Achieved impacts

The rain gardens of the Great Mosque give an example of a sustainable urban drainage system built 1000 years ago (Ref.1,8,9). The Great Mosque is a world heritage site by UNESCO (Ref. 1); therefore the rain gardens are protected and will continue to provide a sustainable irrigation system needed for the arid climate of Andalusia (Ref. 8,9).

The project is focused on cultivating bazaars for climate-safe and labour-intensive cultivation and is located in an underground space under a shopping and community centre in Högdalen, a southern suburb of Stockholm. This underground cargo space at the shopping centre has been converted to a high-technology farming space that can be active all year-round. The goal is to create a small-scale industry and provide local job opportunities (Ref. 5, 6, 7).

Bundek Park is one of the urban planning projects aimed to create a recreational and sports area for the citizens and tourists to support a healthy lifestyle (Ref 3). The lake is surrounded by Bundek Park which stretches for 2,000 meters in length with an area of 35 hectares. The lake is about 5 hectares. the lake was initially used for fishing, walking and swimming. With the increased and carefree use of the lake, the lake and the environment became a waste disposal site. In 2005, by the decision of the Mayor, Mr. Milan Bandić, the renovation of Bundek began. The project included cleaning of the informal waste disposal site and shrubs blocking access to the lakes, renovation of the access to the lakes, planting flowers and introduction of the benches and water also to allow citizens to use the lake for recreation and enjoy the nature (Ref 2).

Fornebu used to be Norway’s main airport, but was abandoned in 1998. The Fornebu project aimed to restore the 340 ha site in order to provide a sustainable, multi-use built environment with sustainable drainage systems and other green infrastructure in focus. The site now consists of residential and industrial buildings with a focus on green space and natural storm water management, involving the use of open and natural water retention methods, including swales, filter strips, permeable surfaces, detention basins and retention ponds (Ref. 1).

The Sotos de la Albolafia Natural Reserve is situated on a section along the Guadalquivir River, that runs from the Roman Bridge to the San Rafael Bridge (Ref. 3,14). It was declared Natural Monument in 2001 and is part of the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia (RENPA) due to its wide variety of birds (Ref. 5,15). "The declaration recognized the environmental value of the Sotos de la Albolafia, a singular natural enclave located in the urban center of a large city, in a monumental and historical environment also unique and with an unparalleled concentration in protected species, especially water birds and wetlands." (Ref. 3)

The Huerto del Rey Moro is an urban community orchard/ garden beside the historic house Casa del Rey Moro. It is one of the only open green spaces in the downtown area of Sevilla where activities of environmental education, leisure and socializing are performed. (Ref 2) The Rey Moro orchard is cited as keeping true to the historic and cultural use of the area since it has been used as an orchard on and off over the past 500 years. (ref 2) Thanks to citizens themselves, as citizens acted to keep it a public and open space against a proposed legislation that would destroy it. (Ref 5)

“The Royal National City Park, the world’s first national city park, was created in 1995 by the decision of the Swedish Parliament. The Park was established to safeguard and enhance the unique qualities of this area, containing outstanding natural qualities and heritage sites, ecologically important for the metropolitan area, and situated near and easily accessible from the central parts of Stockholm.” (Ref. 1)
One can experience a truly unique historical landscape, intertwined with parks, beautiful buildings, forests, open fields and beaches. In 2020, the park celebrates its 25 the year. (Ref. 12)

Eko Ekipa Prečko is an alternative urban garden in Zagreb which was initiated and promoted by the locals. The initiative was not supported by the government initially. Regardless of the lack of support, citizens jointly cleaned an illegal waste disposal site and the bushes and shrubs there to initiate a communal garden. Besides ecological food production, they also organize educational workshops for children and adults to get familiar with life in nature (Ref 1). People of all ages, the majority between age 30 and 40, from Prečko and neighbouring districts are involved with the garden (Ref 4).

The neighbours of the Fuensanta in Cordoba recovered an abandoned public plot of the old Fuensanta’s cinema transforming it into a social and ecological vegetable garden (Ref 1), occasionally used to play soccer and used as a dog park previously (Ref. 3). "All the activities were free of charge, coordinated by volunteers and consisted of: a walk around the neighbourhood, a building recycled furniture workshop, an urban vegetable gardens workshop and urbanism for children workshop. All of them took place in the plot and the creation of a vegetable garden was the most popular activity." (Ref 1)

This NBS is part of the new Porta Nuova area, an extended urban transformation of a neglected area of Milan. It consists of two residential towers of 110 and 76 m height hosting 800 trees and over 20,000 plants from a wide range of shrubs and floral plants distributed according to the sun exposure of the facade. On flat land, each Vertical Forest equals, in amount of trees, an area of 20,000 square meters of forest. In terms of urban densification it is the equivalent of an area of a single family dwelling of nearly 75,000 sq.m (3).