The Greenkeys projects

The problem of abandoned and devalued urban areas is common among many European cities. The environmental, economic and social decline, which these areas often entail, requires rapid reconsideration and improvements as the lowering of the quality of life may not only spill over to adjacent neighbourhoods, but also the area itself does not need to be relinquished.

The cities are facing difficulties in finding an adequate solution to the main problem of how to apply methods of sustainable rehabilitation to redevelop and enhance the areas in the long term.

The European Commission has started the EU Community Initiative INTERREG III B CADSES (2005-2008), which focuses on increasing the sustainability of cities by initialising the endowment of green spaces. By means of that, local residents and medium-sized enterprises would benefit immediately, but the scientific and practical experiences gained during the projects are equally important as they will promote transnational cooperation in Europe and bring about further projects.

The key question posed by the GreenKeys project is: What are the tools and methods necessary for increasing the sustainability of urban areas by adding green spaces, given the fact that ecological, social and economical conditions are often mutually dependent?
Greenkeys focuses on the improvement of urban green spaces as a step towards more sustainable cities. The three main objectives are

  1. to provide incentives for structural changes in cities by offering opportunities for the enhancement of green spaces. Its 12 partner cities will, together with local stakeholders, develop a strategic approach for the pilot projects to create new or upgrade existing green areas to achieve more accessibility, social and recreational values and ecological efficiency. By the involvement of local activists, the political attention to the benefits of green spaces to urban environments will be increased. GreenKeys will support the implementation/evaluation of pilot projects in order
  2. to develop a “Pool of Green Strategies” (instruments, methods, concepts and good examples) based on the experiences being made to meet the demands of future needs and
  3. to use the synergies to promote the transfer of knowledge by a transnational network and, thus, foster the exchange of the particular national experiences.

In pursuing these goals, GreenKeys brings together 12 cities in 7 countries, 8 scientific supporters, external experts, design studios and NGOs, which participate through their own networks.

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e-glossary

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U

Urban forest

Definition of U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Urban forests are dynamic ecosystems that provide environmental services such as clean air and water. Urban forests broadly include urban parks, street trees, landscaped boulevards, public gardens, river and coastal promenades, greenways, river corridors, wetlands, nature preserves, natural areas, shelter belts of trees and working trees at industrial brownfield sites.
Source:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ucf/
User: [Maria Samardjieva]

Urban forestry

Urban forestry is a relatively new, multidisciplinary approach in international forest research. It has been defined as "the art, science, and technology of managing trees and forest resources in and around urban community ecosystems for the physiological, sociological, economic and aesthetic benefits trees provide society"
Source:
Helms, J.A. (Ed.). 1998. The Dictionary of Forestry. Society of American Foresters.
User: [Maria Samardjieva]

Urban Green

In GreenKeys Urban Green is to be understood as the sum of all open spaces primarily characterised by vegetation (green spaces) within urban areas and thus normally part of the urban fabric. These green spaces are directly used for active or passive recreation, or indirectly used by virtue of their positive influence on the urban environment, serving the diverse needs of citizens and thus enhancing the quality of life in cities. Urban green is therefore a system that includes all kind of green spaces as parks, gardens, squares, cemeteries, allotments as well as urban woodlands, areas for nature and landscape conservation, roadside planting and street trees.
Source:
URGE 2004, Evert 2001
User: [Carlos Smaniotto]

Urban greenspace standards of Natural England

Urban Greenspace standards recommend that people living in towns and cities should have: • an accessible natural greenspace less than 300 metres (5 minutes walk) from home; • statutory Local Nature Reserves at a minimum level of one hectare per thousand population; • at least one accessible 20 hectare site within two kilometres of home; • one accessible 100 hectare site within five kilometres of home; and • one accessible 500 hectare sitewithin ten kilometres of home.
Source:
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/greenspace
User: [Maria Samardjieva]

Urban Indicators for Healthy Cities - WHO

Urban Indicators assist gathering data about the health in the cities. They include: atmospheric pollution, water quality, percentage of water pollutants removed from total sewage produced, household waste collection quality index, household waste treatment quality index, relative surface area of green spaces in the city, public access to green space, derelict industrial sites, sport and leisure, pedestrian streets, cycling in city, public transport, public transport network cover,living space.
Source:
World Health Organisation http://www.euro.who.int/document/hcp/ehcpquest.pdf
User: [Maria Samardjieva]

What is the e-glossary?

The e-glossary is a free, collaboratively written collection of words or phrases covering the issues of green spaces development and urban sustainability in the broadest sense. Anyone who is within the GreenKeys network can edit the e-glossary. Its purpose is to create common definitions and make them available as a quick reference for both the public and members of GreenKeys.

Do you have a term or phrase that has to be clarified? It’s easy to add a contribution to our e-glossary. Just fill in the form provided
 here .