Last updated: September 2024
Thessaloniki has a dense urban structure with limited open and green spaces. As a coastal city severely impacted by climate change, it faces multiple interconnected challenges, including extreme weather events, flooding, and peri-urban forest fires. These issues are further compounded by the city's aging infrastructure and deteriorating buildings, increasing its vulnerability (Ref 1). Kipos 3, a community garden, is part of the "Green Neighborhoods" project proposed in the Thessaloniki 2030 municipal resilience strategy (ibid.). Established in 2015 on a 600-square-meter plot donated by the municipality, the garden is now managed by 30 local families under the continued stewardship of the Municipality (Ref 2, 3). The garden's creation was supported by a team of architects, landscape architects, and agriculturists, and features a variety of herbs and edible plants grown using permaculture methods (Ref 3). The garden hosts a greenhouse along a range of environmental, recreational, and educational activities, providing an opportunity to foster a more cohesive, inclusive, and resilient community. It also serves as a space for synergies and discussions about the future of the city (Ref 3, 4). Recognized as a good practice, the intervention has been showcased in national, European, and international networks (Ref 2, 4).
kipos-3-project-in-thessaloniki-greece
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Intra-urban-agriculture-in-the-KIPOS-3-project-in-Thessaloniki-Greece_fig1_322013689
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Other
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
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Inclusive governance
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social cohesion
- Environmental education
- Sense of community and community engagement
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Coastal flooding
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Coastal hazards (e.g. erosion, flooding)
- Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
- Forest fires and wildfires
- Extreme weather events (e.g. storms, hurricanes)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Economic losses due to disasters and environmental degradation
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments), Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs
Project objectives
To develop and strengthen a community of practice around the creation and care of a neighborhood garden (Ref 5).
To host a greenhouse for the reproduction of forgotten or lost local varieties, along with a compost area, aimed at restoring endangered species (Ref 3).
To introduce new green spaces into Thessaloniki's urban landscape and promote permaculture gardening methods, enhancing environmental quality and improving the city's resilience to extreme temperatures (Ref 1, 3).
To bring the concept of a community-managed garden to Thessaloniki, overseen by residents in collaboration with the Municipality (Ref 1).
To increase local communities' access to green spaces and provide environmental, recreational, and educational activities that enhance social cohesion and community engagement (Ref 3).
Implementation activities
The urban garden in Thessaloniki, developed in two phases (2015 and 2017), now thrives under the stewardship of 30 local families and has become an emblematic green space for the city. Its establishment was supported by a collaborative team of architects, landscape architects, and agriculturists who coordinated both top-down and bottom-up efforts to ensure a sustainable design. The process began with mapping potential sites within the city, followed by a campaign across six districts to encourage community engagement. After selecting spaces based on specific criteria, door-to-door campaigns were conducted to raise awareness within the chosen districts. The garden was created alongside a series of community workshops involving schools and residents, promoting gardening and active citizenship. It features a greenhouse for the reproduction of local forgotten or lost plant varieties, as well as a compost area. Within its borders, various herbs and edible species grow in harmony using permaculture methods. Despite being an open public space, the garden remains free from vandalism and hosts various environmental, recreational, and educational activities that highlight the value of green spaces. It collaborates with the Centre of Environmental Education to host school classes and welcomes researchers and conferences, fostering interest in urban gardening.
An organizational structure was established to support self-maintenance, collaboration with local authorities (Ref. 3, 4).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore native species
- Restore endangered species
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
- Researchers/University
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
- Marginalized groups: Children, young people or youth groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
- Researchers/university
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
This project originated from a workshop at the MLA Landscape Architecture School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The garden's creation was supported by architects, landscape architects, and agriculturists, alongside university students who coordinated all aspects of the project—both top-down and bottom-up—to ensure its sustainability (Ref 3). The Municipality provides the space and watering system for the garden (Ref 4). Infrastructure and financial support comes from the Angelopoulos CGIU Fellowships program, START – Create Cultural Change (a program of the Robert Bosch Foundation), in collaboration with the Goethe Institute Thessaloniki and the Federal Association of Sociocultural Organizations of Germany (Ref 5).
The project is managed by residents under the stewardship of the Municipality (Ref 2). The project offers educational courses for elementary and secondary schools in collaboration with the Centre of Environmental Education of Eleftherio Kordellio (3)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Kipos 3 community garden is part of a project for green neighbourhoods proposed in Thessaloniki 2030, the city's resilience strategy (Ref 1))
Type of enablers
Support from transitional governance actors, Change agents (individual with major role influence on launching)
Financing
Total cost
Less than €10,000
Source(s) of funding
- Multilateral funds/international funding
- Private Foundation/Trust
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Expected increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Achieved generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Achieved increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
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
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Achieved increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
- Achieved increased support for education and scientific research
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
Unknown
References
1.
Municipality of Thessaloniki (2020). Resilient Thessaloniki: A Strategy for 2030. Municipality of Thessaloniki, Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Dimitrova M. (2021). Urban community gardens project in Thessaloniki helps 30 families to grow organic fruits and vegetables. The Mayor, Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Hernandez, P. (2021). Thessaloniki Transfer Story. URBACT, Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Interreg Europe (2021). Kipos3. Interreg Europe, Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Urban Youth Gardens (n.d.). KIPOS3: The City as a Resource Project Greece. Urban Youth Gardens, Accessed on August 19, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) (2021). Δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά / 2021. Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link];
7.
ERI Economic Research Institute (n.d.). Average Salary in Thessaloniki, Greece. Salary Expert, Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) (2021). Χαρακτηριστικά κατοικιών - νοικοκυριών / 2021. Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link];
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.