Health and well-being (SDG 3)

The roof of IKEA in Åsane outside Bergen covers 22,000 m2 and has been covered with plants since 2011. (Ref. 1) The green roof promotes biodiversity, cleanses the air from pollutants and acts an important flood prevention measure in the region, as Bergen experiences a lot of rainfall and is expected to receive more as a consequence of climate change over the coming decades. (Ref. 3,5) The roof has attracted a lot of birdlife, including endangered species. (Ref. 2)

The data centre for Citi Bank in Frankfurt is the first in the world to put sustainability at its heart, setting radical new standards in an industry at the forefront of the fight against global carbon emissions (1). The functional and aesthetic aspects, as well as their CO2 balance and later reusability, played a decisive role in the selection of all materials. Disguising the full volume of the data hall, the iconic green wall features indigenous plants and is fully irrigated by harvested rainwater. The wall, measuring some 55 m by 12 m high, complements the extensive green roof and helps maintain a constant building temperature throughout the year while reducing thermal gain in the summer months. (1)

A modern office building in Poznan and a headquarter of a large company was designed to include multiple environmentally friendly solutions like cycling facilities, energy-efficient appliances in the building, roof gardens, the use of rainwater in the sanitary facilities, waste segregation system and the overall energy-efficient design of the building façade to let in as much natural light as possible [1].

"Tirone Alto Vesuvio" is a park situated within the Vesuvio area in Naples, this area was recently qualified as an eco-campus (green infrastructure), a project realized in 2011 according to the European guidelines for sustainable tourism. In particular, the eco-campus has the goal to promote sustainable and zero-impact sports activities, in order to spread awareness on ecological issues. In addition, it provides important health benefits and social and cultural advantages (Ref.1).

A landscape scheme had laid out around the Scottish Parliament building and structures were turfed and covered in grass. The landscaping softens the concrete canopies with wildflower meadows, rooftop gardens, ponds, plants, flowers etc. 2 distinct types of green roofs are present at the Parliament - wildflower meadow grass canopies and roof gardens. The Parliament is built on a brownfield site and it has increased the biodiversity of the site. A number of rare and native grasses were planted in the parliament’s open spaces. (ref 1)

The Edinburgh Living Landscape (ELL) is a partnership between the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust (EGLT), the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Green Surge and Edinburgh University, it aims to help make Edinburgh a city fit for the future by fashioning healthy and beautiful environments that are resilient to climate change as well as being highly valued and accessible to people. It is made up of a range of projects that will create, restore and connect green areas of the city to make attractive and biodiverse landscapes that are enjoyed by residents and visitors. One of the examples is the Holyrood park. Naturalisation was tested in Holyrood Park, where a once regularly mown grassland is now cut only once per year. It benefits both wildlife and public amenity and also reduces maintenance costs for the site, with the potential to spend elsewhere on greenspace maintenance. This is a part of the ongoing Edinburgh Living Landscape Case Study which aims to make Edinburgh a city with healthy and beautiful environments, resilient to climate change. A range of similar projects will create, restore and connect green areas of the city to make an attractive and biodiverse landscape (ref 2, 3).

This blue and green infrastructure project of Bergen involves the development of a river park with riverside promenades, bridges and recreation areas. Bergen municipality wishes to develop the area along the Møllendalselven to a park that in the long run will extend from Store Lungegårdsvann to Svartediket and further up to the mountains. The area's industrial history forms the backdrop of a new park that will act as a green lung for the city's residents, both locally and in a slightly larger perspective, where Møllendalselven will become the central element. (Ref. 1, 2)

A formerly derelict area, part of a 19th-century estate, the Zurich Square is a park, whose whereabouts are relatively new, and whose main function is to serve as the only park for the 700 children of the neighbourhood. Its location makes it also valuable, meaning that this park is situated in an industrial area and it contains trees planted in the 19th century (1).

The Town Moor in Newcastle upon Tyne is an open space area of around 400 hectares, with a history dating back to the 12th century; it has remained an area of common land (with grazing rights belonging to The Freemen of Newcastle, a conservation body). This green space includes parks, allotments and sports facilities. (1, 2) For this, a social intervention aims to maintain the Town Moor as a green space; with the Freemen of Newcastle as 'guardians' for this social intervention scheme.

"In order to make this center area attractive and dynamic, the EPASE (Saint-Etienne Public Development Agency) and the town hall of Saint-Etienne have set up an ambitious eco-neighborhood project. This project is based on public spaces that are built on an original urban park model where nature is the driving force behind the site. Nature is at the heart of this "park city" project, realized in record time: in a year and a half, the vast majority of the park's work has been carried out and the neighborhood has begun to change."(Ref. 1)