampola-gotowa-jest-tez-cos-dla-zakochanych.html