Social interaction

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)

Opened in June 2006, the Jean-Baptiste Lebas Park, which occupies a space once used for illegal parking and marred by 11 lanes of traffic, is surrounded by the boulevard of the same name. This park plays an important role in creating an urban green space into a derelict grey area. The park helped to increase the biodiversity of the area. It has an area of 3-hectare (7-acre) and it contains a large lawn with flowerbeds, play areas for children and places for playing "boules" (Ref 1).

The restoration of Highfields Park was completed in Summer 2018 with path repairs and tree works to be carried out in winter 2018 to 2019. The five-year development journey of returning Highfields park to its former glory has included two rounds of public consultation. The views of park users and project partners such as the University of Nottingham, the UK's Environment Agency and the Highfields Park User Group identified a strong desire to see the park restored and improved (ref. 1), including improvements on heritage features such as historic walls, bridges and the old Boating Lake Ticket Office (ref. 2). In total, this project aimed to repair unused structures of the park including walled gardens, gardener’s cottages and historic halls and houses, converting them into volunteer and training centers, event spaces and community facilities (ref. 3). Highfields Park also provides valuable scrub and woodland habitat for breeding birds such as robin, sparrow and blue tit. The additional diversity of habitats provides important foraging and breeding opportunities for invertebrates and mammals. (Ref 4)

"The Conservatoire des Restanques is dedicated to preserving biodiversity (conservation orchard, forgotten vegetable garden, Mediterranean garden with the typical plant species of low limestone Provence) and to be a showcase of the current considerations of Sustainable Development (energy, waste management, water resources management, etc.). The development of the site and the different elements of the landscape make it possible to develop educational programs on the themes of flora diversity, wildlife, heritage conservation, food, consumption and health, eco-construction and energy management" (Ref. 3).

In 2016, the project facilitated the revitalization and development of green areas in Dąbie (by an urban part of the Vistula River) to create the Dąbie Park. The park had been a neglected vacant green space with randomly scattered former playground facilities. The initiative involved greenery management and creation (bushes, trees, flower meadows), building new sports facilities (running/cycling paths, a basketball field), new infrastructural solutions (new water drainage system, a viewpoint) and creating a safe and modern space for children in a playground surrounded by large trees which provide shadow. The modernization and revitalization of the park infrastructure and local greenery have made the green riverbank area accessible to the public [1,4,5].

The Newton and Arkwright roof, buildings of the Nottingham Trent University campus, holds one of the region’s largest sedum roofs, which spans its way 2,500m² across the building, creating a home for 13 varieties of sedum, insects, songbirds and a new colony of honey bees, creating a trio of hives over all campuses (ref. 1). A 150m2 bank surrounding the building is unmown in order to promote biodiversity and attract pollinating insects in the summer months. Green-walled gates was also part of the implementation activities of this project. (ref. 5).

It started with the “Let’s Plant for the Earth, Let’s Plant for Murcia” project, as Murcia’s committed to the United Nations Billion Trees Campaign. The city of Murcia committed itself in 2008 to plant 12 000 trees around the urban fabric through a series of action projects. The target was exceeded in 2010 with a total of 23 576 trees pledged and planted toward the campaign (Ref. 1).
In 2020, after having surpassed their 12,000 planted trees goal, Murcia has the new goal of planting 100,000 trees by 2030. It is a long-term project that the municipality committed itself to make (Ref. 5, 2020a).

The “Cities Dare Wilderness” project is part of the overall Hanoverian program of “More Nature in the City”, a new future-oriented approach to green spaces in urban areas. The aim of the project is to bring wilderness back to the city by increasing urban biodiversity, strengthening nature in the city and making it habitable for its inhabitants. For fulfilling these goals, eleven sites were chosen (some parts of the city park Eilenriede, some currently intensively cultivated areas or some derelict small gardens), in which different methods have been tried out, like planting local woody plants, grazing, and the implementation of interpretive trails. The development of the flora and fauna in the new wilderness is now being observed and investigated. The first step in the wilderness was made on a meadow along the course of the Fße in the Badenstedt which was fenced. It was made available for cattle to graze and influence the new growth of shrubs through feeding preferences (Reference 1, 2). The flowering meadows have attracted a variety of species. The rich habitat resulting from the project has attracted songbirds, hedgehogs, butterflies and some of the 67 bee varieties endemic to the state of Saxony (Reference 10).
Campaigns for environmental education are regularly offered in order to involve the population in the process of wilderness development. The series of “Wilderness Concerts” were organized, a “wilderness woodlice” was installed in one of the project areas (Mittlefield), and handicraft activities have been regularly offered, in addition to excursions and guided tours (Reference 8). Citizen science is also part of the project through the iNaturalist app that allows the community to record observations of the flora and fauna in the area (Reference 9).
The project is financed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Natura Conservation and Nuclear Society. Two other cities, Frankfurt am Main and Dessau-Roßlau is also involved as model cities. (Reference 1,2)

In 2017, the Sintra City Council opened a new urban park in the quarter of Cavaleira, with 25 thousand square meters that are inserted in urbanization where about 5 thousand people live. The park has zones of stay and of leisure, circuits of exercise for adults and seniors, children's green playground, pedestrian routes, canine park and the entire park has a green turf cover.
The design of the park, an investment of around 600 thousand euros, counted on the active participation of the population through ideas for the final project. (ref.2)

Located in the backyard of a memorial house, this NBS was created with 2 purposes in mind: to offer a green oasis to the inhabitants of Iasi but also to educate them since the garden itself relies on volunteers primarily who have the opportunity to come and work in the garden, assist in the process of growing food and learn how to lead a healthy life. In a way, this garden is seen as an escape from city life and it combines education with practical skills and community cohesion (1)