Across Europe, the legacy of car-centric planning has left countless neighbourhoods feeling isolated, lacking the green spaces and vibrant life that contribute to resident wellbeing. The negative effects are faced most acutely by socially disadvantaged groups, and the neighbourhoods they live in.
The ReGreeneration project, a €10 million initiative funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, aims to transform this narrative. Over the next 4 years, nine European cities will embark on a journey to create green, healthy and thriving neighbourhoods, fostering a future where people and nature can flourish together.
Co-Creating a model of greener, healthier neighbourhoods in Europe
ReGreeneration Europe goes beyond traditional greening projects, championing an inclusive and holistic approach to urban planning that promotes community health and wellbeing. It brings together a public-private multidisciplinary consortium to design and test solutions for neighbourhood regeneration that are both nature-based and people-centred.
Aligned with the EU’s vision for climate neutrality and smart, sustainable cities, working with the local community is a core pillar of each project, ensuring resident needs and aspirations are woven into the design process.
“We need to change the way we plan our cities, and focus our efforts on urban regeneration rather than urban expansion. From a climate perspective, this can help to reduce emissions by nearly 25% by 2050,” said Hélène Chartier, C40 Cities. “This project funded by the European Commission is very important because it will help us develop a model of urban regeneration based on a people-centred approach“.
“What we would like to see is a strong involvement of local residents that goes beyond the usual consultation in workshops but extends to the construction and design phase. We want to work with residents to shape the project,” said Gilles Montmory, project manager of the Urban Planning Department in the city of Paris.
“This is a transformative project for my city and also for the city of Milan”, said Paolo Micheli, the Mayor of Segrate. “With ReGreeneration, we will convert a major highway into a lush green park, revolutionising the landscape and improving the quality of life for our communities”
The diverse project consortium includes local authorities, research institutions, non-profit organisations, and technology providers, bringing together a wealth of expertise to create a scalable model for urban regeneration, encouraging innovative urban solutions adoption across Europe.
Implementing and replicating neighbourhood regeneration: the nine cities involved
The ReGreeneration project targets four “Lead Cities” – Bucharest (RO), Alverca (PT), Paris (FR), and Barcelona (ES) – all facing different urban challenges; from developing on polluted land in proximity of social housing, to overcoming neighbourhood isolation caused by major roads, to transforming a commercial mall prone to urban heat island effects into a climate resilient mixed use area for healthy living.
Site-specific interventions are already being implemented to regenerate the neighbourhoods to improve liveability and urban climate resilience. These cities will then share their learnings and best practices with five “Replicator Cities” – Ljubljana (SI), Rome (IT), Lappeenranta (FI), Ghent (BE), and Segrate (IT) – enabling them to simulate and replicate the successful approaches within their own urban landscapes where they face common challenges.
New innovative and scalable solutions
Throughout the process, the project will leverage cutting-edge ICT technologies, including a comprehensive digital twin architecture, to support planning, simulation, and monitoring of the interventions to overcome the cites’ common challenges. Innovative digital and in-person participatory mapping tools will also empower residents to play an active role in shaping their neighbourhoods. Nature-based and people-centred solutions will become concepts the project will work with when planning the regeneration of the neighbourhoods.