1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Cagliari (FUA)
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Area Verde - Via Eroi d'Italia
Short description of the intervention
The project, implemented by the municipality of Cagliari, involves the creation of a new garden in 2021 on Via Eroi d’Italia, in the Pirri municipality, located about 5 km from the center of Cagliari. This initiative is part of a broader effort to reclaim degraded urban green spaces. The garden spans approximately 900 square meters and was previously an unused lot serving as a parking area. Its transformation required substantial groundwork, including soil scarification and leveling, to prepare the area for its new purpose. The garden is now enclosed, with pedestrian access via two gates leading to a paved walkway.
Inside, the garden is divided into two main sections: a children's play area and a landscaped green space. The play area covers about 100 square meters and features durable artificial grass, swings, a spring toy, a universally accessible table, a children's table, benches, and a multi-compartment recycling bin. The green space, approximately 200 square meters, is planted with low-water-use grass and surrounded by drought-resistant plants like albizia, oleander, and lantana, chosen for their low water consumption and resilience to environmental stress. An underground irrigation system, linked to a 5,000-liter water tank, ensures efficient water use.
The remaining 600 sqm outside forms a parking area with 1 disabled space, 2 motorcycle spaces, 1 bicycle rack, and 15 car spaces.
The garden also incorporates sustainable elements, such as LED lighting for energy efficiency and a mural by renowned Sardinian artist Manu Invisible, depicting sunlit forest undergrowth in shades of green. This project responds to citizens' requests and prioritizes resource efficiency by reducing hazardous substances and minimizing waste. The materials used, including recycled plastics, and the selection of plants were chosen to match local ecological conditions, enhancing the garden's sustainability and reducing its environmental impact (Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Website of the intervention
https://www.comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/giardino_via_eroi_ditalia?conten…
Principal problems
Environmental Degradation
Soil degradation and loss
Land use and Socio-economic change
Limited economic opportunities and local livelihoods
Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
Loss of sense of place and identity
Poor community engagement
Implementation area characterization
Climate
Temperate ( Humid subtropical, Hot-summer Mediterranean, Warm-summer Mediterranean, Warm-temperate with dry winter)
Ecosystem
Urban or built environment
Address

Via Eroi d'Italia
09134 Cagliari
Italy

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Area boundary (map-based)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Via+Eroi+D'Italia,+09134+Cagliari+CA,+Italia/@39.2427736,9.1248436,214m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x12e734486b6511db:0xf49d4db2d250c448!8m2!3d39.2431741!4d9.1250942!16s%2Fg%2F1tf54stz?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDgyNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Total area
900.00m²
NBS area
300.00m²
Area description
Urban (main city)
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2021
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2021
End date of the intervention
2021
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Objectives of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
To transform a previously neglected space into an accessible, and sustainable green area for the local community to enjoy and socialize.
To enhance urban greenery by creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing garden that serves as a recreational space for residents, particularly children and elderly.
To promote environmental sustainability by utilizing drought-resistant plants ( specifically selected based on low water consumption and high resistance to environmental stress and phytopathologies), implementing efficient irrigation systems (underground sub-irrigation system) that enhance soil health, and incorporating eco-friendly materials.
To serve as an example of how small green spaces can incorporate all the qualities of larger urban green areas, serving as a model that can be replicated in many other parts of the city.
To foster inclusive governance by addressing citizens' requests and prioritizing resource efficiency in the project.
(Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Key Priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation)
Social Justice and community
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Environmental quality
Soil quality improvement
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Regulation of built environment
Water management (SDG 6)
Water security
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Inclusive governance
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social justice and equity
Social interaction
Sense of community and community engagement
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
Implementation activities and NBS focus
Implementation activities
The project began with a survey revealing that residents were hesitant to give up this informal parking space but expressed a strong need for a recreational area with greenery and play facilities for children, given the lack of equipped public green spaces nearby. To accommodate both parking and recreation, the area was divided into designated sections, separated by a 150 cm high green wire mesh fence, discreetly concealed by hedges.
The internal space features two sections: a 100-square-meter children's play area with high-resistance artificial turf, including a swing, spring toy, accessible and children's tables, a fountain, two benches, and a recycling bin. The second section, approximately 200 square meters, consists of low-water paspalum vaginatum grass. The perimeter is landscaped with drought-resistant plants such as albizia, oleander, and lantana, which attract pollinators. An underground sub-irrigation system, connected to a 5,000-liter tank from the city water network, manages watering by monitoring soil moisture and adjusting irrigation accordingly. The project also included a mural by Manu Invisible (a local artist), depicting a forest undergrowth to highlight sustainability and a lighting system that features 4 energy-saving led lights placed on pole at the height of 3.5 meters. There are also 8 energy-saving LED spotlights to illuminate the existing mural.
The remaining 600 sqm outside forms a parking area with 1 disabled , 2 motorcycle and 15 cars spaces (1-5)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Creation of any other green urban spaces
Ecological restoration of ecosystems
Soil remediation and revegetation
Remediation activities of sites with very poor environmental quality
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Amenities offered by the NBS
Benches and drinking water stations
Playgrounds
Design elements for well-being
Visual elements (e.g., expansive views, scenic views, natural light, diverse vegetation)
Olfactory elements (e.g., floral scents, earthy smells)
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Water (surface and ground water for drinking and non-drinking purposes)
Regulating services
Pollination
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Demographics in implementation area
The project develops in the Monteleone - Santa Rosalia neighborhood, which had, in 2022, 9,050 inhabitants (around 6% of the total population of Cagliari). The average age is around 50 years old, which is distributed in different age groups as follows:
1. 0-14: 808 (9%)
2. 15-64: 5.622 (62%)
3. over 65: 2.620 (29%)

The neighborhood is characterized by moderate emigration or immigration flows. In fact, the foreign population accounts only for 3.4% of its total population. Most of the foreigners in the area come from the Philippines, Ukraine, and Romania.
47% of the households in the neighborhood are composed of 1 single person, 27% of 2 people, 16% of 3, 8% of 4, 1% of 5, and less than 1% of 6 or more people (Ref. 6).
Socio-economic profile of the area
Unknown
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
No
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Young people and children
Specify primary beneficiaries
The primary beneficiaries of the garden project in Via Eroi d’Italia are the local residents of the neighborhood, particularly families, children, and individuals with disabilities. The garden provides a safe and accessible green space for leisure and recreation, enhancing the quality of life for the community. Families and children benefit from the dedicated play area, while individuals with disabilities and their caregivers have improved access through dedicated parking lots. The broader community also benefits from the environmental and aesthetic improvements, promoting social interaction and well-being (Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Marginalized groups
Children, young people or youth groups
People with functional diversities
Measures for inclusion of marginalised groups
To ensure better access to the green space and its surrounding area, 20 new parking spaces were created, among which two dedicated spots were for families with infants and individuals with disabilities (Refs. 1, 2 & 3).
Other beneficiaries
Local wildlife (e.g., birds, pollinators)
Public health (e.g. increased physical activity opportunities, reduced stress)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
- Comune di Cagliari: it played a key role in planning and overseeing the project as part of its broader initiative to revitalize degraded urban green spaces. They were responsible for securing and providing funding, managing project implementation through one of its departments, and ensuring that the design met the community's needs.
- Local Community and Residents: The input and feedback from local residents were crucial in shaping the garden to meet their needs.
(Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Citizens or community group
Stages of citizen and community engagement
Planning and design (e.g. site selection, identification of key priorities)
Development of project proposal
Level of citizen and community engagement
Moderate
Community empowerment or capacity-building initiatives
Creation of collaborative decision-making processes that actively involve community members
Participatory methods/forms of stakeholder involvement (all stakeholders)
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Uncommon actors ("Missing actors")
Unknown
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to a 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
Unknown
Enablers & Barriers
Type of enablers
Unknown
Governace and decison-making instruments
Unknown
Arrangements for governance cooperation
Unknown
Barriers
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
Please specify total cost (EUR)
€140,000 (Ref. 2 & 5)
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
No
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Entrepreneurship opportunities
No
Business models
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Energy efficiency improvements
Achieved energy efficiency improvements
Environmental quality
Improved soil quality
Expected improved soil quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Achieved increased green space area
Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Achieved increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Increased number of species present
Achieved increased number of species present
Enhanced support of pollination
Achieved enhanced support of pollination
Description of environmental benefits
- Energy efficiency improvements: "The water system ensures high savings in consumption." (Ref. 1)
- Improved soil quality: "In order to create the garden, scarifying work was necessary to loosen the soil and level the depressions present." (Ref. 1)
- Increased green space area: "the garden covers an area of approximately 900 square metres, which will be redeveloped in 2021 as part of the redevelopment of the city's degraded green areas" (Ref. 1).
- Increased conversion of degraded land or soil: "Reclamation of the city's degraded green areas: previously, the area was a wasteland used as a parking lot." (Ref. 1)
- Increased number of species present: "Plant species specifically selected on the basis of low water consumption and high resistance to environmental stresses and phytopathologies have been placed around the perimeter of the area: specimens of albizia, oleander, lantana, russelia, metrosideros, lentisk, and seasonal aromatic blooms are found" (Ref. 1)
- Enhanced support of pollination: "They give the area a polychromy capable of attracting pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies." (Ref 1 & 2).
Environmental impact indicators
Total number of vascular plant species protected or introduced
8
Green space area created (in ha)
0.2
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved liveability
Expected improved liveability
Improved access to urban green space
Achieved improved access to urban green space
Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
Expected increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Social and cultural impact indicators
Surface area of accessible green spaces (in ha)
0.9
Description of social and cultural benefits
- Improved liveability: "Sometimes even small proposals are enough to solve everyday problems that enable people to be able to improve their quality of life" (Refs. 2 & 3).
- Improved access to urban green space: "Outside the garden, 20 dedicated parking spaces have been created." (Ref. 1)
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples: "1 stall reserved for people with disabilities, 1 stall for families with infants" & " A table with an extension leaf that can also be used by people with disabilities" (Ref. 4).
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise: "a 100-square-meter children's play area on high-strength artificial turf, with a swing and spring game, an extension table that can also be used by people with disabilities and a children's table, a drinking fountain, two benches" (Ref. 1)
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
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Cost-benefit analysis
Unknown
Transparency
Online disclosure of technical reports (e.g. project documents, reports, or data)
Justice
Community satisfaction
Unknown
Trade-offs & Negative impacts
Unknown
Emphasis of existing social inequalities or injustices
No information reported related to negative social justice-related impacts of the NBS project
Measures to prevent gentrification or displacement
No initiatives or policies were implemented
High-quality & Transformative NBS
Multiple impacts delivery (climate, biodiversity, just community)
Yes
Goal setting and impacts delivery
No, although benefits were delivered in all the 3 key areas, but in the planning phase, the project did not aim to address issues in all the 3 key priority areas.
Reaching original project goals
Most of the project goals were achieved
Please specify the achievements of the project goals
Social justice and community Goals:
- Improved liveability: "Sometimes even small proposals are enough to solve everyday problems that enable people to be able to improve their quality of life" (Refs. 2 & 3).
- Improved access to urban green space: "Outside the garden, 20 dedicated parking spaces have been created." (Ref. 1)
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples: "1 stall reserved for people with disabilities, 1 stall for families with infants" & " A table with an extension leaf that can also be used by people with disabilities" (Ref. 4).
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise: "a 100-square-meter children's play area on high-strength artificial turf, with a swing and spring game, an extension table that can also be used by people with disabilities and a children's table, a drinking fountain, two benches" (Ref. 1)
Long-term perspective
Unknown: No information about the project's long-term sustainability.
Cost-effective solutions
Unknown
Equitable impacts
A. All stakeholders benefit fairly from the project
Transformative capacity
Social change (e.g. social relationships, networks and dynamics within them)
Magnitude of change
Incremental: shallow; that is, mostly maintaining business-as-usual approaches to adaptation
Application of lessons learned
The NBS has been shared or used as a good practice to trigger transformative change
Perception of Environmental Change
Unknown
References
1.
Comune di Cagliari (n.d.). Giardino Via Eroi d'Italia. Accessed on August 29, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];
2.
SH Magazine (2021). Cagliari, la nuova area verde di via Eroi d’Italia restituita alla città. Accessed on August 29, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];
3.
Comune di Cagliari (2021). Cagliari, inaugurazione area verde via Eroi d'Italia. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];
4.
Neri, E (2021). Svolta green a Pirri, in via Eroi d’Italia un giardino con murale di Manu Invisible. Cagliari: Casteddu Online, [Source link] [Archive];
5.
Cagliaripad (2021). Pirri, restituita alla città la nuova area verde di via Eroi d’Italia. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];
6.
Comune di Cagliari (2022). Atlante Demografico di Cagliari 2022. Accessed on August 30, 2024, [Source link] [Archive];
Comments and notes
Public Images
Photo of the playground area and of the rest of the amenties implemented within the project.
Photo of the playground area and of the rest of the amenties implemented within the project.
SH Magazine. 2021. “Cagliari, La Nuova Area Verde Di via Eroi d’Italia Restituita Alla Città.” S&H Magazine - L’informazione Sarda Dal 1996. S&H MAGAZINE. October 23, 2021. https://www.shmag.it/sardegna/cagliari/23_10_2021/cagliari-la-nuova-area-verde-di-via-eroi-ditalia-restituita-alla-citta/.
Photo of the playground area and of the rest of the amenties implemented within the project.
Photo of the playground area and of the rest of the amenties implemented within the project.
SH Magazine. 2021. “Cagliari, La Nuova Area Verde Di via Eroi d’Italia Restituita Alla Città.” S&H Magazine - L’informazione Sarda Dal 1996. S&H MAGAZINE. October 23, 2021. https://www.shmag.it/sardegna/cagliari/23_10_2021/cagliari-la-nuova-area-verde-di-via-eroi-ditalia-restituita-alla-citta/.
Photo of the art piece created by Manu Invisible within the park.
Photo of the art piece created by Manu Invisible within the park.
SH Magazine. 2021. “Cagliari, La Nuova Area Verde Di via Eroi d’Italia Restituita Alla Città.” S&H Magazine - L’informazione Sarda Dal 1996. S&H MAGAZINE. October 23, 2021. https://www.shmag.it/sardegna/cagliari/23_10_2021/cagliari-la-nuova-area-verde-di-via-eroi-ditalia-restituita-alla-citta/.