Last updated: March 2025
Fjärdingsparken is a city park that has been constructed in two phases, the second finishing in 2023 [Ref. 1]. The initial phase of the plan focuses on building a new kindergarten, and it includes developing the park surrounding the kindergarten to increase locals' access to green space and recreation. The first phase also involved building a football field at the park's edge [Ref. 1, 4, 5]. The second phase continued the park's development focusing on rain water management and biodiversity. The park was constructed so that up to 900 m3 of rainwater can be managed in the park during a 100-year rain, protecting the surrounding area from flooding. This is part of a flooding strategy for the city. The park includes a meadow, aiming to provide habitat for flowers and plants supporting pollinators and butterflies. It also contains amenities such as an outdoor gym, a dog park, and a "play forest" designed for children. The climate impact of constructing the park was evaluated in an attempt to reduce GHG emissions [Ref. 1-3].
Outdoor gym in Fjärdingsparken
https://goteborg.se/wps/portal/aktuelltarkivet/aktuellt/336607ec-5334-4786-81da-500dc85af7e7
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Green areas for water management
- Rain gardens
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Flood protection
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Inclusive governance
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Creation of semi-natural blue areas, Implementation of green areas for water management (e.g. rain gardens)
Project objectives
- Protect buildings and infrastructure surrounding the park from flooding during a 100-year rainfall.
- Provide citizens in the area access to green space for recreation and social interactions.
- Provide habitat for biodiversity, including promoting pollinators.
- Integrate the park in "Flunsåsstråket", a green stretch connecting the Kvillebäcken River in the east and the Flunsås Park in the west.
Implementation activities
1. Phase 1: The zoning plan of the area was updated to allow for the construction of a kindergarten, which also included defining the boundaries of the new park. In the planning process, citizens and stakeholders were consulted and allowed to give feedback.
2. A few buildings were demolished to make space for the kindergarten and the park. Older trees were preserved as much as possible [Ref. 4].
3. Phase 2: The landscaping of the park was modelled to plan for better rain water management. The ground was shaped accordingly to create a "stormwater facility", which will normally function as a park.
4. And outdoor gym, a dog park, and a children's play-forest were constructed [Ref. 1-3].
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater
Main beneficiaries
- Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
- 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
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The City of Gothenburg is the initiator and owner of the project. The City made plans for changing the area and funded the construction of the park as well as the new kindergarten. The private consultancy company Ramboll was employed to model and design the park, in particular the stormwater catchment. Citizens and local stakeholders were consulted during the planning process. Wishes from citizens regarding amenities in the park were adhered to, such as the outdoor gym and the dog park. [Ref. 1-4]
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Amendment to the comprehensive spatial plan regarding flood risks (Sv. Tillägg till översiktsplan Översvämningsrisker). There is also a less formal agreement between departments in the municipality on how to manage flood risk; this project is described as a result of that agreement. [Ref. 3, 5])
Type of enablers
City network or regional partnerships focused on climate change, sustainability, GI or NBS in the city
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Water management and blue areas
- Increased protection against flooding
- Achieved increased protection against flooding
- Improved stormwater management
- Achieved improved stormwater management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
- Expected increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
- Increased number of species present
- Expected increased number of species present
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Expected enhanced support of pollination
Economic impacts
- Reduce financial cost for urban management
- Expected reduce financial cost for urban management
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Other
References
1.
City of Gothenburg (2023). Fjärdingsparken öppnar – redo för besökare och skyfall. Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Rudling, M. (n.d.). Fjärdingsparken i Göteborg. Ramboll, Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Engvall, L. (2023). Informationsärende skyfallsprojekt Stabbeparken och Fjärdingsparken etapp 2 . City of Gothenburg, [Source link];
4.
Sjöström, R. (2014). Detaljplan för förskola vid Fjärdingsplan inom stadsdelen Kvillebäcken i Göteborg. City of Gothenburg, [Source link];
5.
Adersjö, A. (2022). Första etappen av högvattenskydd klar i centrala Göteborg. Sveriges Television, Accessed on August 20, 2024, [Source link];
Illustration of how the park will gather water during heavy rainfall
https://goteborg.se/wps/portal/aktuelltarkivet/aktuellt/336607ec-5334-4786-81da-500dc85af7e7
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.