Social cohesion

The orchard of the Vallon was established by the city in an area that had historically served as an orchard fifty years previous (Ref. 9). A few pear trees had survived and gave rise to the idea of ​​reconstituting it. In 2014, the city planted apple, peach, pear, cherry, apricot and other fruit trees on one and a half hectares of greenery. "At the beginning of 2015, the association Le Verger du Vallon was born. With its members, its mission is to maintain these trees with a view to sharing knowledge and educational exchanges "(Ref. 9). "Called upon by the city of Rouen for the establishment of a participatory orchard, the social center wished to promote this project among the inhabitants within the framework of the arrow projects of the CAF (social security) de la Seine Maritime entering the field of financing "to support a cooperative project of residents initiated and built with them from a common concern " (Ref. 3, page Description).

Mariahof is a community garden in which a large variety of actors is involved including citizens, schools and an NGO that supports social inclusion. In the garden, vegetables are grown for non-commercial food production, organic waste is composted and bees are kept for pollination and honey production (1,2,3,6). The garden works to raise awareness about sustainability and nature stewardship in an urban setting (2).

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 Urban Park of Pasteleira is a public park located in the parish of Lordelo do Ouro, in the city of Porto. The park extends over an extensive area (7 hectares) of forest, divided into two plots by the street of Afonso de Paiva. The forest, an example that remains of the natural vegetation of the Porto area, consists essentially of wild pines and cork oaks, and enrichment of vegetation by the planting of trees and shrubs of Portuguese flora and exotic species. It was designed in 2004 and completed in 2009 (1).

As part of their school curriculum, engineering students from the engineering school "ESIGELEC" (École supérieure d'ingénieurs en génie électrique, in english Graduate School of Electrical Engineering) had to carry out a Project of Initiative and Creativity. They have chosen to build an indoor garden with an intergenerational component in the Lamauve retirement residence in Rouen in collaboration with Saint-Léon primary school (Ref. 1).

The Oriental Park of the City of Porto is an urban natural park designed by the landscape architect Sidónio Pardal. It will be one of the largest urban parks in the country and the second-largest in the city of Porto. This NBS focused on the transformation of a derelict, depressed urban area into a green space. The first part of the park was inaugurated in July 2010 and the municipality has plans to build it through several phases over the next decade until it reaches its project area. (1)

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)

Green space created behind Rock Ferry library on unused land. The plot of unused land, owned by the Wirral Council, signed a lease with the 'Grow Sow Well' project to run a volunteering scheme and sessions for the community (particularly aiming to help people with mental health issues). Grow Sow Well worked with residents, schools and community groups, bringing people together to celebrate their area and increase awareness of healthy eating and food production. (Ref. 1, 2) This lease has was transferred to the organisation called the Utopia Project (works with young people and includes horticulture). (Ref. 8)

The project is a part of a larger initiative to revitalize this neglected district of the city and involves redevelopment and expansion of rain drainage system in Gdynia Chylonia. It resulted in the construction of rainwater retention systems and rainwater sewage systems with safe rainwater discharge to the Chylonka River. The aim of the wider initiative is to ensure a more decent standard of living and social cohesion by revitalizing the neglected areas of Gdynia [1,2,4].