1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Gdynia
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Łączka Merdających Ogonów czyli wybieg dla psów z torem agility i parkiem dla mieszkańców
Short description of the intervention
In this neighbourhood, this is the first initiative of this type which have utilized the neglected area for the creation of an open-air dog runway with agility track and a park for the residents. The project seeks to improve the aesthetics of the surroundings by planting greenery in the park and along the track. The wider goal of the initiative is to protect the area from further urban development in favour of more greenery in the city [1].
Address

ul. Cypriana Godebskiego 10
Gdynia
Poland

Area boundary
POINT (18.536737 54.551653)
POINT (18.536061 54.551183)
POINT (18.53612 54.551647)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
https://www.google.pl/maps/place/Hospicjum+stacjonarne+%C5%9Bw.+Wawrzy%C5%84ca/@54.5514711,18.535112,183m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x46fda70028b52cc3:0xde2a7a730e4f5b17!2sOksywie,+Gdynia!3b1!8m2!3d54.548037!4d18.5520408!3m4!1s0x46fda700779c27f7:0x127e8977439b02f!8m2!3d54.5493519!4d18.5483873?hl=pl&authuser=0
Total area
16000.00m²
NBS area
16000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2014
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2015
End date of the intervention
2016
Present stage of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
1) Improvement of the aesthetic qualities of the surroundings;
2) Protecting the area from urban development in favour of more greenery in the city;
3) Providing an unusual (by the time) dog-friendly recreational space for the inhabitants [1]
Quantitative targets
Building a dog runway with obstacle course agility (about 1000m2) and a park (about 600 m2) [1]
Elements of the dog runway: metal fence 140m 1 pc., metal wicket 1 pc., information board 1 pc., bench 1 pc., garbage bin 1 pc., agility wooden block set (wall full height 30 cm - 3 pcs., tunnel 2,5m, open gable pitching), bushes 300 pcs, trees with a circumference of 12-16 cm, PVC boards "clean after your dog" 3 pcs. Elements of the park: renovated lawn 600m2, trash bins 2 pcs, 1 bench with backrest, 1 bicycles rack, 80 medium sized shrubs, 10 large shrubs, flowers area of 20m2. [1]
Monitoring indicators defined
Increase in access to the green recreational neighbourhood area for the inhabitants and their dogs [1]
Implementation activities
Building a dog runway with obstacle course agility (about 1000m2) and a park (about 600 m2) [1];
Implementation activities in the dog runway: the assembly of metal fence 140m, metal wicket 1 pc., information board 1 pc., bench 1 pc., garbage bin 1 pc., agility wooden block set (wall full height 30 cm - 3 pcs., tunnel 2,5m, open gable pitching), planting bushes 300 pcs, planting trees with a circumference of 12-16 cm, PVC boards "clean after your dog" 3 pcs. Implementation activities in the park: renovation of the lawn 600m2, assembly of trash bins 2 pcs, 1 bench with backrest, 1 bicycle rack, planting 80 medium-sized shrubs, planting 10 large shrubs, planting flowers and their maintenance 20m2 [1].
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Vegetation Type
Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS
Bicycle racks; Dogs' playground
Amenities offered by the NBS
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
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
The local community developed a project proposal and applied for funds from the participatory budget of Gdynia. The local municipality was responsible for the project's implementation.
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
Unknown
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 Gdynia.
Co-finance for NBS
No
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
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?
82 970 PLN (around 19 460 EUR)
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)
82 970 PLN (around 19 460 EUR).(1)
Source(s) of funding
Type of fund(s) used
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Type of innovation
Please specify social innovation
The first initiative of this type in the neighbourhood that aims to utilize the neglected area for the creation of the open air dog runway with agility track and a park for the residents.(1)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The project's application website mentions that the agility track for dogs will resemble a similar initiative that takes part in the Gdynia's district of Obłuże.(1)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Description of environmental benefits
The new species present include only decorative shrubs around the park. The initiative, however, was successful in protecting the vacant green space from a further investment [1,2]. Increase in access to the green recreational neighbourhood area for the inhabitants and their dogs [1]
Economic impacts
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
The initiative was successful in protecting the vacant green space from further investment. Owing to its modern obstacles and agility training equipment, a park is a pleasant place for dogs owners to interact and exercise with their pupils [1,2].
Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Increase in access to the green recreational neighbourhood area [1].
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
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 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
No evidence in public records
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
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
List of references
1. Project's application website, Gdynia's participatory budget 2015, 'Neighbourhood green area for dog owners and inhabitants' ('Łączka Merdających Ogonów czyli wybieg dla psów z torem agility i parkiem dla mieszkańców'), https://bo.gdynia.pl/?mod=project2015&path=187 (Accessed: 24 September 2020).
2. Monitoring of program's implementation, Gdynia's participatory budget 2015, 'Neighbourhood green area for dog owners and inhabitants' ('Łączka Merdających Ogonów czyli wybieg dla psów z torem agility i parkiem dla mieszkańców'), https://bo.gdynia.pl/harmonogram_realizacji_2015.html?dzielnicaWysz=13&dzielnicaTyp=&Wyszsubmit=Szukaj (Accessed: 24 September 2020).
Interview comments
An additional email was sent to obtain information about sections 4 and 6.
Comments and notes
Comments
As opposed to other Polish cities reviewed so far the participatory budget of Gdynia does not provide proper information on policy drivers. The relevant City Council website only mentions, among other things, that all submitted projects have to meet the criteria of public availability, have to be compatible with actions financed by the city budget in the previous years, and should relate to the aesthetics of the environment or recreation. https://bo.gdynia.pl/Budzet_obywatelski.html. (Updated in 2017)
Public Images
Image
Dog's park in Gdynia
Dog's park in Gdynia
Source: https://bo.gdynia.pl/harmonogram_realizacji_2015.html?mod=projarch&dzielnicaWysz=13&Wyszsubmit=Szukaj