Partners: City of Dordrecht, Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Mobility, Urban & Housing Development, City of Bruges, City of Mechelen, Cork City Council, City of Brest, Plante & Cité, Delft University of Technology, STIPO
Date: January 2024 – August 2027
Location: North-West Europe
Cities across North West Europe face increasing challenges from climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. These challenges are magnified in dense urban areas, where the lack of green infrastructure (GI) means fewer tools to cool the air, absorb water, or provide a haven for nature and people. Bax supports GreenDense by introducing small-scale GI through pilots in six cities using a “mosaic” approach to make the most of available space, increase green connectivity, and foster co-creation with local communities. Backed by urban ecology and placemaking experts, the project tailors GI to each city’s needs, improving climate resilience, air quality, and public health by bringing greenery to the areas that need it most.
Challenge
Dense urban areas are among the hardest hit by climate impacts, and the most difficult to green with climate adaptive measures. As North West Europe is the EU’s most densely urbanised region, cities face intense competition for limited space. Conflicting demands can make community engagement and citizen approval for GI challenging, particularly when proposals impact car use. With no room for large-scale regeneration, GI implementation relies on complex collaborations, sustainable maintenance models, and policy integration.
Approach
The GreenDense partners’ shared expertise drives the transnational development of a ‘mosaic’ approach to GI. In dense cities, large GI projects are unfeasible, so the mosaic approach maximises impact through many small, multi-use interventions, integrated and connected across urban areas. This ensures all citizens benefit from climate resilience, health, and biodiversity gains. At the design level, it tailors multi-use sites to local needs, linking them to wider GI networks. At the process level, it fosters co-creation, engaging stakeholders to secure citizen approval and mainstream GI into policies, embedding it across departments for long-term urban transformation.
Impact
