by Richard Hardiman For the first time since the beginning of the REGREEN project, REGREENERs were able to meet our Chinese colleagues face-to-face at a joint International Workshop on “REGREEN: Nature- Based Solutions for Smart, Green

by Clotilde Mahé, ICLEI Europe; Francesca Tedeschini, JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH; Rosa Castañeda Prado, European Forest Institute (EFI) More than 120 participants, 56 speakers from 3 continents and 10 inspiring sessions: the culminating event “Re-greening Cities

Welcome to the 5th and final newsletter from REGREEN! REGREEN is about fostering nature-based solutions for an equitable, healthy and green urban transition in both China and Europe. 20 partners from China and Europe have worked

by Elena Petsani, ICLEI Europe The REGREEN NbS Transition Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the REGREEN project’s key findings and outcomes, focusing on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for urban sustainability in Europe and China. The handbook

by Jo Garrett, University of Exeter Dr. Jo Garrett, from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter presented preliminary results at the REGREEN-CLEARINGHOUSE final conference, which took place in Brussels, 28th –

By Jo Garrett, European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter The major challenges that society faces, such as noncommunicable diseases and climate change, require large-scale interventions that work in complex systems. These interventions

By Gwendoline Grandin, Institut Paris Region Land take is the transformation of agricultural, natural, and semi-natural spaces into urban and other artificial uses. Since the mid-1950s, the total surface area of cities in the EU has

by Gwendoline GRANDIN, Institut Paris Region In February 2022, the regreen project published guidelines a “depaving” and “re‐greening” strategy in cities. Following the first publication, these guidelines were enhanced and published in book form in French

by Mike Hutchins, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Nature-based Solutions, especially tree planting targeted along riverbanks, are increasingly being advocated as improving the quality of urban aquatic environments. Can benefits of tree planting found in

by Sebastian Elze, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ and Jeppe Læssøe, Jeplae Consulting Within the REGREEN project, several Interactive Walkable Floor Maps (IWF) have been produced over time in collaboration with researchers from

by Jeppe Læssøe, Jeplae Consulting Ultimo 2021 an interdisciplinary group of researchers and urban planners began developing Interactive Walkable Floor maps (IWF) as a platform intended to scaffold governance processes as well as learning on NBS

by Hans-Peter Ellmer, JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH Please find here a selection of REGREEN highlights such as papers, tools, different kind of research outputs and results etc. For further information please click here.

by Julius Knopp, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Over the course of the REGREEN project, we have reviewed and worked on many different aspects of nature-based solutions; their respective ecosystem services and polices for

By Julius Knopp, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ Amid urban challenges from climate change, the need to enhance land-use and land-cover (LULC) understanding in diverse urban spaces is critical. High-resolution urban mapping proves

By Clotilde Mahé, ICLEI; Francesca Tedeschini, JOANNEUM RESEARCH; Rosa Castañeda Prado, European Forest Institute (EFI) More than 120 participants, 56 speakers from 3 continents and 10 inspiring sessions: the culminating event “Re-greening Cities with Nature-Based Solutions

by Francesca Tedeschini and Hans-Peter Ellmer, JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH To promote the implementation of NBS in cities, it is key to empower a diverse range of stakeholders and to identify and demonstrate successful replicable cases.

by Åsa Ode Sang, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU With REGREEN the six Urban Living Labs (ULLs) provided a central role in the project as an arena for co-creation of knowledge involving local citizens, schools,

by Gwendoline Grandin, Marc Barra, Signe Marie Iversen, Josip Beber, Anders Branth Pedersen When land is converted into artificial surfaces, ecological functions of land can often be suppressed and thereby making ecosystems less resilient. Consequently, the

by Sally Anderson, Aarhus University Although education is often thought of as what goes on in schools, our work in REGREEN has shown education to be an intrinsically collaborative process involving all ages and societal domains.

by Ben Wheeler, University of Exeter, UK; Photo credit: Ben Wheeler This part of REGREEN was designed to take a holistic approach to developing our understanding of the health and wellbeing values of nature based solutions,

by Laurence Jones, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Cities are complex places where people interact with green and blue spaces (in a mixed built-natural structure) on a day-to-day basis. For many reasons, a lot of

by Ellen Banzhaf, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany Mapping of urban land cover and land use is an important procedure to capture cities’ vegetation cover as input for the ecosystem services they

by Laurence Jones, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Many planning decisions are initiated in response to single-issue problems, such as surface flooding, poor air quality, or high air temperature during heatwaves. One of the strengths

  WHEN: 28.11 2023 – 29.11.2023 (09:30 – 17:00 and 09:00 – 13:00), please see also agenda here. WHERE:  Only online attendance possible anymore, attendance in person is sold out Join us in Brussels to discuss

A new poster on “Interactive Walkakble Floor Maps” has been published by Dr. Ellen Banzhaf and Sebastian Elze (Helmholtz – Centre for Environmental Research) at the GI_Salzburg 2023 conference in Austria this summer. To download the

A REGREEN team lead by Marianne Zandersen (Ellen Banzhaf, Julius Knopp, Janice Scheffler , Gregor Levin, Cornelia Guell and Marielene Wicke) published a chapter on “Naturbasierte Lösungen zur Stärkung der Resilienz in Städten”, pages 145-164 in

Facilitated by the recent opening of China since Covid lockdowns, in May-June 2023 REGREENER, Richard Hardiman, made the first visit to NBS projects and to our Chinese counterparts since the REGREEN project began and was warmly

REGREEN is now already in its final year. We conclude end of February 2024 and look forward to presenting our insights, tools and guidances to bringing high quality nature into cities and to discussing challenges at our

Based on the article in the 2nd newsletter Link where we introduced our strong contribution to the URP2020 Int. Conference (Sustainable & Resilient Urban-Rural-Partnerships), we elaborated a journal article in which we discuss urban-rural dependencies (see

As part of the REGREEN project, IPR organised an online technical day dedicated to the renaturation of cities on 31 January 2023 to accompany the release of its guide “Renaturating cities: methods, examples and recommendations”. The

At REGREEN, we are wrapping up the Deliberative Valuation Method (DVM) workshops in our European Urban Living Labs and we are looking forward to analyzing the rich results! At the beginning of May, we will host

At REGREEN, we believe in the power of nature-based solutions (NBS) to promote urban liveability and well-being. That’s why we’re excited to share a recent REGREEN paper led by Miriam R. Alvarado, and co-authored by Rebecca

The loss of soil functions and ecosystem services is one of the major environmental challenges Europe is facing. Despite a reduction in the last decade, land take in EU28 still amounted to 539km2/year between 2012‐2018. Since

Urbanisation is one of the key drivers for degrading ecosystems. By 2030, cities are expected to cover three times as much land as they did in 2000, with much of the expansion occurring in biodiversity hotspots.

The City of Velika Gorica is the smallest of six cities in the REGREEN project, but the sixth largest in Croatia. It has a strong history and culture that nourishes and respects the nature and heritage

At the hybrid URBIO 2022 International Conference (Integrating Biodiversity in Urban Planning and Design Processes), we co-hosted the special session Blue-green infrastructures and nature-based solutions for resilient cities and contributed with 3 out of 6 presentations

In REGREEN, we develop and utilize a diverse range of mapping and modeling techniques to evaluate the ecosystem services (ES) provided by nature-based solutions (NBS). This report (D3.4 REGREEN) presents an overview of the mapping and

The Transition Workshop was held at the 9th European Resilience Forum (EURESFO), hosted by the Municipality of Athens, and organised by ICLEI, on the 15th of September 2022. It brought together more than 60 stakeholders from

In REGREEEN we’re carrying out photo-elicitation focus groups with members of the public in Paris, Aarhus and Velika Gorica, using photos of street trees and other NBS captured by our ULL partners. Photo-elicitation is a method

REGREEN organised training workshops on NBS for practitioners in Aarhus (October 2022) and Velika Gorica (March 2023) in collaboration with the Paris Region Institute and the two cities and has released the training kit. Presentation session

The 30th of November, 2022, Anne-Caroline Prévot became “chevalier” of the French national “ordre du mérite”, which is the second French National order to honor French citizens – it rewards distinguished merits acquired either in a

As October’s project meeting drew to a close, Aarhus municipality led an informative field tour around several key sites, showcasing different interpretations and implementations of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). From the wide expanse of the restored lake,

The open access paper published in the journal Nature-based Solutions sets out a typology of urban Green Infrastructure which aims to help design and plan new Green Infrastructure. The paper was led by Prof Laurence Jones

Urban Ecosystem Service Patterns, Processes, and Contributions to Environmental Equity under Different Scenario In WP 3, the impact of urbanization on land cover and its subsequent effect on ecosystem services (ES) is a significant concern for

The 7th Summit for Subnational Governments & Cities constitutes an unprecedented global milestone to welcome significantly strengthened contributions from subnational governments and cities to the new post-2020 global biodiversity framework. This official parallel event to COP15,

The launch of the Nature-Based Solutions Education Network (NBS EduWORLD) project under Horizon Europe is an exciting development for researchers, educators, practitioners, and even sports community members who are passionate about creating engaging educational resources that

  Floormaps have become an important tool for training and awareness raising among children and in the educational setting. In addition, the floormaps have shown great potential in governance. In spring 2022 and in collaboration with

A new YouTube video including Croatian subtitles created by Natureparif in partnership with the Seine Normandy Water Agency and the Environment Training Institute of the French Ministry of Ecology  has been launched. The video aims at

Several scientists introduced their investigations at the Conference of URBIO-International Network Urban Biodiversity and Design: “Integrating Biodiversity in Urban Planning and Design Processes”, 28-30 November 2022 in Leipzig, Germany. (https://www.urbionetwork.com/publication-2022) We brought in different perspectives to

By Wanben WU, Fudan University, and Ellen Banzhaf, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, 22.11 2022 The collaboration between Fudan University team in China and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research — UFZ in Germany has

A new REGREEN article “Urban-Rural Dependencies and Opportunities to Design Nature-Based Solutions for Resilience in Europe and China” has been published in the Special Issue of  the Journal Land (“Urban-Rural-Partnerships: Sustainable and Resilient” – Guest Editor(s):

Last Tuesday, on March 29, researchers from Aarhus University (environmental sciences, pedagogy, education) and UFZ (Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung) in Leipzig, along with Aarhus Municipality’s Department of Construction and Environment – presented a large walkable floor map

In this Youtube video Sally Anderson, PhD and Associate Professor at Aarhuis University presents REGREEN with special focus on WP5. Please click here to watch this video.

The report “Ecology of green roof : Summary of the GROOVES (Green roofs verified ecosystem services) study” has been published by the Paris Region Institute.The study follows on from previous research demonstrating how valuable green roofs

The REGREEN deliverable “D.5.2 Implementation of educational digital platform” has been finalised. Greenopolis is a learning platform about healthy and liveable cities. Your Natur Guide, e-Boti, introduces you to urban development, climate challenges, and nature-based solutions.

In this final episod #8 Professor Jun Yang, Tsinghua University, China answers the question how one of the biggest and most populous cities in the world manages to have an urban green space of 51% and

In this episod #7 Gordana Mikulčić Krnjaja, Head of department for Spatial planning and Environmental Protection, Marko Ruzic, Consultant for environmental protection, and Kristina Vucak, Senior expert associate for landscaping, take us through the challenges and

A new paper where ananlysis and writing were undertaken as part of the REGREEN project has been published in the ELSEVIER Journal “Environmental Science and Policy” by Nick Kirsop-Taylor and Duncan Russel from the University of

REGREEN is now slightly more than half-way. Despite Covid lock-downs, partial openings and different regulations across Europe and China, a multitude of activities, research and outreach is happening. Below you’ll find an overview of what latest

By Stine Casparij Kondrup, INTUGREEN   REGREEN will be launching the educational platform ‘Greenopolis’ in the beginning of 2022. In Greenopolis, we follow the character e-Boti in its exploration of solutions to fight the consequences of

By Frederika Mårtenson & Åsa Sang Ode, SLU  The Alnarp Landscape Laboratory is a 1:1 experimental woodland at the SLU Alnarp campus in Sweden (partner in REGREEN). It is open and accessible for the general public

By Prince Michael Amegbor & Clive Sabel, Aarhus University. REGREEN 3rd Newsletter, Dec. 2021  You may have heard green and blues spaces in urban areas have the capacity to improve mental health and wellbeing. Is that

By Dr. Cornelia Guell, Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter, European Center for Environment and Human Health. Many cities have ambitions to significantly increase the number of street trees. Paris, for example, plans to plant trees on

By/ Sally Anderson/AU, Jeppe Læssøe/Jeplae, Gertrud Esbensen/AU, Stine C. Kondrup/Intugreen, Fredrika Mårtensson/SLU, Åsa Sang Ode/SLU, Simon Benauteau/MNHN, Mara Sierra Jimenez/MNHN, Anne-Caroline Prevot, MNHN   REGREEN works across a range of approaches on children’s interaction with nature,

To understand the major urban driver land cover /land use we undertake mapping at various scales and at different points in time. The central purpose of this scale-dependent monitoring is to capture ecosystem service features over

Showcasing inspiring examples of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) from cities around Europe to serve as a reference on NBS planning and implementation can be a common practice in some European projects. However, a description of the

EURESFO has become widely known as the leading platform for discussing climate change and the resilience of cities in the EU. This year, the EUROSFO hosted by the city of Malmö in Sweden, known for its

This episode #5 deals with the concept of citizen science, its possibilities and its potential. Our guides this time are Jeppe Læssøe from Aarhus University, along with Anne-Caroline Prevot and Simon Benateau from Muséum nationale d’Histoire

The Regional Biodiversity Agency of Paris region (ARB îdF, part of l’Institut Paris Region) is one of six Urban Living Labs in REGREEN. ARB îdF hosted the fifth REGREEN project meeting from September 13 to 17,

Walkable floor maps consist of aerial photos / satellite images and, as such, present a static view of a study area. These maps become dynamic through the use of QR codes that tell stories about present

The available remote sensing and spatial data for the different ULLs in REGREEN are far from consistent. Thus, the mapping routines for tasks drivers and pressures and mapping and modelling ecosystem services have to be adapted

Working with nature can help prevent the worst impacts of climate change, and biodiversity and ecosystem loss. The EEA report #1/2021 gathers and analyses policy, knowledge and practice from Europe in relation to climate change adaptation

This episode #4 explores the French capital region with ecologist Marc Barra, from the Institut Paris Region, and with hydraulic engineer Eric Chanal, general director of the SIAH, Mixed union for the Hydraulic Development of the

The REGREEN podcast explores the concept of nature-based solutions, and how these solutions can help accelerate the transition towards equitable, green, and healthy cities in Europe and in China. The episodes tune in on why it

The 13 factsheets provide an overview of REGREEN’s journey in terms of processes, outputs and milestones and show inspiring examples of NBS from cities around Europe to serve as a reference on NBS planning and implementation

A new scientific article has been published by Prof. Sally Anderson, Aarhus University, Denmark. Find here a link to the publishing journal for further information.   Abstract: While much theoretical work on value takes point of

Mr. Marc Barra from the Paris Region Institute in France offers the opportunity to share this report with interested people. The work synthetizes 3 years of research on the assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services of

Prof. Richard Hardiman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) gave a webinar on Wed, April 7, 2021, 16:30-18:00 (Israel Time) with discussant Tamar Grosswald Ozery, also Hebrew University, click here to watch the recorded webinar.  

By Sandra Vlašić, Green Energy Cooperative, Coratia The City of Rijeka in Croatia took part in the Global Climathon Event on the weekend – November 13-14th thus contributed to a global climate movement happening at the

The EEA assessment report presents the status quo of adaptation to climate change at the local government level, with particular focus on cities. The assessment gives an overview of climate risks to cities, types of adaptation

REGREEN aims to address urban challenges in China by i) assessing and mapping drivers and pressures; ii) modelling ecosystem services provided by Nature-Based Solutions in a holistic and systemic way and iii) valuing the contribution of

Much has changed since we started planning our 1st project meeting in REGREEN – a 4-day meeting to be held in Paris in April 2020. People work from home, gatherings are limited, squares are half-empty, there

By Julius Knopp (UFZ, Germany) Since no high resolution imageries exist for Croatia, the ULL Velika Gorica could not provide us with such remote sensing data. In REGREEN, we will carry out refined scale mapping for

Guest article by Rik De Vreese, EFI The CLEARING HOUSE project gathers 26 partners in Europe and China, and will provide evidence and tools that facilitate the mobilisation of the full potential of urban forests as

By Alina Lückl and Andreas Türk (JOANNEUM RESERACH) GRAZ – Smart City Rooftop Farming is an urban farming project on the rooftop of the Science Tower in Graz, showing how to grow food in a sustainable

By Vasileios Latinos and Asa Sang, August 2020 The REGREEN project works intensively with its three European Urban Life-Labs (ULLs), Aarhus (DK), Paris Region (FR) and Velika Gorica (CR). The three ULLs differ in scale and

Guest article by Emma Leijnse. Photographer Lars Brundin. Sydsvenskan Friday 29th May 2020.  Sydsvenskan.se. Permission is granted by Lars Brundin and Emma Leijnse. Translation: Marianne Zandersen, AU. Researchers at Alnarp are working in their forest lab

By Laurence Jones & David Fletcher, UKCEH Pressures, demand and opportunity for NBS In REGREEN, we look at a number of pressures that exert a negative impact on the liveability of cities. These include pressures linked

Snježana Mihinica from the “Phyllis Krystal Foundation” has published an article on the topic above: There is a beautiful legend about mythological beings named Moguts who lived deeply connected to nature and have great appreaciaton of

Vasileios Latinos (ICLEI Europe) published a text on the topic above with contributions from Veronica Rebollo, Valeria Eirin (ICLEI Europe) and Alis-Daniela Torres (EU Covenant of Mayors): The 2020 edition of the European Urban Resilience Forum

As on of the first results of the project REGREEN Xiangyu Luo, Wanben Wu, Julius Knopp and Ellen Banzhaf published a report on land cover changes for the six investigated Urban Living Labs in Europe and

The proposed GREENING CITIES-SHAPING CITIES symposium (to be held at the Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, DASTU) aims to address how greening strategies such as the integration of nature and Nature-based Solutions (NBS) into the

Technology alone cannot save the planet from climate change. Therefore, as soon as the expression of nature based solutions appeared, it was quickly recognized by everyone. Nature based solutions and Xi Jinping’s ecological civilization thought and

The symposium (to be held at the Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, DASTU) aims to address how greening strategies such as the integration of nature and Nature-based Solutions (NBS) into the built environment

The EU Business and Biodiversity Platform organises a virtual meeting with all EU & national B@B platforms and networks on 23 June 2.00-3.30pm CET. The aim of the meeting is to share experiences, learn about each

All businesses depend and impact on nature. Through understanding and considering the risks and opportunities created by nature, businesses can make better decisions that benefit themselves, society and the planet as a whole. By guiding you

The European Business and Nature Summit (EBNS) will reconvene in Brussels on 8 and 9 December 2020 to strengthen the growing movement of companies across Europe and beyond that are putting nature and people at the

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the EU B@B Platform have teamed up to organise a webinar series on financing investment in natural capital. This webinar series aims to help participants to better understand and overcome

We are proud to inform you that the research work of our REGREEN colleague Prof. Jun Yang, an urban ecologist from the Center for Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, in Beijing, was highlighted in the article

By Ellen Banzhaf, WG Geomatics, March 2020 The call for abstracts for the URP2020  is open! Deadline for abstract submission: 31 May 2020. For more information please click here.

By Vasileios Latinos, ICLEI, January 2020 A new report exploring the future of cities released by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre states that public space makes up 2-15 percent of land in European city centres.

By Sandra Vlašić, Green Energy Cooperative, November 2019 It is crystal clear, we must adapt to climate change. It is not the question anymore can we do it, but how to do it? One way, so

By Richard Hardiman, January 2020 China is co-lead, together with New Zealand, of the Climate Action Summit’s Nature-based Solutions (NBS) action area and Mr. Xie Zhenhua, former head of China’s climate change office announced nine action

AARHUS 1) Which are the main environmental and social challenges Aarhus is facing with? Aarhus Municipality is facing rapid urban growth, with the number of inhabitants rising from the current 340,000 to additional 75,000 inhabitants by

After the kick-off meeting in Aarhus in October 2019, REGREEN project partners will meet virtually on 21-22/4 2020 in lieu of an in-person meeting in Paris due to the COVID-19 situation. The ‘real meeting’ in Paris,

Photo by Vasileios Latinos, ICLEI; Urban EU-China Final Event, Brussels, December 2019 December was a busy month for REGREEN team! Right before the start of holidays season, 2 must attend events being of high relevance for

The three European Urban Living Labs (ULLs) -Aarhus, Paris region and Velika Gorica – form the basis for many of the activitives that are taking place within REGREEN, serving as testbeds for developed methods and tools.

Photos by Mira Rindsig Jensen, October 2019 Our REGREEN partner, Aarhus Municipality had planned an excellent excursion for the consortium. Thursday 24. October, we set off in a bus, where we were informed about the sites

By Pia Frederiksen & Marianne Zandersen, January 2020 The European project REGREEN, entitled “Fostering nature-based solutions for equitable, green and healthy urban transitions in Europe and China” is funded by the European Horizon 2020 programme. The

Following long preparations, the kick-off meeting of H2020 project REGREEN took place in Aarhus from 22-25 of October. 16 European project partners and one of the four Chinese, gathered in a colorful setting of Aarhus landmark