Periodic Reporting for period 3 - proGIreg (productive Green Infrastructure for post-industrial urban regeneration)
Reporting period: 2021-06-01 to 2023-11-30
In proGIreg, four front-runner cities (FRC) (Dortmund DE; Turin IT; Zagreb HR; Ningbo CN) have created Living Labs (LLs). These areas suffer from social and economic disadvantages, inequality and other problems related to the decline of industries. They lack quality greenspaces, have a negative impact on human health and wellbeing and are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The LLs have implemented Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) which are citizen-owned and co-developed by state, market and civil society stakeholders. Innovation took place on the technical level through the NBS deployments, on the social level through co-designing, co-creating and co-implementing NBS and on the economic level through developing new NBS business models (BMs). Four follower cities (Cascais PT, Cluj-Napoca RO, Piraeus GR, Zenica BA) have tested the replicability of the NBS in new contexts. Each Follower City (FC) has organised a co-design process which has led to urban plans for NBS. The NBS that are tested i.a. include: regenerating soils with biotic compounds, creating community-based urban agriculture and aquaponics and making green corridors accessible. Scientific benefit assessment and monitoring results have been made available via numerous channels, including the EU NBS platform OPPLA, and contribute to the European reference framework for NBS, e.g. through the NBS monitoring guidelines and an interactive Business Model Catalogue (iBMC). Global impact has been achieved by the MOOC “Nature-based urban regeneration” distributed via edX and attended by learners from more than 100 countries. Internal and external replication events have been organized in all FRC to create and extend a community of practice in NBS.
The first RP has laid the foundation for a successful project implementation. All work packages (WPs) have established the methodologies for fulfilling their tasks and objectives throughout the project duration.
Co-design processes in FRCs: Based on the quad helix model, local partnerships including government, universities, citizen organisations and SMEs have been established and developed LL vision maps representing the planned transformation.
Assessment methodology for NBS benefits: Ten assessment tools have been defined to measure the impact within the four assessment domains: socio-cultural inclusiveness, human health and wellbeing, ecological and environmental restoration and economic and labour market benefits. Data for a baseline assessment on the level of the FRC, the LL and the NBS intervention sites have been collected.
The second RP has been fully under the impact of the CoViD-19 pandemic. It was mainly devoted to starting the implementation of NBS in the LLs leading to the identification of technical and non-technical barriers which were collected and assessed. Several NBS have been adapted to the local conditions and unforeseen risks. This co-creative process has also led to improvements, e.g. through the introduction of a therapeutic garden. The elaboration of urban plans for NBS replication in FCs started by establishing a roadmap for the co-design processes.
The third RP has included the possibility to come back from CoVid-related restrictions to a normal working situation. The period allowed to overcome the barriers and delays in NBS implementation: all NBS have been implemented by project end are documented on fact sheets, in short brochures and on the OPPLA platform.
The results of NBS benefit assessment have been published in extensive reports on the LL level and on the NBS level and also been wrapped-up in a short report with success stories and take-home messages.
NBS implementation and management also allowed to collect data on the business and governance models of the co-created NBS. A new NBS business model canvas has been created to better depict the societal and environmental benefits provided. Results of the analysis of BMs found in proGIreg with the help of the Pestoff-triangle show that different options for creating and managing NBS between the state, the market and the civil society exist and that the third sector, bringing together different types of stakeholders from the three domains, can play a decisive role in creating more NBS in cities.
The learnings from NBS implementation in FRCs and their BMs allowed the replication of NBS in FCs in local co-design processes. The most suitable among the eight proGIreg NBS have been selected and adapted to the FC’s local urban context and stakeholder settings.
A number of supporting tasks guaranteed project impact on research and practise. All FRCs hosted replication events for the NBS community of practise and the final conference in Zagreb was the occasion to present the project results to a wide audience. The proGIreg MOOC is available on edX and reaches a global learner community.
Co-design processes in FRCs: Based on the quad helix model, local partnerships including government, universities, citizen organisations and SMEs have been established and developed LL vision maps representing the planned transformation.
Assessment methodology for NBS benefits: Ten assessment tools have been defined to measure the impact within the four assessment domains: socio-cultural inclusiveness, human health and wellbeing, ecological and environmental restoration and economic and labour market benefits. Data for a baseline assessment on the level of the FRC, the LL and the NBS intervention sites have been collected.
The second RP has been fully under the impact of the CoViD-19 pandemic. It was mainly devoted to starting the implementation of NBS in the LLs leading to the identification of technical and non-technical barriers which were collected and assessed. Several NBS have been adapted to the local conditions and unforeseen risks. This co-creative process has also led to improvements, e.g. through the introduction of a therapeutic garden. The elaboration of urban plans for NBS replication in FCs started by establishing a roadmap for the co-design processes.
The third RP has included the possibility to come back from CoVid-related restrictions to a normal working situation. The period allowed to overcome the barriers and delays in NBS implementation: all NBS have been implemented by project end are documented on fact sheets, in short brochures and on the OPPLA platform.
The results of NBS benefit assessment have been published in extensive reports on the LL level and on the NBS level and also been wrapped-up in a short report with success stories and take-home messages.
NBS implementation and management also allowed to collect data on the business and governance models of the co-created NBS. A new NBS business model canvas has been created to better depict the societal and environmental benefits provided. Results of the analysis of BMs found in proGIreg with the help of the Pestoff-triangle show that different options for creating and managing NBS between the state, the market and the civil society exist and that the third sector, bringing together different types of stakeholders from the three domains, can play a decisive role in creating more NBS in cities.
The learnings from NBS implementation in FRCs and their BMs allowed the replication of NBS in FCs in local co-design processes. The most suitable among the eight proGIreg NBS have been selected and adapted to the FC’s local urban context and stakeholder settings.
A number of supporting tasks guaranteed project impact on research and practise. All FRCs hosted replication events for the NBS community of practise and the final conference in Zagreb was the occasion to present the project results to a wide audience. The proGIreg MOOC is available on edX and reaches a global learner community.
The co-design experience in the proGIreg FRCs has been translated into co-design guidelines and a roadmap for NBS co-creation. These allow to anchor investments of European funds into NBS within local communities. ProGIreg has led to a large number of mainstreaming and spin-off projects for NBS, as well on the local as on the international level (EU funding schemes INTERREG, DUT, NetZeroCities, NEB). Project knowledge is also shared in national NBS hubs and in an international RIA with Africa.
ProGIreg has provided major contributions to the guidelines “Evaluating the impact of Nature-based Solutions: a handbook for practitioners” and created own guidelines for upscaling NBS monitoring.
Impact has been created in the following fields:
1) A community of practice in NBS has been forged between the proGIreg cities and beyond the consortium through replication events. The community can rely on scientific evidence from proGIreg concerning NBS benefits and the iBMC.
2) citizen ownership: A new understanding of Green Infrastructure (GI) as an urban common resource has been at the core of proGIreg. The transdisciplinary LLs and the new participatory processes give guidance how actors from state, market and civil society can join forces for NBS. BMs for citizen governance of NBS have been developed and disseminated through the iBMC.
3) global market opportunities: the project has created and disseminated open source knowledge which enables cities, NGOs, local SMEs and citizens to find and use their opportunities in NBS. The roadmap to NBS co-creation, the guidelines for NBS monitoring and the iBMC are provided by the project partners for free replication.
4) EU policies: The results of proGIreg have proven that NBS can help to implement EU programmes and strategies:
- greening buildings and the improved greening of urban areas in other NBS contribute to the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy by reducing the heat island effect and reducing indoor and outdoor heat stress.
- proGIreg has demonstrated that NBS can function as carbon sinks in urban areas and thus contribute to the EU’s achievement of the COP Agreements on climate change mitigation.
- with NBS that foster productive outputs of Gi like the creation of new soil, urban community gardens and urban aquaponics proGIreg has created techniques and BMs that are new opportunities for the farm to fork strategy to increase urban food production.
- proGIreg has shown how the EU Biodiversity Strategy can be implemented in cooperation with local communities by involving citizens in the creation of new habitats for pollinators.
ProGIreg has provided major contributions to the guidelines “Evaluating the impact of Nature-based Solutions: a handbook for practitioners” and created own guidelines for upscaling NBS monitoring.
Impact has been created in the following fields:
1) A community of practice in NBS has been forged between the proGIreg cities and beyond the consortium through replication events. The community can rely on scientific evidence from proGIreg concerning NBS benefits and the iBMC.
2) citizen ownership: A new understanding of Green Infrastructure (GI) as an urban common resource has been at the core of proGIreg. The transdisciplinary LLs and the new participatory processes give guidance how actors from state, market and civil society can join forces for NBS. BMs for citizen governance of NBS have been developed and disseminated through the iBMC.
3) global market opportunities: the project has created and disseminated open source knowledge which enables cities, NGOs, local SMEs and citizens to find and use their opportunities in NBS. The roadmap to NBS co-creation, the guidelines for NBS monitoring and the iBMC are provided by the project partners for free replication.
4) EU policies: The results of proGIreg have proven that NBS can help to implement EU programmes and strategies:
- greening buildings and the improved greening of urban areas in other NBS contribute to the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy by reducing the heat island effect and reducing indoor and outdoor heat stress.
- proGIreg has demonstrated that NBS can function as carbon sinks in urban areas and thus contribute to the EU’s achievement of the COP Agreements on climate change mitigation.
- with NBS that foster productive outputs of Gi like the creation of new soil, urban community gardens and urban aquaponics proGIreg has created techniques and BMs that are new opportunities for the farm to fork strategy to increase urban food production.
- proGIreg has shown how the EU Biodiversity Strategy can be implemented in cooperation with local communities by involving citizens in the creation of new habitats for pollinators.