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The Green Axis is a belt of green areas and parks that stretches all the way from the Public Library of Bergen to The National Stage. It entails several parks, including Byparken, Ole Bulls Place, Logebakken, The Theatre Park and King Olav the 5th's Place. The Green Axis holds several culturally important buildings, statues, and landmarks. This green oasis in the heart of the city provides habitat for species and increases well-being for the citizens of Bergen. (Ref. 1, 2) The area is continuously upgraded with high maintenance standards. (Ref. 5)

The vertical gardens were installed on a property whose two street-facing facades are almost entirely covered with layered greenery. The building is a mini-lung and an example of sustainability for the city, keeping the principles of a living habitat and a relationship with the outside, assuming a revitalizing urban role. Its walls are completely covered with vegetation, creating a vertical garden, with around 4500 plants. (ref.3, 1)The architect who designed the property was originally commissioned to transform an old building but serious structural problems meant the building had to be demolished, and with the chance to start from scratch, considerations for a more radical design began. (1)

In September 2011, a new eco-friendly student village ‘The Green’ opened to students at the University of Bradford. The new eco-village "The Green" has been designed to incorporate a range of features to enable students to live in a more sustainable way. It is part of a broader sustainability initiative by the University of Bradford called 'ecoversity' and its development is clustered around a pond, which is a part of a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDs). The Urban Pond/biodiversity pond – at The Green increases the biodiversity of the site. The site has been designed and landscaped with nature in mind, consisting of grassed areas, a wildflower border, shrubberies and native trees. (ref 3) The £30.4million development was the first multi-residential building in the UK - and one of only 15 buildings worldwide (ref 7).

Nygård Park is an old, large park in central Bergen that has been undergoing transformation since 2014, as the park had degraded over the years and had been heavily used by drug users (Ref. 6). The restored park serves to act as a natural meeting place in the city, consisting of green areas, a pond, playgrounds, flower beds, an amphitheater, walkways and much more. The restored park retains its traditional British design, and also includes a more universal character allowing for more users of the park and facilitating access to the different parts of the park. (Ref. 1, 2).

A multi-sensory garden designed and built especially for people with dementia and their carers has been opened in Doncaster at St. Catherine's mental health hospital. The Garden is the result of multiple charities and organisations coming together to push the project forward. The aim was to create a stimulating, relaxing and safe environment for people living with dementia, as well as their carers, to enjoy. The garden has been designed to be multi-sensory to prompt memory recall by appealing to senses such as sight, smell, touch, sound and even taste that come with the different seasons (Ref 1 & 2).

Marks & Spencer transformed its Newcastle city centre store on Northumberland Street into one of the most eco-friendly in the north-east. (1) The striking development to the store includes various eco-features including the installation of a green living wall to improve the insulation of the building encourage biodiversity and improve customer experience (2, 3). The project also fits into Newcastle City Council's intention to transform Northumberland Street, and its surrounding area, into a European-leading retail destination (9)

Vine Court is a student residential complex located at the heart of the University’s city campus. It is equipped with both green and brown roofs, providing environmentally friendly habitats for local flora and fauna, utilizing local plant mixes and building material rubble from the excavated site. (Reference 2). It is at the forefront of sustainable residential development in the UK higher education sector and it was built to a high standard of sustainable design and energy performance. In addition to the eco-technologies incorporated into the structure, the brickwork includes built-in nest boxes for swifts and bats. It has been awarded a design stage BREEAM Excellent certification (Reference 1).

Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century and is on UNESCO's list of the world's cultural heritage. For about 30 years, large amounts of groundwater leaked, threatening the survival of the ancient site. In order to address this, sustainable water treatment and climate adaptation measures (involving the largest rain garden of Norway, swales etc.) at Bryggen were used to restore the water balance at Bryggen. (Ref. 1)

This NBS is part of a strategy of urban development including social, economic and urban dimensions, aiming at implementing green streams within and between neighbourhoods to enhance the liveability of the area. The main project is the “Green Stream”, which embeds a new vision of urban infrastructures meant as urban and environmental regeneration, by creating public green spaces. The East area of the city hosts a green flux of green corridors, parks, as well as cultural spots, sports facilities and recreation. It is highlighted the social value of this project in terms of creation of public sustainable spaces (Ref.4)

"On June 1st 2017, Saint-Etienne Métropole officially committed itself to the implementation of measures to promote the circulation of wildlife between the different green spaces with important biodiversity in its territory" (Ref. 3). "Saint-Etienne Métropole has signed with 13 partners a new contract called "green and blue". It is a new blue and green framework for the whole territory, a regulatory tool for the protection of biodiversity" (Ref. 2). "It aims to continue and reinforce the actions already undertaken with a transversal and urban dimension" (Ref. 2).