We consider the topics of reuse of spaces and buildings and green infrastructure to be of utmost importance when talking about sustainable urban development and limiting urban sprawl. These two topics go hand in hand and it is extremely important for us to approach to them in that manner. When planning the reuse of existing spaces and buildings, we aim to incorporate green infrastructure as an element that contributes to sustainability and to the improvement of quality of life for our citizens. We are strongly dedicated to this. As a partner in SUL NBS Partnership, Zagreb is developing a guide that gathers all information on available financing and funding instruments and models. It also includes both private and public funds, the NBS reference framework and good practice examples of NBS projects implemented in EU cities. We aim to create a practical tool for local and regional authorities, as well as private investors, which will lead to improving the implementation of NBS, as they will be able to access the information on financing NBS projects more easily. In Croatia, Zagreb is one of the leading cities in implementing NBS. The city of Zagreb is currently implementing and preparing several NBS projects, such as ProGIReg, Zagreb on the Sava river, City of Youth and Črnomerec creek. ProGIReg, short for ‘Productive Green Infrastructure for Post-industrial Urban Regeneration’ will develop nature-based solutions on the technical level through NBS implementation; on the social level through co-design, a joint creation and NBS implementation in cooperation with local community; and on the economic level through combining NBS with business models ready for the market. The project involves several stages in which various nature-based solutions are going to be implemented, such as reconstruction of the existing factory building using green walls and roofs; construction of a bike path that will connect marginalised areas through the green corridor; aquaponics –a link between aquaculture and hydroculture in a circular system that saves resources and mimics the natural nitrogen cycle; and construction of urban gardens. Findings of ESPON research projects and policy briefs are important to us, especially in the way that they help us to get new points of view on existing challenges we face and to determine our course of action.
Results of the urban agenda on sustainable land use and nature-based solutions
The SUL-NBS Partnership started its activities in 2017. The establishment of this particular network was a response to the growing need for better urban management and the acknowledgment of the benefits of using nature-based solutions to address the challenges facing cities in a context of scarce land resources. The network brought together over 20 partners from European cities, national governments and European institutions to jointly propose solutions and recommendations aimed at ensuring ‘the efficient and sustainable use of land and natural resources to help create compact, liveable and inclusive European cities for everyone’.
The Partnership implemented nine actions outlined in the action plan adopted in 2018. Based on the actions’ results, studies conducted and exchanges between partners, the SUL-NBS Partnership formulated the following summary recommendations:
European Union
Better anchor issues of land take and naturebased solutions in EU policies, especially sectoral policies;
Conduct more European research to gather evidence of the benefits of, for example, FUA collaboration and nature-based solutions’
Gather consistent and up-to-date data on land use and nature-based solutions, with widely agreed targets and indicators at the European level;
Ensure better mainstreaming and promoting of sustainable land use, FUA cooperation and nature-based solutions in cohesion policy.
National governments
Enable flexible forms of inter-municipal cooperation and more administrative flexibility for cities (facilitate FUA cooperation);
Include land take and nature-based solutions in national schemes for assessment procedures and planning;
Provide guidance for local authorities on compact and liveable city models and offer incentives (financial incentives, technical support).
Regional and local authorities
Ensure stronger enforcement of Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment procedures and their adaptation at earlier planning stages;
Cooperate with the private sector to utilise land reuse opportunities and implement nature-based solutions;
Adapt local/regional binding guidelines on where to build and how to build to mitigate sprawl (coordinated spatial planning);
Include nature-based solutions in local flood prevention and climate adaptation strategies;
Establish a local/FUA/regional reuse agency for utilising under-used spaces.