Activating Green Courtyards for Carbon Neutrality
[ONGOING] The main goal of the project is continue to expand and improve the system of green spaces in the city of Zagreb. One strategic area identified are interior courtyards of apartment buildings and businesses/organizations throughout the city.
According to the European Environment Agency, Zagreb is the greenest capital in EU. It boasts a large natural preserve to the city’s north and an extensive system of parks and green areas. This legacy adds to the city’ quality of life and makes it attractive for people and companies. The project wants to build on this legacy.
Project’s scope is three-fold:
1) expand the system of carbon sinks in the city, to aid with our efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2030;
2) improve the quality of life in key areas in the core city, to reduce suburbanization, urban sprawl, and GHG emissions from metropolitan commuting;
3) strengthen participatory approaches in the city, with a view to developing net-zero solutions that also respond to citizen’s needs and with the hope that the citizens and stakeholders we will engage will become active actors in our local coalition for climate neutrality.
To achieve this goal, the key activities through the project include:
1) development of a few pilot interventions that will help us achieve some early results+calibrate the future scale up of the project;
2) development of a framework for scaling up the program;
3) strengthening the local capacity to develop, innovate+implement net-zero solutions;
4) strengthen public participation platforms+processes, to ensure co-design of net-zero solutions+to focus on interventions that respond to community needs.
The interventions in courtyards will include, among others: planting new trees; introducing new green areas; permeable surfaces; use of sunreflecting colors (to address urban heat islands); compost facilities for biodegradable waste and quality urban furniture; playgrounds for kids; LED lighting with green energy; racks for bikes/scooters; tools for repurposing rainwater to sustain green areas. For each courtyard, residents and stakeholders will be consulted from the start and will be engaged in the preparation of the final designs.
Project holder: City of Zagreb
Partners: ODRAZ-Sustainable Community Development, University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Croatian Association of Landscape Architects (CALA)
Time of project implementation: May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2026
Total amount of project financing: EUR 600,000.00
Funding: EIT Climate-KIC, NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Program, Cohort 2 (2023)
Contact person for more information: Ksenija Vorberger, ksenija@odraz.hr
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This project is funded by EIT Climate-KIC as part of the NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Program, Cohort 2 (2023). The project is co-financed by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or EIT Climate-KIC. Neither the European Union nor EIT Climate-KIC can be held responsible for them.