Water management (SDG 6)

The Carbon Landscape is a pioneering project in landscape restoration in Wigan, Warrington and Salford. Led by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, it will revitalize a landscape left devastated by decades of coal-mining and peat extraction (Ref 5). It works to restore key habitats and reconnect local people with their unique natural heritage, preserving it for future generations. The restoration of the peat base to lowland raised bog provided an opportunity for carbon sequestration and storage (Ref 1). There is a strong vision to reconnect local people with their rich natural heritage, creating opportunities and a sense of pride in the local area (Ref 4).

City of Trees is an innovative movement set to re-invigorate Greater Manchester’s landscape by transforming underused woodland and planting a tree for every person who lives there (ref 1). Manchester City of Trees had undertaken work to improve water quality of a tributary of Worsley Brook through channel naturalisation and create wet woodland in the Cleavleys Nursery. The discharge from the tributary caused water quality failures in Worsley Brook under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) (Ref 3). This project allowed the stream to take a more natural course through the woodland and the waterlogged woods provide habitats to species and remedy these water quality issues (Ref 3).

The roof installation at the Re:center building comprises of a wildlife pond planted with native marginal plants, a native wildflower area, grasses and herbs, bird feeder tables, insect houses etc. Design features encourage the development of flora and fauna on the roofing area and a growing media (from ABG) provides a nutritionally rich base for vegetation. Beneath this surface, a free-draining void allows for storage of collected rainwater to irrigate the vegetation. This roof is part of the Bright Building at the University of Bradford. (ref2) The building was known throughout its building phase as The Sustainable Enterprise Centre, but it is recognised that thinking around sustainability has moved considerably since this project started back in 2007 and the new name will ‘re:flect’ new agendas in a way that is distinctive within Higher Education (ref 6).

The South Saint-Jacques district is a residential area. A public housing project in the district incorporates careful landscape planning to promote social interaction, increase biodiversity, and better manage rainwater. It includes green spaces, collective area for free initiative from the community, swales and planted basins for rainwater drainage (Ref. 1).

In 2010 a new drainage system was installed in Traktoros Street that solved the disposal of surface-water so that bigger storms would not cause damages in the area and separates rainwater from the sewage. The rainwater is directed to the lake in Adyváros. The project was the third phase of the complex reconstruction of draining in the Szabadhegy neighbourhood. While the first two phases (the construction of the main pipelines and drainage of Pannónia Street; drainage of Vak Bottyán Street and paving streets) were financed by the municipality, the third phase was implemented with the help of the EU. (Reference 1, 2)

The catchment includes the River Avon (a major resource for recreational activities and public water supply) and its various tributaries. Coventry is the largest urban area in the catchment, and the catchment has a high value for wildlife. (Ref. 1)
Main priorities include engaging communities to take ownership of their local water environment, reducing urban and rural pollution; delivering enhancement projects in the 3 Priority Areas (e.g. Coventry Brooks) and Returning water corridors to a near-natural state. (Ref. 2). The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) is a Government policy framework that empowers local action to improve the water environment through community partnerships. A renewed focus on the catchment-based approach has led to Catchment Partnerships (i.e. The Warwickshire Avon Catchment Partnership) being set up to drive local delivery of these projects. (Ref. 3)

The Garden Factory ('Tuinfabriek') is an exceptional urban agriculture project on a roof of the central station that aims at becoming the largest food-producing roof of the Netherlands. The project is a self-sustaining vegetable garden located on the roof of a busy mall in the centre of Utrecht (ref. 5). On the roof, citizens, students, company employees and schools work together to grow vegetables and keep bees and chicken. The Garden Factory reflects an ecological 'self-sustaining factory' as the chickens, worms and bees 'work' in the garden as being part of the decomposing system and pollination and a system is built for rainwater retention that allows for irrigation (ref. 1). Eating, composting, sowing, growing, harvesting, cooking form the production process of this Garden Factory (ref. 4).
The main elements of the roof garden are in place, such as the crop bins, the chicken coop and the decomposing machine are completed. However, it is an ongoing developing project as some elements are still in development stage such as some elements of the Soup Kitchen and the aim is to integrate the Garden Factory more with the central station shopping mall in multiple ways (ref. 1).

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has completed an urban river restoration on the Guphill Brook that aims to restore the brook's natural features and enhance the surrounding habitat. "The project [is expected to] bring multiple benefits to diminishing wildlife and deprived local communities but also importantly to flood risk reduction, which is becoming ever more important with the increased negative effects of climate change." (Ref. 1)

Champratel Eco-District is mainly a housing development plan with new green space areas which will be part of the green corridor of the city. "It will be a real "Garden-District" to offer participatory housing: "For La Grande Plaine, the city of Clermont-Ferrand wanted to go beyond the simple redevelopment of a neighborhood by implementing an innovative approach: participatory housing. It's a new way of collectively designing, creating and managing individual homes" (Ref. 11). It will offer harmonious urban forms and vast green spaces. It will mainly offer a concordance between two desires: the proximity of the city and a pleasant living environment" (Ref. 2). Three main green spaces have been created including a meadow in the north, a green square Rose-Parks to create a meeting place for the inhabitants, and diverse gardens (some of which are maintained and others which are wild" (Ref. 5).

In 2011 the Municipality of Lisbon promoted a project for urban gardens in the Horticultural Park of Telheiras (Ref.4).
The park is an allotment garden with the objective of supporting the urban agricultural practice for its own consumption. The residents of the locality had the possibility of renting at a symbolic price, one of the plots made available by the municipality (ref.5).
Beyond the provision of plots, the Council also provides fences, shelters for storage, water irrigation, training and technical support (ref. 1).