Last updated: October 2021
The project opts for switching to more sustainable and organic ways of handling natural parks in the urban areas of the city of Bologna. The project was launched in 2008 and focused on 100 hectares, meaning 10 parks (out of the 1.100 total in the city). The goal is to develop maintenance techniques with low impact on local flora and fauna, stimulating biodiversity and an equilibrium with the surrounding urban environment, as well as the reduction of toxicity impacts for vulnerable residents (i.e. children and elderly people) (1 and 2). This NBS solution focuses on changing maintenance of Bologna public urban parks from conventional techniques to biological ones (1 and 2).
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Promotion of cultural diversity
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Protection of natural ecosystems
Project objectives
The project has the following goals (2):
- Quality improvement in the local environment, including cultural heritage, buildings, public spaces and landscapes.
- Increase in natural areas quota and biodiversity.
- Conservation and re-qualification of existing natural landscapes.
- Following the targets set by the European Convention on Landscapes.
- Promotion of an integrated environmental planning.
- Promotion of innovative and sustainable landscape planning.
- Biodiversity protection.
- Local fauna protection.
Implementation activities
Gardens involved in the NBS are being treated with specific organic techniques, such as letting the grass and other plants grow more than usual in order to pollinate and expand. Signs with information on the project and why parks have a different look have been put around with the aim to educate people (1).
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Preserve and strengthen habitat connectivity
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore ecological connectivity
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Unknown.
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Improved soil quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Increase in protected green space areas
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
- Improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Improved physical health
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Comune di Bologna (no date), Progetti, Available at Source link (Accessed 19-6-2020)
2. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (no date), Applicazione del metodo Bio-Habitat nel Comune di Bologna (project description), Available at Source link (Accessed 19-6-2020)
3. Comune di Bologna (2019), Avviso Publico (public announcement), Available at Source link (Accessed 15-7-2020)
2. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (no date), Applicazione del metodo Bio-Habitat nel Comune di Bologna (project description), Available at Source link (Accessed 19-6-2020)
3. Comune di Bologna (2019), Avviso Publico (public announcement), Available at Source link (Accessed 15-7-2020)