Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme

The 'Painting The Town Green' project worked in urban and suburban areas of Medway, Swale and Thanet. They improved or created green spaces in these areas, adding color and enhancing biodiversity together with locals from many different backgrounds. They specifically worked with schools, nurseries and community groups to improve neglected environments. The project aimed to increase participants' well-being as well as leaving improved spaces for local communities to enjoy (ref. 1).

Birkenhead Park is one of the most important public parks in Britain. It is registered Grade I in English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. In 2002 to 2007, funding was made available to restore the park, and now in 2017 a master plan aims to further “enhance and secure” the park. (Ref. 1, 2, 3). Birkenhead park is considered the first publicly funded park in the world, and not only holds the Grade I in English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest award but also the Green Flag award. (Ref 6, 7, 8)

The 'Painting the Town Green' project got to work with Blossoms Day Nursery, based at Wayfield Primary School. Working with parents of the two-year-olds who attend the nursery, they added more wildlife-friendly areas to the outdoor play space. The grounds are now home to colorful planters hung on the low fences, filled with bulbs which will flower in the Spring, and topped with miniature firs and winter pansies; a beehive-shaped compost bin. All of these things provide rich wildlife habitats and educational opportunities (Ref 1, 4).

The Center for Initiatives for an Ecological Transition (CITE ASBL) developed an eco-center; a center of demonstration of the techniques respectful of the environment, that functions as an educational community garden. They wanted to create an ecologically-managed and user-friendly green space, that is conducive to the exchange of knowledge and skills but also to mutual aid and dialogue (Ref. 1). Located on the meadow of the Bâneux, in the Saint-léonard district of Liège, the eco-center is integrated in the eastern part of the slopes of the citadel of Liège. (The plot of the eco-center is located on the vestiges of the old coal mine of Bâneux that was closed in 1942.) .Characteristics of the place include proximity to a multicultural urban center, post-industrial environment, accessible by public transport, natural area of tourist interest (Ref. 2).

The Natural Park of Collserola (about 8,000 ha) is a forested area in the hilly Northern fringes of Barcelona. Since 1987, Collserola has been managed under a special protection plan and forms part of the European FEDENATUR network that aims at protected fragile peri-urban ecosystem for both their social and ecological functions. The park is jointly managed by a consortium including the Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya), the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona), the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) as well as all adjacent municipalities (Ref 1).

The gardens of the Rambla de Sants is an elevated linear park (similar to the High line of New York) located in the Sants district of Barcelona (760 meters long and about 6 ha size). It is located over the structure of train and metro lines. It was opened to the public in August of 2016. The gardens include mainly native plantations, playground areas, and other facilities (Ref. 2).

Fil vert aims to help green the streets in Normandy and raise awareness among citizens of the importance of being an actor of their daily life with regard to the occupation of public space. They aim to "embellish our streets, which are often devoid of vegetation, but also to train responsible citizens" (Ref. 7). "Operation "Fil Vert" was launched at Croix de Pierre (District) in Rouen in September 2013 to beautify and revitalize the district by mobilizing residents and tradespeople. It aims of installing planters in front of the inhabitants and the merchants (subject to obtaining the agreement of the owners in case of hiring), along the pavements, provided that it makes at least 1.40 M width to allow strollers and wheelchairs to pass." (Ref. 3)

The city of Rouen has been redeveloping the docks of the Seine River over a number of years. The Prairie Saint Sever (park) is one part of this redevelopment planning. Completed in 2017, this park "allows its inhabitants to reclaim their river and offer new spaces of use" (Ref. 5) with "generous alleys lined with six hundred trees, cycle paths, original children's games, metal slides grafted to the stairs of the Jeanne-d'Arc bridge, picnic benches and tables, wooden deckchairs encouraging reading or idleness, sports apparatus and rollerblading equipment ... today, Rouen residents can enjoy a walking park of twenty-three hectares and more than three kilometers long, between the Corneille bridge and the Rollet peninsula" (Ref. 6).
It is a prairie in the heart of the city offering a large river walk on more than 3km (Ref. 2).

The FUTURE - a project of 100,000 trees in the Porto Metropolitan Area - is a planned and coordinated effort of various organizations and citizens to create and maintain native urban forests in this region, which needs to enrich its biodiversity, sequester carbon, improve quality of air, protect their soil and contribute to a better quality of life for regional people. The 100,000 Trees Project for the Porto Metropolitan Area” intends to restore 100 hectares of urban forest with native trees. (1, 2)

The Green Corridor Bernetal developing on the site of the former sewerage system will link the downtown of Essen with the districts of Altenessen and Freiräumen in the North of the city. New green and blue infrastructure will be introduced along the modernized way available also for pedestrians and cyclists. The project is developed along with the city policy towards environmental regeneration of the Emscher region (Ref. 1).