General municipal plan

Recovered section of gardens along the banks of the Guadalquavir river, from the Bridge del Cachorro to the Alamillo Park. The area was originally built up for the International Exposition of Sevilla of 1992 and it was abandoned after the event. The area has been recovered by the city and transformed into a park with a series of gardens and pedestrian walk ways along the river. (Ref 1-3) During the 16 years of closure, the flora kept on growing and was rehabilitated during the process of the intervention. The plan also sought to recover the historical gardens of La Cartuja and incorporate them into the garden network of the Paseo de la Ribera. (Ref 2,3)

Rehabilitation project of the Ranillas stream and its surrounding area, as part of the larger city project to rehabilitate the waterways connected to the Guadalquivir River. The project included transforming the covered canal into a green corridor connecting the Tamarguillo Park with the Infanta Elena Park. It sought to build pedestrian walkways, leisure spaces, lengthen the bike lanes, increase tree cover, and restructure the covering of the canal. (Ref 1-6)

Reconstruction is occurring in the Norra Stationsområdet area in the City of Stockholm, creating the city district Hagastaden (Haga City). In Haga City, an elongated hourglass-shaped park will be created called The Northern Station Park (sv. Norra Stationsparken). The park will run through the northern inner city from Torsplan and Hagaplan in the west to Norrtull in the east, and it is one of Stockholm's largest park initiatives. The first part of the new Norra Stationsparken in Hagastaden was to be inaugurated in September 2019 and the rest of the park is expected to be completed in 2024 (Ref. 1, 2, 8, 9).

Fornebu used to be Norway’s main airport, but was abandoned in 1998. The Fornebu project aimed to restore the 340 ha site in order to provide a sustainable, multi-use built environment with sustainable drainage systems and other green infrastructure in focus. The site now consists of residential and industrial buildings with a focus on green space and natural storm water management, involving the use of open and natural water retention methods, including swales, filter strips, permeable surfaces, detention basins and retention ponds (Ref. 1).

The El Patriarca Park aims to rehabilitate and restore 60 hectares of land for ecological benefits and recreational purposes for the inhabitants of Cordoba (Ref.1,3,4,6). It takes place on a site with distinct areas, including a holm-oak forest with Mediterranean scrubland of extraordinary environmental value. This NBS is an effort to protect natural values, erase the traces of urbanization attempts of the seventies, and repair damages caused by human action (Ref. 6). Implementation of the project is expected to start in early 2021 (Ref. 6).

A recovered green area next to the Guadaira river, it opened as a park in 2014 (Ref 6). In its planning it reconciles the historical use of the river to power the historic mill and its new use as a green corridor on the Eastern part of the city. Its large dimension allows it to fulfill the quadruple ecological, landscape, leisure, and non-motorized mobility dimensions. (Ref 4,5,6). The park was officially inaugurated but it continues to face challenges. In 2007 the economic crisis led to construction being stopped and the budget of the park cut from 23.8 million euro. Construction was started and the budget re-established at 17.2 million in 2011. (Ref 5)

‘Slussen and a new water regulation plan for Lake Mälaren’ is part of the rebuilding of the city district Slussen (The Slussen Project) (Ref. 1). In connection with the rebuilding of Slussen, SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute) was in 2007 commissioned by Stockholm City to review and propose a new regulatory strategy for the lake Mälaren (Ref. 2). A new regulation prevents floods, reducing the risk of saltwater entering the lake, benefiting the natural environment around Mälaren. Further effects will also benefit the ecosystem of the lake (Ref. 3).

A citizen initiative to transform a derelict urban area into a park. From 1987 the park's construction was left abandoned until in 1993 when over 80 citizen committees from the area organized themselves to start cleaning and reforestation activities in the park (ref 5,7). The sum of their efforts included reforestation, the creation of a community garden, and the redesign of watering systems for the park. (ref 5,6,7)

Oslo municipality is underway with the large-scale project of opening up rivers that previously were running in underground pipes. Alna Environmental Park is a part of this project and includes major transformation and environmental upgrade of the river Alna. The Environmental Park runs along the river and has transformed grey structures to accessible parks and recreation areas and now acts as an important resource for Oslo's citizens. Central aims of the project are to improve the self-cleaning ability of Alna, while maintaining biodiversity in the region and to inspire future urban development. (Ref. 1, 3)

The park was designed to simulate a Mediterranean forest with 18 native species of Mediterranean flora. The water is being reused in order to avoid the depletion of aquifers (Ref. 1). Ecological vegetable gardens were created destined to community horticulture workshops organized by the city council (Ref. 2 and 3). The park was awarded a special prize in environmental Justice in 2010 by the Biodiversity Foundation through the "Life + European Capitals of Biodiversity"(Ref. 7 and 8), as a project that promotes environmental protection and social integration in the city. The inauguration of the park took place in 2007"(Ref. 1)