Social interaction

Bowling Park is a public urban park and the key purpose is to grow fruit, develop wildlife habitats and create sociable urban green space as well as maximise the biodiversity of the site and minimise any adverse impact on the environment. The orchard, along with allotment sites, as a whole is a valuable part of the Green Infrastructure Network in Bradford (ref 1). The orchard is developed on six disused allotment plots adjacent to Bowling Park. In March 2003 the orchard has planted over 40 trees including- 35 varieties of apple, 6 pears and 4 plums (ref2).

In 2017 the municipality of Lisbon approved the program called "A Square in each neighbourhood". The municipality was seeking to revamp different neighbourhoods' green areas with the help of the citizens and collect contributions from the population most directly linked to the intervention sites. In this context the redevelopment of Campolide Street was based on the need to create better pedestrian accessibility in the detriment of traffic, improving the circulation of elderly in wheelchairs and children, the creation of a playground and the increase of green areas by planting more trees and create an element of water (Ref. 1).

Heeley City Farm came into existence in the middle of 1981 (ref 3). It is a community-based and led training, employment and youth enterprise (ref 1) and a much needed green space in the inner suburban Sheffield with recycling, healthy living facilities, a garden centre, cafe, and charity shop. Heeley City Farm also manages food growing projects across Sheffield. (Ref 3) The Farm addresses poverty, inequality, prejudice and lack of opportunity by supporting community regeneration and self-help within environmentally friendly and self-sustaining systems, using the background of a mini-farm, community gardens and related resources. (Ref1)

A 1.96-hectare insidious unused land in the District 2 of Bucharest has been transformed into a modern park through a project funded by European funds. The project was selected in the top 100 Regional as an example of good European practice.Initially, the park was a storage space for household waste (1, 3).

A vegetable garden located on the property of an elementary school, allowing children to grow their own vegetables, minimizing the lunch costs for the school's management and bringing together parents, children and volunteers in creating a space for learning, relaxation and community all under the umbrella of environmental protection (1).

A community garden at the margins of Bucharest, which aims to serve both locals and tourists, and the only place of its kind for the 240.000 inhabitants of the quarter. Apart from its educational aspects, the garden is a living workshop and a place of relaxation for its visitors (1).

The aim of the project was to plant many varieties of vines on flood embankments of the southern tip of Ostrow Tumski on a stretch of 1 km. Grapes would be free of charge, as the idea of the project was to set up a community garden where the effects of the citizens’ work would be available long-term and publicly accessible [1]. In 2014 the project was in a pilot stage which resulted in a successful application for funds from the participatory budget in 2016. Despite the awarded money, the project has never been implemented, hence the applicants (Foundation “Vineyards of Poznan”) pressed charges against City Hall. Today, the project is still in the initial form from its pilot phase [9].

The intervention was supposed to be implemented by the project group "Green Facades" consisting of the urban initiative "SchwarmFarm", the research project Quartier Zukunft and citizen volunteers. Greening facades in the Oststadt district of Karlsruhe with hops (climbing plant) to contribute to the cooling of the urban microclimate was their primary goal. Additionally, the harvested hops were envisioned to be used by local breweries for brewing (Ref. 1) Although the project group dedicated to the project was cancelled, there are plans to continue the project in private. (Ref. 2)
The leaders of the project have cancelled it, but it may still be implemented privately in a different form. (Ref. 2)

Nygård Park is an old, large park in central Bergen that has been undergoing transformation since 2014, as the park had degraded over the years and had been heavily used by drug users (Ref. 6). The restored park serves to act as a natural meeting place in the city, consisting of green areas, a pond, playgrounds, flower beds, an amphitheater, walkways and much more. The restored park retains its traditional British design, and also includes a more universal character allowing for more users of the park and facilitating access to the different parts of the park. (Ref. 1, 2).

A multi-sensory garden designed and built especially for people with dementia and their carers has been opened in Doncaster at St. Catherine's mental health hospital. The Garden is the result of multiple charities and organisations coming together to push the project forward. The aim was to create a stimulating, relaxing and safe environment for people living with dementia, as well as their carers, to enjoy. The garden has been designed to be multi-sensory to prompt memory recall by appealing to senses such as sight, smell, touch, sound and even taste that come with the different seasons (Ref 1 & 2).