Health and well-being (SDG 3)

Woodland project is a council project to improve woodlands. During the last 50 years, “lifestyles have changed, leading to a change in the state of the woods”. The result is that the trees are ageing, becoming overgrown with dominant species and losing their wildlife. The woodlands in Reading need work to protect them (for future generations) and the council has therefore produced a Woodland Management Plan in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The plan aims to manage 18 sites of woodland in Reading and implementation of these plans will involve benefits for e.g. the wildlife and community. (Ref. 1, 2, 4)

The Heinickeplatz in the Muggenhofer Strasse and its peripheral areas are being upgraded as a new green area in accordance with the objectives of the city redevelopment plan. The new landscape design for the Heinicke Square was developed in dialogue with local citizens through planning workshops followed by the opportunity to vote for one of the 4 landscape bureaus who applied for the reconstruction of the square. (1, 2). The implementation of the plan began in 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2021. (4) The implementation will include the plantation of new trees, grass, the creation of sports areas and the establishment of a new playground. (2)

A project for the creation of a new central park was launched in 2018, where a harbor consisting of three docks used to be and is now used as primarily as a car park. The park was planned to consist of three large green spaces that are the exact same size as the original docks. As the green areas are planned to be surrounded by rows of trees, the park will look like New York’s Central Park. The park is set to contribute to Antwerp’s climate change resiliency as the central green area will contain a water basin in which stormwater can be stored temporarily and slowly infiltrate, which is enhanced by the riverbank vegetation (Ref. 1, 2, 6).

Offord Road community garden is a place for the residents of West Reading (i.e. those who live, work, go to school in the area). Reading Borough Council set up the community garden (i.e. the green space) at the Oxford Road end of Western Elms Avenue through a grant called ‘Section 106’ (thus giving the site back to the community in 1996). (Ref. 1, 2, 7)

Pegnitztal West is a new corridor and recreation zone along a section of the Pegnitz river in Nurnberg suitable for all kinds of social groups and intended for recreational activities (1). The project instrumentalizes green and blue infrastructure for creating conditions for sport, leisure, and recreation, as well as serving a transitional function for the dwellers of the neighboring Gostenhof and St. Johannis districts (1). The green corridor also provides a protected urban habitat for various species, including more than 8 different tree species, water bats, green woodpeckers and swamp warblers. The project also stabilized the water level of the river and helps flood protection efforts. (2, 7)

A project began in June 2017 to plant grass, flowers, trees, and shrubs on 10 hectares of “muddy spots”, or unused lands that were being eroded and increasing of dust particles in the city. The aim of the project was to improve the air quality and stop these muddy areas being used as unregulated parking spots. The project was initiated and is partly implemented by the municipality, while volunteers also took part in the initiative, brought together by the citizen group called When we Become 100 000 – we Will Plant a Forest. The project planned to use compost from the new composting facility in Sofia, which reuses food waste. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)

‘Colorieten Hof’ is a community garden in which vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown sustainably. The garden is a social meeting place for elderly, neighborhood citizens and female immigrants who can learn Dutch and about Belgian culture (Ref. 1, 3).

In 2017, Park Service of Portsmouth City Council has introduced a new approach to its annual 'In Bloom' campaign, aiming at increasing urban biodiversity, promoting pollinating insects and making the city more colourful (1,5).
As part of the initiative, 15 wildflower meadows have been created with information boards at various spots in the city including parks, gardens and schoolyards as well. Planted seed mixes had been carefully tested and selected to fit the local environmental conditions, including native species and promote pollination (5). The campaign has been appreciated by citizens and visitors of the Urban Meadows (5).
The urban meadows are planted as a part of an annual campaign (3)

This intervention was a proposed citizen project to connect the southern districts with Murcia by converting the abandoned railroad tracks into a green corridor. The intervention aims to transform the abandoned space into a green mobility corridor for various forms of transportation, from public buses to bicycles, and for pedestrian and leisurely use as well. (Reference 1 and 2). In 2019, there was the opening event to show this Green Corridor's construction, which is now the longest in the region.

In 2017, the municipality of Sintra approved the municipal Solidarity Gardens Program, which aims at enabling the inhabitants of Sintra to "value solidarity and, in some way, value natural resources" (ref.4).
This intervention aims to create small gardens in urban areas. Not only as a tool for subsistence for families in situations of social vulnerability but also to generate access to areas that tend to deteriorate, through correct management and profitability of resources. Eventually, the NBS aims to promote actions for the implementation of sustainable urban development, focused on strengthening family and local agriculture (1)