1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Wuppertal
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Utopiastadtgarten Wuppertal
Short description of the intervention
On the brownfield of an abandoned train station and its surrounding terrain, active citizens and neighbors developed Utopia town, a living lab for creative urban development, cultural and creative industries, and citizen engagement. Under the guiding principle “edible train station – edible town", next to other projects, an urban garden with organic cultivation was developed on 1,000 sqm of the terrain at the former train station Mirke as a focus area for their activities due to its favourable location in order to show that gardening is possible in urban spaces, even on balconies or terraces (Ref. 1, 2, and 3). The main building of the Utopiatown has a bar, a concert venue, a food sharing station, and a free bicycle lending service that is operated by volunteers. (Ref. 9). Gardening workshops that are offered to citizens with little experience of gardening are planned to be further extended with seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3). Since its beginning, the area of the “utopia town” has grown rapidly and is now providing opportunities for multidisciplinary academic research. (Ref. 12)
Address

Train station Mirke / Mirker Str. 48
42105 Wuppertal
Germany

Total area
4000.00m²
NBS area
1000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2010
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2011
End date of the intervention
ongoing
Present stage of the intervention
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
Further initiatives are planned, such as workshops for citizens and a collaboration with schools.
Goals of the intervention
Illustrate how easy urban gardening is and its possibilities on private property such as balconies or terraces (Ref. 3)
Knowledge transfer and capacity building about seeding, growing and harvesting of herbs, vegetables and fruits to interested citizens and students. (Ref. 3)
Establishing the base for open, fair, biological and useful gardening in an urban context (Ref. 2)
Provide a forum for ideation, discussion and testing of urban gardening practices (Ref. 3)
Sustainable production and consumption: Illustrate alternatives to conventional urban green spaces and brownfields, empower and promote the reconquest of urban nature in communal efforts. Set an example for large-scale sustainable production. Encouraging sustainable consumption with the foodsharing initiative, where people bring their food that they do not need at home. (Ref. 3, 9)
Transforming the area of the train station into a recreational area where citizens can meet, attend cultural events or exercise using the free bicycle lending service. (Ref. 3)
Social cohesion and interaction: creating opportunities for people with different backgrounds to interact. (Ref. 11)
Quantitative targets
The free bicycle lending service provides opportunities for recreation for citizens regardless of their financial situation. (Ref. 9)
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Please specify "other Type of NBS project"
Sustainable production and consumption: Illustrate alternatives to conventional urban green spaces and brownfields, empower and promote the reconquest of urban nature in communal efforts. Set an example for large-scale sustainable production. Encouraging sustainable consumption with the foodsharing initiative, where people bring their food that they do not need at home. (Ref. 3, 9); show that gardening is possible in urban spaces, even on balconies or terraces (Ref. 1, 2, and 3).
Implementation activities
A part of the local urban gardening movement in Wuppertal has determined the former train station Mirke as a focus area for their activities due to its favourable location. Under the guiding principle “edible train station – edible town” and with the help of interested citizens, a barrier-free urban garden on 1,000 sqm was created. (Ref. 9)
An area formerly used as a dump was redeveloped and wild vegetation removed. Next to allotments, buckets and rice bags where potatoes, beans, topinambur and herbs are grown, a recreational area is developed with seating and a pond for amphibians. Furthermore, the staircase to the train station and the surface areas of the outdoor gastronomy were greened with edible flowers and herbs that can be tested by pedestrians. Gardening workshops are already offered to citizens with little experience that require assistance and guidance and are planned to be further extended with seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3).
A foodsharing station was also created to where people bring the food that they do not need at home. (Ref. 9) In the main building of the former train station, a bar, a concert venue and a free bicycle lending service was created and is operated by volunteers. (Ref. 9)
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Balcony greens
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Community gardens and allotments
Allotments
Community gardens
Blue infrastructure
Lakes/ponds
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
unspecified, however: ' a barrier-free urban garden on 1,000 sqm was created. ' (Ref. 9)
Vegetation Type
Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS
Foodsharing station (Ref. 9); free bicycle lending service was created and is operated by volunteers. (Ref. 9)
Gardening workshops are already offered to citizens with little experience that require assistance and guidance and are planned to be further extended with seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3).
Please specify "other marginalized group"
amphibians (globally endangered due to climate change) (Ref 3)
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Raw materials
Regulating services
Pollination
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Recreation
Mental and physical health and wellbeing
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Physical and experiential interactions with plants and animals
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Please specify "other primary beneficiary"
people with different backgrounds (Ref. 11)
seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3)
amphibians. (Ref 3)
pedestrians (Ref 3)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Citizens or community groups
Other
Please specify other non-government actors involved
two citizens of Wuppertal (Ref 1, 2, 3, 4)
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
In 2011, two citizens of Wuppertal decided to re-develop the area into the Utopiatown from donations. 2014 the charitable association Förderverein Utopiastadt e.V. was founded to take care of the administration of donations and the communication of the project. 2015, this association founded a limited liability company with the two project initiators as managing directors, in order to be able to lease the property from the local savings bank who is the official owner. Citizens are involved as volunteers, helpers and co-creators of new urban spaces. In the wider programme that contains more modules in addition to the urban gardening project, designers, artists, people from the creative industries (as residents and in co-working spaces) as well as researchers are involved (Ref. 1, 2, 3 and 4).
Key actors - initiating organization
Land owners
Please specify other Key actors - Other stakeholders involved
The local bank is also to be mentioned.
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Regional government
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Financial institution
Researchers/university
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Please specify other land owner
the local savings bank who is the official owner of the land (Ref. 1, 2, 3 and 4).
Please specify other landowner
this association founded a limited liability company with the two project initiators as managing directors (since they started the initiative in order to be able to lease the property from the local savings bank who is the official owner (Ref. 1, 2, 3 and 4).
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"
There is a city district wide programme called city redevelopment Wuppertal whose objective is making historic city districts more attractive and strengthen existing positive features. It targets the creation of new or redeveloped playground and open spaces, the rehabiliation of shops and commercial spaces as well as creative citizen involvement projects for children and youth. All of these measures are implemented under the umbrella of an integrated action concept (Ref. 6).
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
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
There is a city district wide programme called city redevelopment Wuppertal whose objective is making historic city districts more attractive and strengthen existing positive features. It targets the creation of new or redeveloped playground and open spaces, the rehabiliation of shops and commercial spaces as well as creative citizen involvement projects for children and youth. All of these measures are implemented under the umbrella of an integrated action concept (Ref. 6).
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Please specify other vegetation type
an urban garden with organic cultivation; gardening (Ref. 1, 2, and 3)
growing and harvesting of herbs, vegetables and fruits (Ref. 3)
open, fair, biological and useful gardening in an urban context (Ref. 2)
alternatives to conventional urban green spaces and brownfields; urban nature (Ref. 3, 9)
wild vegetation removed; a pond for amphibians; edible flowers and herbs (Ref 3)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
There is a charitable association called "Montag Foundation Urban Spaces" founded in 2005, located in Bonn which receives funds from the Carld Richard Montag charitable foundation. As carrier of the relevant programme "new neighbourhoods", their objective is the development of an equitable and equal society in urban spaces based on the development of socially, functionally and designwise diverse quarters and ownership of citizens. It serves as a network and forum, which also involves the Utopia town initiative, for seeking advice on day to day business and experienced barriers. It works in partnership with public institutions and the private sector in order to promote active civil society and co-creation of urban spaces (Ref. 7).
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Since 2011, Utopiatown has created a living lab which allows for experimentation and concretization of utopias and ideas. The focus is on visionary ideas, fundamental considerations about society, the creation of local and regional projects and the networking of creatives, the industry and society. In 2014, Utopia town was admitted to the EU research and network project "SEiSMiC". (Research project, Reference 11) Next to these empirical research labs, a transdisciplinary co-research group was founded in 2016 by Utopiatown in collaboration with TransZent due to rising interest on behalf of students and researchers to investigate Utopiatown scientifically and the need to fill data gaps concerning integrated quarter management in the interest of the research institute "transformation research and sustainability (TransZent)" of the university of Wupperat in collbaration with the Wuppertal Institute (Ref. 4 and 8).

Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The regional government of NRW has granted funds amounting to 3 Mio EUR (80 percent of the total costs) for the redevelpment of the former train station for the city of Wuppertal, more specifically the regional ministry for construction, living, urban development and traffic funds the project via the programme "taking initiative. Citizens make the town" (Ref. 1, 11). It is a programme that supports urban redevelopment and regeneration projects coming out of the citizens' ranks. It targets civic society groups and local partners which aim at fostering citizen engagement and co-creation of space (Ref. 5). 10 percent of the total costs are borne by the city of Wuppertal, the remaining 10 percent are borne by the association (Ref. 1, 11).
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
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?
3,750,000 (Ref 1, 5, 11)
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
100,000 (Ref 1, 5, 11)
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
3.75 Mio EUR are the total costs for the renovation and redevelopment of the former train station, while the maintenance costs are said to be 100,000. 80 percent of the costs are borne by the regional government of NRW, 10 percent are borne by the city of Wuppertal and the remaining 10 percent are borne by the association. In addition donations from local businesses and gathered through fundraising are used (Ref. 1 5, and 11).
Please specify other source of funding
The local savings bank is the owner of the former train station which is under monumental protection and its land. The Utopiatown which founded a limited liability company leases the space for 100,000 EUR which was prefinanced by the bank. However, only 50,000 EUR were used due to the high amount of volunteering which will need to be repaid to the bank before the property is transferred to the company (Ref. 1).
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Please specify other Business model
Utopiatown has created a living lab which allows for experimentation and concretization of utopias and ideas. The focus is on visionary ideas, fundamental considerations about society, the creation of local and regional projects and the networking of creatives, the industry and society. (Ref 4 and 8)
Business models
Please specify other environmental impact
Increase of sustainable production and consumption in the city (Ref. 3)
Sustainable consumption and production: vegetables, fruits and herbs are grown on individual allotments and communally, harvests can be taken home or shared (Ref. 3)
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Please specify social innovation
The project perceives itself as a creative cluster and an incubator for creative urban development since Utopiatown is a space where utopias are continuously created and tested. It is a self-directed, civic society efforts that reflects taking over responsibility and owernships for what happens in urban spaces, in response to dwindling financial resources and founding of public authorities for creative industries and cultural initiatives (Ref. 1 and 2)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
What sets the project Utopiatown apart from other initiatives is its unequalled diversity and quantity of citizen-driven, cultural and volunteering projects happening in parallel in the quarter of the former train station in the Northern part of Wuppertal (Ref. 4).
Replicability/Transferability
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Description of environmental benefits
Regeneration, land-use and urban development: Utopiatown supports alternative creative redesign and redevelopment of urban spaces driven by its citizens. The regeneration of the derelict former train station represents the output of their efforts (Ref. 1, 2 and 3) Sustainable consumption and production: vegetables, fruits and herbs are grown on individual allotments and communally, harvests can be taken home or shared (Ref. 3)

Utopiatown has united many citizens with the same goal but different motivations to practice urban gardening. Some are seeking merely social exchange and communal activities, others consider the peak-oil consequences and want to support a movement that prevents food from being shipped all around the globe, again others care about the origins of their food and want to be independent of large food producers. The project managed to channel the different motivations in a common citizen-driven project (Ref. 3)
Please specify other socio-cultural impact
citizen engagement: What sets the project Utopiatown apart from other initiatives is its unequalled diversity and quantity of citizen-driven, cultural and volunteering projects happening in parallel in the quarter of the former train station in the Northern part of Wuppertal (Ref. 4).

Description of economic benefits
The project perceives itself as a creative cluster and an incubator for creative urban development since Utopiatown is a space where utopias are continuously created and tested. It is a self-directed, civic society efforts that reflects taking over responsibility and owernships for what happens in urban spaces, in response to dwindling financial resources and founding of public authorities for creative industries and cultural initiatives (Ref. 1 and 2)
agricultural production: vegetables, fruits and herbs are grown on individual allotments and communally, harvests can be taken home or shared (Ref. 3)
Description of social and cultural benefits
Social cohesion: Utopiatown has united many citizens with the same goal but different motivations to practice urban gardening. Some are seeking merely social exchange and communal activities, others consider the peak-oil consequences and want to support a movement that prevents food from being shipped all around the globe, again others care about the origins of their food and want to be independent of large food producers. The project managed to channel the different motivations in a common citizen-driven project (Ref. 3) The free cultural events, concerts taking place at the former train station also provide opportunities for social interaction. The free bicycle lending service provides opportunities for recreation for citizens regardless of their financial situation. (Ref. 9) The project also contributes to greater awareness about urban gardening (Ref. 9), and supports scientific research. (Ref. 11) The food-sharing service offers free food for citizens and thus increases the availability of free food, while the urban gardening project increases access to healthy food. (Ref. 9)

citizen engagement: What sets the project Utopiatown apart from other initiatives is its unequaled diversity and quantity of citizen-driven, cultural and volunteering projects happening in parallel in the quarter of the former train station in the Northern part of Wuppertal (Ref. 4).

education:
Since 2011, Utopiatown has created a living lab which allows for experimentation and concretization of utopias and ideas. The focus is on visionary ideas, fundamental considerations about society, the creation of local and regional projects and the networking of creatives, the industry and society. In 2014, Utopia town was admitted to the EU research and network project "SEiSMiC". (Research project, Reference 11) Next to these empirical research labs, a transdisciplinary co-research group was founded in 2016 by Utopiatown in collaboration with TransZent due to rising interest on behalf of students and researchers to investigate Utopiatown scientifically and the need to fill data gaps concerning integrated quarter management in the interest of the research institute "transformation research and sustainability (TransZent)" of the university of Wupperat in collbaration with the Wuppertal Institute (Ref. 4 and 8).


Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Please specify other method used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
The project perceives itself as a creative cluster and an incubator for creative urban development since Utopiatown is a space where utopias are continuously created and tested. It is a self-directed, civic society efforts that reflects taking over responsibility and owernships for what happens in urban spaces, in response to dwindling financial resources and founding of public authorities for creative industries and cultural initiatives (Ref. 1 and 2)
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
In September 2020, there the usual activities of the park are working. Events, including concerts, are also held but with collection of details for contact tracing and compulsory masks. (Ref. 10)
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
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
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown; however the project perceives itself as a creative cluster and an incubator for creative urban development since Utopiatown is a space where utopias are continuously created and tested. It is a self-directed, civic society efforts that reflects taking over responsibility and owernships for what happens in urban spaces, in response to dwindling financial resources and founding of public authorities for creative industries and cultural initiatives (Ref. 1 and 2)
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
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Apart from the communal gardening, there are several regular meetings and events in which everybody is invited to join to discuss, exchange ideas and support construction activities for garden accessories. Naturally, in these events feedback about the satisfaction, opinions of involved citizens is given (Ref. 3).
The project perceives itself as a creative cluster and an incubator for creative urban development since Utopiatown is a space where utopias are continuously created and tested. It is a self-directed, civic society efforts that reflects taking over responsibility and owernships for what happens in urban spaces, in response to dwindling financial resources and founding of public authorities for creative industries and cultural initiatives (Ref. 1 and 2)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Yes
Please specify
Since it is an experimental lab that places great value on trial and error, failure are recognized, potential reasons discussed and based on that, improvements are made and tested again (Ref. 1 and 4).
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Yes
Please specify
Since it is an experimental lab that places great value on trial and error, failure are recognized, potential reasons discussed and based on that, improvements are made and tested again (Ref. 1 and 4).
References
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
impression_of_the_former_train_station.pdf (904.8 KB) 904.8 KB
impression_of_the_urban_gardening_project.pdf (109.08 KB) 109.08 KB
List of references
1. Montag Stiftung Urbane Räume (2017) Utopiastadt Wuppertal. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

2. Utopiastadt (nd.) Utopiastadt ist ein kreativer Cluster. [online]. Available at: https://www.wuppertal.de/microsite/kulturtrasse2017/mirke/utopia_stadt/102370100000775509.php [Accessed: 15 Sept. 2020].

3. Utopiastadt (2017) Utopiastadtgarten. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

4. Utopiastadt (2017) Utopiastadt Empirische Forschung. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

5. Montag Stiftung Urbane Räume (2017) Glossar. Initiative ergreifen. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

6. Stadt Wuppertal (no date) Stadtumbau West Elberfelder Nordstadt/Arrenberg. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

7. Montag Stiftung Urbane Räume (2017) Montag Stiftung Urbane Räume. Chancengerechtigkeit vor Ort gestalten. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

8. Utopiastadt (2017) Coforschung. [Weblink unavailable in 2020]

9. Montag Stiftungen. (nd.) Utopiastadt, Wuppertal – aus der Beispielsammlung Immovielen. [online]. Available at: https://www.montag-stiftungen.de/service/medien/utopiastadt-wuppertal-aus-der-beispielsammlung-immovielen [Accessed: 19 Sept. 2020].

10. Clownfisch.eu. (2020). Utopiastadt Lounge | Samstag 26. September 2020 | 18:30. [online]. Available at: https://clownfisch.eu/utopia-lounge-freitag-28-august-2020-1830/ [Accessed: 19 Sept. 2020].

11. Netzwerk Immovielien (nd.) Utopiastadt Wuppertal. [online]. Accessed: https://www.netzwerk-immovielien.de/immovielien/utopiastadt-wuppertal-2/#skip [Available at: 19 Sept. 2020].
Comments and notes
Public Images
Image
The former train station
The former train station
greenclubindex.de
Image
The garden workshop
The garden workshop
Reference 11