Newly created park Vozrazhdane

1. General information

Location and description of the intervention

City or FUA

Sofia

Region

Europe

Native title of the NBS intervention

Новият парк "Възраждане"

Short description of the intervention

The first new park in Sofia since 30 years was created, which had very positive reviews from the citizens of the capital. The park features attractive grey infrastructure, grass lawns, and more than 600 planted trees. It has become a popular place for recreation. The aims of the project were to improve the public environment so that it is more suitable for rest; create conditions for sport and recreation in an urban park environment; and to thereby improve the economical state of the region by attracting investments and new employment opportunities. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3). Extension of a 6.6 acre water park and additional 18.2 acre green area was also completed in 2020 (Ref 8 and 9).

Address

Park Vuzrajdane
1303 Sofia
Bulgaria

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

POINT (23.305352 42.696677)

POINT (23.308903 42.696172)

POINT (23.308736 42.694422)

POINT (23.305088 42.693069)

POINT (23.304423 42.693889)

NBS area image

Source of NBS area image

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Park+„Vazrazhdane“/@42.6948,23.3047192,638m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x4a4ad0dfbcfc2393!8m2!3d42.6949262!4d23.3066933

Total area

210437.00m²

NBS area

29399.00m²

Type of area before implementation of the NBS

Other

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

Contested land. Could be either privately owned or owned by the municipality. There was a case in progress as of April 2016. (Ref 7)

Timeline of intervention

Start date of the intervention (planning process)

unknown

Start date of intervention (implementation process)

2015

End date of the intervention

2020

Present stage of the intervention

Completed

2. Objectives of the intervention

Goals of the intervention

- Restore a degraded urban area
- Improve the public environment so that it is more suitable for rest;
- Create conditions for sport and recreation in an urban park environment
- Improve the economical state of the region by attracting investments and new employment opportunities
- Help make Sofia a green city
(Ref. 1; Ref. 3; Ref. 4)

Quantitative targets

Create an additional 24 decares of green areas in the second phase of the park's construction (yet to be carried out) (Ref. 1)

Monitoring indicators defined

decares of green areas in the second phase of the park's construction (yet to be carried out) (Ref. 1)

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Green space creation and/or management

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Enabling opportunities for physical activity

Improving mental health

Improving physical health

Creation of opportunities for recreation

Economic development and employment (SDG 8)

Economic development: service sectors

Employment/job creation

Implementation activities

- 29 399 sq.m. of green area have been created.
- 607 new trees, 1258 shrubs, and 649 flowers have been planted.
- Grass areas were created, including ones specially suited for children playing, picnic, and adding a circus
- A number of grey infrastructural and recreational elements were added, including an amphitheater, alleys, circus facilities, children's playgrounds, sports grounds, a fountain, irrigation system, and others
- Improve the economical state of the region by attracting investments and new employment opportunities
(Ref. 1, 3. , 4.)

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

Parks and urban forests

Large urban parks or forests

Blue infrastructure

Other

Please specify "other blue area"

water park (Ref 8 and 9)

Please specify "other derelict areas"

Degraded urban land

Vegetation Type

Please specify how many trees were planted

600 in first phase and 400 in extension (Ref 1, 9)

Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS

- A number of grey infrastructural and recreational elements were added, including an amphitheater, alleys, circus facilities, children's playgrounds, sports grounds, a fountain, irrigation system, and others (Ref. 1, 3. , 4.)"

Amenities offered by the NBS

Playgrounds

Sports areas and equipment

Swimming areas

Complementing infrastructure (bathrooms, café)

Other

Services

Expected ecosystem services delivered

Cultural services

Aesthetic appreciation

Recreation

Mental and physical health and wellbeing

Social and community interactions

Scale

Spatial scale

Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level

Beneficiaries

Primary Beneficiaries

Citizens or community groups

Young people and children

4. Governance and financing

Governance

Governance arrangements

Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Non-government actors

Private sector/Corporate/Business

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

The agency Sofiiski Imoti, which is funded by the Municipality of Sofia, provided funding for the project and designed the project plan. The construction was carried out by the municipal agency Sofproect and the firms Kalistratov Group Ltd., SK-13 Putstroy, and Peep Brothers Ltd.. The amphitheater was designed by the firm X2 Studio. The park was also co-funded by the EU through the fund JESSICA. (Ref. 1; Ref. 4).

Key actors - initiating organization

Local government/municipality

Land owners

Other

Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)

EU body

Local government/municipality

Private sector/corporate actor/company

Land owners

Other

Please specify other land owner

Contested land. Could be either privately owned or owned by the municipality. The municipality initiated the organisation of the project but it was contested by private landowners. There was a case in progress as of April 2016. (Ref 7)

Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used

Unknown

Please specify other landowner

Policy drivers

NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy

Yes

Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"

The project was financed through the European Union's JESSICA funding instrument. The instrument is governed by several legislative provisions, available on http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/special-support-instruments/jessica/legislation/#1
(Ref. 1)

NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan

Unknown

NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan

Unknown

Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"

The park is mentioned briefly in the Master Plan of Sofia Municipality, in the context of the measures for development of sustainable tourism through adequate use of the natural and cultural assets of Sofia Municipality. One of the measures listed is utilizing the available mineral water resources in the design of park Vozrazhdane.
(Ref. 6)

Mandatory or voluntary intervention

Unknown

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

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

General municipal plan

Please specify other vegetation type

water park, green area (Ref 8 and 9)

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

Yes

Please specify

The mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandukova, said that the project is an example of a successful collaboration between the Municipality and Sofiiski Imoti (an agency funded by the Municipality) (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

The project was funded by the Municipality and by the EU through the financial instrument JESSICA (Ref. 1).

Co-finance for NBS

Yes

Co-financing governance arrangements

Yes

Co-governance arrangement

Other

Please specify other co-financing type

The project was funded by the Municipality and by the EU through the financial instrument JESSICA (Ref. 1).

Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?

Unknown

Financing

Total cost

€2,000,000 - €4,000,000

What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?

3 069 500 euros (Ref. 2)

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)

3 069 500 euros (Ref. 2)

Source(s) of funding

EU funds

Public local authority budget

Type of fund(s) used

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

Loan

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Please specify other Business model

Improve the economical state of the region by attracting investments and new employment opportunities (Ref. 1; Ref. 3; Ref. 4)

Business models

Green densification model

Other

Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?

Public actor (e.g. municipality)

5. Innovation

Type of innovation

Technological

Infrastructural innovation

Please specify technological innovation

The infrastructure of the area was renovated and improved significantly. New meadows were created, the greenery was enriched with trees, shrubs, and flowers; new grey infrastructure was added, including alleys, decorative elements, playgrounds, lighting, an amphitheater, an irrigation system, and more. This resulted in a completely new environment which is more aesthetically appealing, cleaner, and much more suitable for recreation and rest.
(Ref. 1)

Novelty level of the innovation

Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)

Please specify novelty level of the innovation

The mayor of Sofia said that plans to build a park on the area had existed since 40 years ago. Also, Sofiiski Imoti mention that in the previous master plans of the municipality, there have been plans to build a park in the area. However, both sources have not given further details as to whether the project is copied from a previous plan (Ref. 2; Ref. 7).

Replicability/Transferability

Unknown

Please specify Replicability/Transferability

unknown

6. Evaluation and learning

Impacts, benefits

Environmental impacts

Green space and habitat

Increased green space area

Description of environmental benefits

The project restored a degraded urban area and planted around 1000 trees. (Ref. 1; Ref. 3; Ref. 4, Ref. 8)

Economic impacts

Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)

Please specify other socio-cultural impact

gov cooperation: The mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandukova, said that the project is an example of a successful collaboration between the Municipality and Sofiiski Imoti (an agency funded by the Municipality) (Ref. 7).

Description of economic benefits

8 new jobs were created (Ref. 3)

Type of reported impacts

Achieved impacts

Indicators

- The park has received many positive reviews and a high rating (4.4 out of 5) from visitors on Google Maps, based on 203 voters (Ref. 5).
- 8 new jobs were created (Ref. 3)
- There have been 7 events held in the park (Ref. 3)

Environmental, social and economic impacts

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)

Regeneration, land-use and urban development

Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Analysis of specific impact categories

Job creation: The NBS created ...

Paid employment positions

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

Yes

Please specify the negative impacts

COVID-19 pandemic

No mention found of the park, but the newly opened water park is accepting visitors. The venue’s management has, of course, announced that they will be adhering to and enforcing all the mandated and necessary epidemiological and hygienic measures as mandated by the relevant authorities, including the regular disinfection of the water park’s grounds. (Ref 8 - accessed on 8 September 2020)

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

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

Yes

Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment

Online Forum

Other

Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment

User reviews and rating of the park on Google Maps (Ref. 5).

Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation

Unknown

Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment

Unknown

7. Sources

References

Web links relevant to the intervention

Ref. 2. Article about the park

List of references

Ref. 1. Градът (2016). Парк "Възраждане". Новият парк на София. [online] available at: https://issuu.com/tcmgbg/docs/infra_br5_175dpi/37?e=19480525/40220214 [Accessed on 3 September 2020].
Ref. 2. Найденова, В. (2016). Парк "Възраждане" – новият парк на София. [online] available at: http://gradat.bg/show.php?storyid=2857992&rubrname=news [Accessed on 3 September 2020]
Ref. 3. Фонд за устойчиво градско развитие (2017). Парк „Възраждане”, гр. София, район „Възраждане”, м. „Зона Б-5-4”, кв. 1a, УПИ I и УПИ III“ – I етап на „Софийски имоти” ЕАД. [online] available at: http://www.jessicasofia.com/?act=proekti&prid=10 [Accessed on 3 September 2020]
Ref. 4. Софийски Имоти (2013). Проект „Парк Възраждане”. [online] available at: http://www.sofimoti.bg/%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B8/ [Accessed on 3 September 2020]
Ref. 5. Google (2017). Park "Vazrazhdane". All reviews. [online] available at: https://www.google.nl/maps/place/Park+%E2%80%9EVazrazhdane%E2%80%9C/@42.6949808,23.3056407,300m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m7!3m6!1s0x40aa854082667b37:0x8436de29bdbf235!2sPark+Vuzrajdane,+1303+Sofia,+Bulgaria!3b1!8m2!3d42.6951427!4d23.3071936!3m6!1s0x0:0x4a4ad0dfbcfc2393!8m2!3d42.6949259!4d23.3066931!9m1!1b1?hl=en [Updated in 2020. [Accessed on 3 September 2020]
Ref. 6. Sofproect (2014). ОБЩИНСКИ ПЛАН ЗА РАЗВИТИЕ НА СТОЛИЧНА ОБЩИНА ЗА ПЕРИОДА 2014 - 2020 г. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 7. "МИТ Прес" ООД (2016). София има нов парк - „Възраждане“. [online] available at: http://www.manager.bg/%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE/%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0-%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA-%E2%80%9E%D0%B2%D1%8A%D0%B7%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%E2%80%9C [Accessed on 3 September 2020]
Ref. 8. The Mayor (2020) Sofia’s outdoor water park "Vazrazhdane" opens its doors. Source:https://www.themayor.eu/en/sofias-outdoor-water-park-vazrazhdane-opens-its-doors [Accessed on 3 September 2020]
Ref. 9. Sofia municipality (2018). Fandakova: We expand "Vazrazhdane" Park by another 25 decare. Source: https://www.sofia.bg/web/sofia-municipality/start/-/asset_publisher/HMYVGw6PDFKh/content/fandakova-we-expand-vazrazhdane-park-by-another-25-decares-we-will-build-an-aqua-park-and-a-mineral-water-pool?inheritRedirect=false [Accessed on 3 September 2020]

Comments and notes

Comments

2017 comment:
An e-mail was sent to Sofiiski Imoti in order to ask for information about sections 1, 4, and 5.

2020 comment: no information or evidence of this interview is provided in the questionnaire.

Pictures of the NBS

/sites/default/files/nbs/images/park_vozrazhdane_fountain_picture.png

/sites/default/files/nbs/images/picture_of_park_vozrazhdane.jpg

/sites/default/files/nbs/images/picture_of_park_vozrazhdane_2.jpg

Public Images

https://www.sofia.bg/web/sofia-municipality/start/-/asset_publisher/HMYVGw6PDFKh/content/fandakova-we-expand-vazrazhdane-park-by-another-25-decares-we-will-build-an-aqua-park-and-a-mineral-water-pool?inheritRedirect=false

https://24x7.place/en/object-index-297.html