Dear Reader,
We welcome you back from your holidays and hope you had a nice summer break.
I am pleased to say that in the past months we've managed to achieve a lot and we are now happy to share with you the updates from our URBAN GreenUP project.
I hope you will enjoy our collection of stories!
Our Frontrunner cities continue to implement the Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). In Valladolid a green roof and a green façade have been installed at the El Campillo Marketplace and at an El Corte Ingles department store, respectively, and a green shelter now covers the market in the Plaza España. In Liverpool, mobile forest and floating gardens in Sefton Park Lake and Wapping Dock have been installed. Likewise, the urban catchment forestry and pollinator in the St Johns Shopping and Parr Street. In Izmir, an ecological corridor has been built in a large, dedicated green area to reunite the city with nature. Furthermore, a smart greenhouse has been set up to promote the NBS in an urban context.
The Project has actively participated in the development of the publication “Evaluating the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions: A Handbook for Practitioners”, and the accompanying “Evaluating the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions: Appendix of Methods” produced by H2020 NBS Projects Task Force 2. This publication provides a summary of key principles in developing NBS impact evaluation framework as well as some European nature-based solution case studies to inspire uptake!
To let you discover some of the most interesting Nature-based solutions developed by URBAN GreenUP, we have created an info-pack and four web videos have been added to our YouTube channel playlist, featuring the work done in the three Frontrunner cities (Valladolid, Liverpool, Izmir) and the Re-naturing Urban Plan (RUP).
As physical events are not possible yet, we are mainly spreading the voice on URBAN GreenUP online. We have successfully concluded two public webinars: the first focused on Green Parklets with stories from Izmir and San Francisco, the second focused on Green Rooftops with stories from Valladolid and Rotterdam.
We are also very happy to see that our network of cities keeps growing. Twentyfour cities from Europe and beyond have already joined our Frontrunners and Followers on their mission to boost the worldwide adoption of renaturing urban plans, to welcome nature back into our cities. Remember, our network is open to all interested cities, so do not hesitate to contact us!
Best wishes and stay safe!
Raúl Sánchez
URBAN GreenUP coordinator
CARTIF Technology Center