Welcome to the Atlas

With its parking areas, ponds, the Lutter stream, playground facilities, walking and jogging paths, the green corridor of Bielefeld, called Luttergrünzug offers recreation opportunity to around 36, 000 people, living in the surrounding areas. As a link between the eastern city center and the district of Heepen, it also enables walking and cycling routes for commuting and shopping away from the busy streets of the city (7). However, the green corridor has been showing some structural and functional defects such as the silting up of the ponds, conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists and the increasing overgrowth of the green belt (8). In order to solve these problems, the renovation and redesign of the Green Corridor was proposed. The regeneration project addresses different needs and requirements of the municipality, namely providing the comfortable infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, and the increase of attractiveness of the neighbouring residential areas. In the planning process, special attention was paid to the improvement of the draining system and the reservoirs of the area that will protect the Belt from flooding. (8)

Two regeneration plans were developed with citizens' involvement and presented to the political committee. In 2017, the implementation of the "smaller" variant was voted for, which was already presented in the first citizens' workshop (1, 4).

Four hackberry trees were planted in the courtyard of the social center "La Grande Bastide". Children were involved with the support of the association "Aux Actes Citoyens" (in english"Act Citizens"). The planting of the 4 trees by the children was done with the support of animators/leaders (who work at the Social Center and animate diverse activities at the center), Karine Lurcin, president of the association "Aux Acts Citizens" as well as several members of the association. (Ref. 1). The Social Center of the "Grande Bastide"(non-governmental organization) was behind the idea, stating that: "It is the idea of ​​the center to have the children do the planting. We will surely be inspired by it for future actions", and, "from today, [the children] will always associate the earth with a particular and positive emotion: pleasure" (Ref. 1).

3000 trees were planted on 7 decares of land by 500 volunteers in park Zapaden on Earth day (22 April) in 2017. The initiative was supported by the Municipality of Sofia, and had the aim of making the city cleaner, greener, and more beautiful. The initiative also compensated for the illegal logging which had taken place in the park. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)

The public awareness campaign 'flowers for bees' was initiated by the French Apidology Observatory (OFA) and has taken place each year since 2017 (Ref. 7). In 2017, 100 000 bags of honey-seed - whose flowers produce pollen and nectar - were distributed throughout the national territory of France on Tuesday 20 June as "one of the biggest mobilizations undertaken in a day in favor of a species threatened with extinction" (Ref. 5). The city of Marseille wished to associate itself with the event by organizing a plantation and a distribution of seeds". A total of 5,000 bags were distributed in the city from 20 to 23 June 2017 (Ref. 1).

A project began in June 2017 to plant grass, flowers, trees, and shrubs on 10 hectares of “muddy spots”, or unused lands that were being eroded and increasing of dust particles in the city. The aim of the project was to improve the air quality and stop these muddy areas being used as unregulated parking spots. The project was initiated and is partly implemented by the municipality, while volunteers also took part in the initiative, brought together by the citizen group called When we Become 100 000 – we Will Plant a Forest. The project planned to use compost from the new composting facility in Sofia, which reuses food waste. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)

The project resulted in new greenery (shrubs and various types of vines) at acoustic screens on two busy streets (Grota-Roweckiego and Bobrzyńskiego) in Kraków. It used over a dozen species of ivy, vines and shrubs, which would lushly cover the screens, absorb the dust and help to fight city smog in a span of a few years. The initiative was implemented with the help of the citizens – residents and employees of surrounding companies, who planted the greenery under the experts' supervision [1,2].
The pilot project was implemented in 2016, whereas the main project is still ongoing with an aim to cover more screens across the city [1,3].

In 2010, about 300 people participated in the planting program for the “350” project and under the “Verde por el Clima” program (Green for the climate) organized by the Department of Environment, Cordoba city council (Concejalía de Medio Ambiente). (Ref. 3)

This NBS is part of a national campaign that was first implemented in 1936 and it deals with an entire month through which local authorities alongside public institutions proceed at plant a large number of trees. The action was resumed in 2008. The Forest Month, how it was named initially, has been over time an opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of forests, and their essential role in maintaining ecological balance. The current name - Planting month Tree- is regulated by the Romanian Forest Code. (1)

The NBS constitutes the annual planting of new trees, bushes, perennials, vines and flowers across Bialystok. The initiative is designed and implemented by City Hall and aims at improving the image of the urban area, and to provide a pleasant environment for the residents and tourists [1].

It is one of the most famous parks in the city. A re-design is offering the opportunity to make use of the full potential of the place and to put it back into the public’s focus – as a place for recreation, a park, a promenade and Zurich’s very own, most central urban park. An urban square was formed, representing generosity and offering space for multiple functions. A gateway from park to courtyard during the daytime, the mirroring water surfaces of the illuminated pools, and the annex’s reflecting façade create the atmosphere of a grotto at night (Ref 1).