Last updated: October 2021
Thanks to an initiative by the citizens of Sofia, called Green Rails in Sofia, grass was planted by the Municipality on a an area of newly reconstructed tram line in Sofia. The cited benefits were heat reduction, noise reduction, aesthetics, natural water retention and drainage, and lower costs of maintenance in the long term compared to grey alternatives. The grassroots initiative “Green Rails in Sofia” are determined to keep putting pressure on the local authority to continue planting grass on other parts of the tram lines. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)
https://dnes.dir.bg/gallery/sofia-relsi-zeleni-19803143?i=2
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Railroad bank and track greens
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Noise reduction
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promotion of naturalistic urban landscape design
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Effective management
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: service sectors
Focus
Creation of new green areas
Project objectives
- Heat reduction
- Noise reduction
- Improved aesthetics
- Provide natural water retention and drainage
- Absorption of harmful gases from the air
- Reduce the costs for maintenance of the rails in the long term compared to grey alternatives
- Encourage the municipality to keep creating more green rails
(Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)
Implementation activities
- grass was planted along tram lines (Ref. 1)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
- Create or improve outdoor spaces to help people escape from urban heat
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Citizens or community group
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning
- Dissemination of information and education
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The coordinator of the citizen group Green Rails in Sofia knew that green rails were widespread in a number of other cities in Europe. As a result, when he heard that the tram line would be reconstructed around the Russian Monument Square, he created the Green Rails in Sofia initiative to pressure the local authority to implement the project. The pressure was successful and the municipality implemented the intervention (Ref. 1; Ref. 4).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Reduced noise exposure
- Improved soil quality
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved stormwater management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Unknown
- Other
Type of reported 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
Ref. 1. Facebook (2017). Зелени релси в София. [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
Ref. 2. Димитрова, Д. (2015). Първи ”зелени” релси в София (снимки). [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
Ref. 3. Клуб 8 ООД (2015). Първите „зелени“ релси в София. [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
Ref. 4. БНТ София (2014). Зелени релси в София. [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
Ref. 2. Димитрова, Д. (2015). Първи ”зелени” релси в София (снимки). [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
Ref. 3. Клуб 8 ООД (2015). Първите „зелени“ релси в София. [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
Ref. 4. БНТ София (2014). Зелени релси в София. [online] available at: Source link [Accessed on 4 September 2020].
https://dnes.dir.bg/gallery/sofia-relsi-zeleni-19803143?i=2