Project overview
Climate-proof landscape through renaturing urban areas in Central Europe
Cities are growing in central Europe, often turning green areas into grey concrete places. This urban sprawl accelerates negative effects of climate change such as urban heat islands. The GreenScape-CE project worked on reversing the trend by making urban areas greener again. The partnership strengthened planning capacities and piloted the application of nature-based solutions and green infrastructure approaches in five cities, which are significantly affected by urban heat island effects.
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2,24m €
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Project Budget
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80%
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of the Budget is funded by ERDF
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6
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Countries
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9
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Regions
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12
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Partners
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3
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Pilots
Duration
Start date
End date
Project progress
Project partnership
Project partners
Lead partner
North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency
Project partner
City Office for Economy, Ecological Sustainability and Strategic Planning
Total partner budget
183,600 €
Total partner budget
190,000 €
Total partner budget
187,600 €
Total partner budget
238,200 €
Total partner budget
177,800 €
Total partner budget
210,000 €
Service for Environmental Protection and Health Ecology
Total partner budget
126,000 €
Total partner budget
224,000 €
Total partner budget
180,600 €
Green roofs/green walls
Total partner budget
105,000 €
Total partner budget
45,829 €
Roadmap
1
Challenge
Urban areas share common challenges, including urban sprawl, extreme weather impacts, pollution, health problems, biodiversity loss, and rising energy demand.
2
Specific Problem
The aggravating urban heat island effect in five Central European urban areas due to growing urban sprawl and the transformation of green spaces into grey areas.
3
GreenScape: how it all started
To promote climate resilience integration in urban areas through transnational collaboration and knowledge exchange, where Cooperation is central.
4
Solutions
The GreenScape CE Visual Mapping Platform is an interactive map-based platform designed to support the development of pilot actions in the five pilot areas. It provides an overview of the existing green and blue infrastructure and NbS and help to identify opportunities for linking individual GI/NbS actions into a coherent network.
Visual mapping is the backbone of climate-resilient urban planning, transforming raw data into clear, actionable insights that guide sustainable development. By integrating diverse datasets—such as land use, population density, climate risks, and green infrastructure—into interactive, visually intuitive maps, planners and communities can:
uncover hidden patterns: identify where green spaces are lacking, heat islands form, or flood risks escalate;
prioritize interventions: pinpoint the most effective locations for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) like urban forests, green roofs, or permeable pavements;
foster collaboration: engage stakeholders—residents, policymakers, and experts—in shared decision-making through transparent, easy-to-understand visuals;
track progress: measure the impact of GI and NbS over time, ensuring investments deliver real, measurable benefits.
The approach ensures transferability, providing other CE cities with the basis and resources for reuse in their urban planning process.
5
How it worked
Each pilot city drove the project forward, shaping its success by identifying local needs for Green Infrastructure (GI) and Nature-based Solutions (NbS). They didn’t just participate—they led, hosted, and inspired, turning their cities into collaboration hubs where partners reviewed progress, planned next steps, and explored real-world NbS through visits to sites like Milan’s green roofs.
The Grassroots Participation activity set the stage with a Multistakeholder Engagement Roadmap and Train the Trainers program, equipping partners with tools for inclusive, engaging events. These weren’t just discussions—they empowered communities to co-create solutions.
The hackathons took this further, serving as catalysts for change:
raised awareness about climate challenges and NbS benefits;
fostered collaboration across disciplines and sectors;
ignited creativity, with even unselected ideas sparking new local projects;
built trust between communities and administrations, proving co-created solutions work.
These events didn’t just spark short-term ideas—they fueled lasting partnerships, many evolving into ongoing NbS and resilience efforts.
6
Proof/credibility
Pilot actions carried out in five Central European urban areas, where partners jointly developed, tested, and implemented key aspects of urban nature-based solutions (NbS) and green infrastructure (GI). These actions focused on three main areas: citizen engagement and co-creation, technical and tendering solutions, and financing models (including public, private, and citizen-led approaches). The process combined stakeholder collaboration, practical testing, and shared learning to ensure that solutions were feasible, inclusive, and adaptable to real urban contexts. The results were presented through clear infographics, making the outcomes more accessible and easier to understand for the general public.
The benefits reach a wide range of people and institutions. Residents and public space users gain greener, more livable neighborhoods and greater opportunities to shape their surroundings. Also the broader public gains clearer, more accessible information about urban greening initiatives through infographics and public events. Local communities and NGOs benefit from stronger relationships with local authorities and a lasting culture of collaboration. City administrations gain practical, replicable models for financing, governance, and citizen engagement.
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Vision and Legacy
Transformation of urban areas into resilient, sustainable, and environmentally harmonious spaces.
The transnational NbS network of cities and followers established within the project, is foreseen as a permanent and evolving group of institutions and cities that will continuously exchange experiences, share knowledge, and collaborate on Nature-based Solutions, and will be actively promoted by all project partners even after the project ends, with the aim of further expanding and strengthening the network over time.
News
Events
Pilot actions
Outputs
GreenScape CE visual mapping platform technology
The GreenScape CE Visual Mapping Platform
The GreenScape CE Visual Mapping Platform is an interactive map-based platform designed to support the development of pilot actions in the five pilot areas.
Visual maps provide an overview of the existing green and blue infrastructure and NbS and help to identify opportunities for linking individual GI/NbS actions into a coherent network.
The GVMP is also a tool for communicating the importance of GI to citizens and other target groups.
The approach ensures transferability, providing other CE cities with the basis and resources for reuse in their urban planning process.
The GVMP includes 3 map-based interactive tools: Accessibility tool, NBS tool and Connectivity tool.
The GVMP 5 pilot cities: City of Ptuj, City of Szeged, City of Zagreb, City of Warsaw, and Metropolitan city of Milan.
Type of output: Solutions
View solution
Joint Strategy on Strengthening NBS Implementation in CE
The strategy has been jointly developed by partners and in cooperation with associated partners, where necessary. It outlines the strategic framework and what to take into account when developing action plans and measures to strengthen NBS application in the urban context. It will be applicable for the CE region and partners will through its network actively promote the results of the strategy.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
NBS/GI action plans in pilot areas
Project partners have jointly collaborated on the development of five NBS/GI action plans in CE pilot areas. Action plans are a product of the transnational co-design process, capacity building workshops for local government representatives in pilot areas and citizen involvement. Action plans define priority areas and measures for NBS development in five urban areas in CE and serve as a foundation for identifying pilot actions in those areas.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Jointly Developed Technical, Financial and Citizen Engagement Solutions for Implementation of NBS/GI
Piloting actions in five CE cities have produced three different and replicable sets of solutions for the integration of NBS/GI in public infrastructure:
• Handbook for financing of NBS/GI for public project developers
• Technical handbook for the implementation of NBS/GI including Guidelines for the tendering process
• Guide on how to co-create urban NBS/GI projects with citizens
Type of output: Solutions
Joint Transnational Strategy on Implementing, Integrating and Funding NBS in Urban Areas
The joint strategy reflects the know-how and experiences gained throughout the pilot actions and accompanying solutions to provide a framework for implementing, integrating and funding NBS across CE.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
GreenScape CE Package Pitch
The Package Pitch is a practical guide for planning and implementing Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). It provides a step-by-step workflow—structured into nine stages from initial assessment to communication—that helps cities and communities integrate NbS into local planning. Grounded in three key principles—place-based selection, challenge-driven yet criteria-based design, and flexibility within defined typologies—the guide combines real-life examples, methodological tools, and a dedicated toolkit (“solution suitcase”) to support context-sensitive, technically sound, and strategically aligned projects. Applicable across diverse territories, it reinterprets standard planning templates to meet pilot cities’ needs, fostering NbS mainstreaming for climate resilience, biodiversity, and social well-being.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
- Summary Report On Good Practice Examples Of NBS GI Financing In The EU
- Overview Of Socio Economic Long Term Benefit Of NBS
- Multi Stakeholder Engagement Roadmap
- Gap Analysis Of Existing Financing Mechanisms
- DIY Guide GreenScape CE Final ENG Version
- Toolbox For Selecting Nature Based Solutions (NbS)
- Typology And Criteria For Planning GI And NBS
- GreenScapeCE_PackagePitch
Position Paper
This position paper is developed within the framework of the GreenScape CE. The project aims to promote
the wider adoption of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in urban areas by improving policy learning and
strengthening multilevel governance structures to facilitate collaboration between decision-makers and
local communities. To this end, this paper summarises experiences relating to the lack of data, knowledge
or capacities for integrating NbS and Green Infrastructures (GI) into grey infrastructure, based on the
experience of five Central European urban areas significantly affected by the urban heat island effect: Milan
Metropolitan Area, Ptuj, Szeged, Warsaw and Zagreb. Furthermore, it provides recommendations on NbS/GI
policies based on the experience of Partners from six countries participating in the project: Austria, Italy,
Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Poland.
The target audience includes policymakers at national and sub-national levels, particularly local and
regional public authorities, including public administration and urban planning departments, as well as other
key stakeholders. The paper advocates facilitating a shift towards decarbonising urban areas, not only
through NbS implementation, but also through a transnational cooperation to enable GI connectivity and
accessibility. In this sense, the paper also targets policymakers at the EU level.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Project videos
Project documents
Success Stories & Articles
Project images
GreenScape CE
Priority 2: Cooperating for a greener central Europe
SO 2.2: Increasing the resilience to climate change risks in central Europe
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Project on social media
Project contact
Tijana Šimek
Email: tsimek@regea.org