1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Zürich
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Platzspitz Park
Short description of the intervention
It is one of the most famous parks in the city. A re-design is offering the opportunity to make use of the full potential of the place and to put it back into the public’s focus – as a place for recreation, a park, a promenade and Zurich’s very own, most central urban park. An urban square was formed, representing generosity and offering space for multiple functions. A gateway from park to courtyard during the daytime, the mirroring water surfaces of the illuminated pools, and the annex’s reflecting façade create the atmosphere of a grotto at night (Ref 1).
Address

Park Platzspitz
8006 Zürich
Switzerland

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Public Greenspace Area
Website of the intervention
https://www.vogt-la.com/en/project/swiss-national-museum-zurich
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2007
End date of the intervention
2016
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
• Increase urban green space.
• Increase access to visitors.
• Making it attractive to visitors.
• Creating new habitats for some species.
• Creating space for leisure.
• Revive the artificial lakes/pools (Ref 1).
Quantitative targets
Surface area: 19 000m2 (Ref. 1)
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of new trees planted, number of people visiting the area (Ref 1,2)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Create new habitats
Implementation activities
• With the construction of the new annexe building, the museum’s main entrance will be moved. An urban square will be formed, representing generosity and offering more green space. Cobblestones are inserted into an asphalt surface, being visible like inclusions. The continuous surface visually connects the different open spaces. The existing trees are completed to an avenue. Thus, a shady and atmospheric passage from city to park is created, offering areas for passage, long and short rest with comfortable furniture. The Garden Courtyard, occurring due to the new annexe, is characterized by a minimalistic design. With only few, distinctive elements, like a single tree and two pools, it sets the stage for the park. (Ref 1)
Type of NBS project
Maintenance and management of urban nature
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
Shrubs
Trees
Garden beds
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Benches and drinking water stations
Playgrounds
Cultural (museum, concert areas)
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups
Marginalized groups
Elderly people
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 area belongs to the Zurich Museum authority and the project is being implemented by Eidgenössisches Bundesamt für Bauten und Logistik (Ref 1)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-management/Joint management
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
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Environmental regulation
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
Stadt-Zurich and The Zurich Museum Authority (Ref 1)
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
No
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
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)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The park has been restructured to make the place more green and attractive to the citizens. New infrastructures like fencing, seats, pathway connecting different parts of the park have been installed. Several new trees have been planted in the park. The old infrastructures have been rebuilt to make it more user-friendly (Ref 1)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Reduced biodiversity loss
Description of environmental benefits
1. The intervention included protection and restoration of the park, which also protected the species present and help in reducing biodiversity loss.
2. The park hosts some very old trees including oak which are very good in carbon storage and improving the local air quality. The other old trees are also very helpful in improving the local climate (Ref 2).
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Safety
Increased perception of safety
Decreased crime rates
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Protection of natural heritage
Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
Description of social and cultural benefits
1. From the mid-1980s the Platzspitz gained notoriety as the “Needle Park”. The open drug scene made it impossible to use the Platzspitz as a recreational facility. The intervention turned the misused park into a family-friendly space for the locals to use.
2. The park has preserved the historic, cultural infrastructure (200 years old) and natural landscape of the place. The facility was redesigned in a landscape style and decorated with small buildings. The bandstand is the last relic of those small buildings. This helped in preserving the memory and identity of the park's history.
3. Restoration also included a reduction of the crime rates (drug dealing) in the park and provided the visitors with a secure atmosphere (Ref 1, 2).
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Number of trees planted, reduced air pollution, number of visitors(Ref 1)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
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 August, 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Conduct a baseline survey before and after NBS implementation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Interviews
Questionnaire surveys / online surveys
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
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
Focus Group
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Visitors or tourists are asked questions on their satisfaction level with the new implementations and suggestions on improvements (Ref 3)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
List of references
1. Platzspitz reconstruction project. VOGT. Available at: https://www.vogt-la.com/en/project/swiss-national-museum-zurich-0. Accessed on 3rd August, 2020.
2. The Needle Park. Available at: http://picturesandperspectives.blogspot.hu/2009/04/switzerland-platzspitz-or-needle-park.html. Accessed on 3rd August, 2020
3. Platzspitz Park. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platzspitz_park. Accessed on 3rd August, 2020.

Comments and notes
Public Images
Platzspitz Park
Platzspitz Park
© VOGT / Giuseppe Micciché, provided 26/10/2018