Increased appreciation for natural spaces

At the primary school Laterna Magica, a green rainproof playground was created that is effective in stormwater retention, reduces soil erosion, supports biodiversity and provides education possibilities for the children. The playground consists of bioswales, terraces, diverse and pollen-rich vegetation and a vegetable garden. (1,2)

The Garden Janine (formerly called Jardin Nouveau) group is participating in the "Aix en Transition" initiative, which wants to increase food and energy resilience in order to better prepare for the future. This group initiated and supported the establishment of a vegetable garden benefiting homeless people, hosted in the Humanitarian Division of the "Jas de Bouffan" district (Ref. 1). A garden was previously cultivated on the area, but had become dilapidated. In 2019, much of the area was repurposed as an orchard as the vegetable garden was deemed to require too much continual presence/labour (Ref. 6).

The Knowledge Mile Park initiative in Amsterdam aims to transform the long, busy and traffic-heavy street in downtown Amsterdam into an environment greener, more sustainable and more livable through the implementation on various Nature-based Solutions (9). Smaller projects include the creation and maintenance of pocket parks, green walls and facades, green roofs and living labs. The idea of the initiative came from the Knowledge Mile Community that aims at making Amsterdam more green, clean and smart by means of innovative solutions regarding air quality, climate change resilience, biodiversity and social cohesion. (1) municipality of Amsterdam and the business investment zone BIZ Knowledge Mile are working together with partners on the realization of the project (9)
The project is still ongoing, although parts of the Knowledge Mile Park are already created in 2016 including one living lab, two green roofs, a green canopy and a pocket park and other parts are planned such as the smart green wall (1)

The first external green wall in Lublin was installed at the University of Natural Sciences in September 2015, and it was later followed by two smaller installations inside and outside in 2017 [5]. Apart from their decorative and aesthetical functions, the walls serve educational and research purposes, as the suitability of the chosen plants for the Polish climate conditions will be evaluated for similar urban projects in the country. Finally, the project promotes urban greenery and certain offsetting for grey infrastructure [1, 2, 3, 5].

Community Garden Trompenburg was initiated by one citizen who mobilized his neighbours to create a garden in which organic crops can grow. The garden promotes social cohesion and equity within the neighbourhood because citizens, as well as disadvantaged groups and children, work together on the maintenance of the garden. Furthermore, sustainable food production is promoted and taught to interested parties in the form of workshops. (1,3,7)

It is the most extensive green roof in Lublin, designed to cover 16,700 square meters rooftop area of the shopping mall 'Castle Terraces' (Tarasy Zamkowe). Its purpose is to serve as a green recreational area for relaxation and public events, as well as an ecological solution for heat mitigation and water retention. The roof is divided into two parts: 1) an area accessible to the public with flower meadows, walking paths, viewing points from which the visitors can see Lublin’s old town 2) ‘intensive cultivation area’ with endemic trees, bushes and succulents which are not directly accessible to the public [1,2,3,8].

Appletree is an outdoor community resource, where people of all ages and from all walks of life, get together to grow e.g. fruit, and contribute to developing and maintaining the area. The growing space and garden are divided into different areas, offering a range of gardening experience. The community also contributes to their permaculture, wildlife and wildflower areas. The community is constantly planting and regenerating areas of the garden. (Ref. 1)

The Connswater Community Greenway has created a 9km linear park project in East Belfast following the course of the Connswater, Knock and Loop Rivers, connecting the open and green spaces. As part of the project the Connswater River will be cleaned and brought back to life. The Greenway will create attractive, safe and accessible parkland for recreation and community activities. The project will improve the quality of life for the people of east Belfast as a whole new greener environment will emerge. (Ref1)

Connswater Community Greenway is a visionary urban regeneration project that is transforming East Belfast by combining improved flood protection with the creation of public spaces and pedestrian/ cycle routes that connect communities. (Ref 6)

The Carbon Landscape is a pioneering project in landscape restoration in Wigan, Warrington and Salford. Led by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, it will revitalize a landscape left devastated by decades of coal-mining and peat extraction (Ref 5). It works to restore key habitats and reconnect local people with their unique natural heritage, preserving it for future generations. The restoration of the peat base to lowland raised bog provided an opportunity for carbon sequestration and storage (Ref 1). There is a strong vision to reconnect local people with their rich natural heritage, creating opportunities and a sense of pride in the local area (Ref 4).

Champratel Eco-District is mainly a housing development plan with new green space areas which will be part of the green corridor of the city. "It will be a real "Garden-District" to offer participatory housing: "For La Grande Plaine, the city of Clermont-Ferrand wanted to go beyond the simple redevelopment of a neighborhood by implementing an innovative approach: participatory housing. It's a new way of collectively designing, creating and managing individual homes" (Ref. 11). It will offer harmonious urban forms and vast green spaces. It will mainly offer a concordance between two desires: the proximity of the city and a pleasant living environment" (Ref. 2). Three main green spaces have been created including a meadow in the north, a green square Rose-Parks to create a meeting place for the inhabitants, and diverse gardens (some of which are maintained and others which are wild" (Ref. 5).