Promotion of cultural diversity

On the brownfield of an abandoned train station and its surrounding terrain, active citizens and neighbors developed Utopia town, a living lab for creative urban development, cultural and creative industries, and citizen engagement. Under the guiding principle “edible train station – edible town", next to other projects, an urban garden with organic cultivation was developed on 1,000 sqm of the terrain at the former train station Mirke as a focus area for their activities due to its favourable location in order to show that gardening is possible in urban spaces, even on balconies or terraces (Ref. 1, 2, and 3). The main building of the Utopiatown has a bar, a concert venue, a food sharing station, and a free bicycle lending service that is operated by volunteers. (Ref. 9). Gardening workshops that are offered to citizens with little experience of gardening are planned to be further extended with seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3). Since its beginning, the area of the “utopia town” has grown rapidly and is now providing opportunities for multidisciplinary academic research. (Ref. 12)

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 project is an initiative that is part of the environmental management system of the University of Murcia. This initiative aims to implement activities related to sustainable agricultural systems while also serving as a space for social cohesion for the members of the community (Ref 3). For this reason, a community garden was constructed and the slots are until 2019 distributed between members of the community of the university based on a bid (Ref 1).

The Senate of Hamburg commissioned IBA Hamburg GmbH with the development of the project which aims at realizing two new, family friendly residential districts in Neugraben-Fischbek, the Fischbecker Heidbrook and Fischbeker Reethen, which will offer 3000 residential units in total. (Reference 10) Out of the two districts, Fischbeker Reethen is planned to be the "Garden City of the 21st century", which is why this NBS case focuses on that project. The Fischbeker Reethen project pays attention to sustainability, having a blue-green infrastructure (large green surfaces, waterways and a lake that serves as a basis for the rainwater management of the area). A further aim of the project is to create a new district for the growing city, that with its good infrastructure, public transport connection and educational offers will help the integration of refugees into German society. (Reference 12) The construction of the buildings followed by the green and recreational elements is will start in the second half of 2020, and the handover is planned for 2022 the earliest. (Reference 7)

Citizens have taken the initiative to create a community garden on an area where an abandoned building was located. With community engagement and support form public and private sector actors along with non-profit organisations, the garden was officially opened in 2011, bringing urban green space closer to the residents of the quarter. (1,2,3) The garden consists of recreational facilities, green space, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, a pond and activities are organized, which all largely contributes to social cohesion. The community has formed multiple groups that are responsible for parts of the community garden. (1)

The project aims at realizing a large urban park to link the city and the sea coast. It is a project of significant social value, as it takes place in a neighbourhood which has been in a state of decay for 50 years. The intervention includes new facilities for recreation and sport, but first of all new plantations and the creation of rooftop gardens. It would be the second-largest park of the city, by linking the city and the sea. (Ref.1.)

The medieval style Shared Garden Of Sainte-Madeleine Place development - situated in between two nearby schools - in 2009 was quickly claimed by the Association des Habitants Bourse Austerlitz Krutenau (Association of Inhabitants Bourse-Austerlitz-Krutenau) (AHBAK) neighborhood association because of its historic environment. The project turned the space into a shared garden, involving a collective composting area for organic waste, installing a rainwater recuperator, and planting local plant and vegetable species and new trees (Ref. 1, 2, 3).

The NBS is a socio-ecological initiative to create an urban garden that would serve as an outdoor space for creative endeavours in the Cracow's district Podgórze. The project was implemented by an association of cultural institutions, NGOs, artists' groups, landscape architects, social activists, cultural animators and artisans, who also activated a group of volunteers from among the residents. The initiative involves several activities including greenery planting, horticulture/vegetable garden, ecological education and art workshops. Space is rented from the municipality as an act of protection of naturalistic landscape from over investment and new residential buildings in the area. It is surrounded by modern developments [1,3,4].
The social garden was established in 2013 and it is still functioning with its original purpose [3].

The 100-hectare site that is situates in the socially disadvantaged neighbourhood and river island called Wilhelmsburg was designed for the IGS 2013 (International Garden Show) and was opened to the citizens of Hamburg in 2014. On the 9-hectare large area that was a former brownfield site, mostly free or inexpensive outdoor leisure facilities were planned. The new park, named “Island Park” aims to attract people of all ages to do sport, including recreational and professional sports outdoor. Among others, the park is equipped with a high-rope course, a climbing wall, a canoeing canal a running track, a boules pitch and a garden for meditating (Reference 1, 2). The park also offers additional services, such as workshops and hands-on activities for people who want to experience a sport under expert guidance. (Reference 3)

This project was created on the occasion of Lille being the European Culture Capital in 2004. The Park of the Deule was designed to connect the city of Lille with the old mining industry areas along the Deule River. The graphic inscription is a landscape guided by the necessities of topography and control of water (Ref 1). Mosaïc has an area of 33 ha gardens with a pond, woods, and landscapes. Each garden mixes botanical, art and rare domestic animals (Ref 2). The park got the National Landscape Award in 2006 (Ref 4).