The industrial and modernist City of Velenje (36 000 inhabitants) is the sixth largest city in Slovenia. It is located in the pre-alpine region of Slovenia in the eastern part of Šaleška valley at an altitude of 396 meters. Velenje is focusing on green transformations.

As a market it was first mentioned in the 13th century and become a city in the 1950´s. At the end of 19th century, the coal mine was established and after World War II the city began its rapid development due to the increasing demand for coal. From the spatial planning development point of view, the formation of Velenje is as a city in the park. 
Today Velenje is a city municipality and the sixth biggest town in Slovenia, and an important economic, educational, cultural, and administrative centre. 

The city’s ”Office for Economic Development and Transition” has successfully implemented more than 40 EU co-financed projects. Most recent Interreg Central Europe Programme projects: as a LP in project HICAPS – Historical Castle Parks, as a project partner in projects RUINS – sustainable re-use, preservation and modern management of historical ruins in Central Europe – elaboration of integrated model and guidelines based on synthesis of the best European experiences, ECRR – European Cultural Route of Reformation. Within other programmes Velenje worked in Agrigo4Cities project (Interreg Danube Program) which goal was promoting urban and suburban agriculture to increase public institutional capacity and the inclusion of marginalised groups.

Tyresö is a fast-growing municipality close to Sweden’s capital Stockholm but despite this Tyresö has a strong green and blue character, including both an archipelago coastline and part of Tyresta National Park, Europe’s most central national park.

These major natural resources contain many recreational and ecological values of both national and regional importance. However, there is a lack of local parks, playgrounds and other meeting places close to residential areas. This needs to be developed to meet the needs of the growing population in a denser urban area. The Tyresö Comprehensive Plan states that the municipality should develop in a sustainable way in terms of environmental, social and financial aspects.

Tyresö MULL
The Tyresö team has chosen Källan, an assisted residence for individuals struggling with addiction problems as their MULL. Källan is operated by Tyresö municipality, with the mission to ensure freedom from addiction and offer the residents support in their everyday life. Many of the residents are in 12-step programs and relapse prevention.
 
Källan is situated in the northern part of Tyresö, just next to neighboring Nacka municipality and a large nature area. East of Källan is a golf course and the largest road in Tyresö, Tyresövägen, passes south of the property.
 
Källans outdoor area is of nature character with several large and full grown trees, deciduous and coniferous. There is no space designed or arranged for recreational reasons, except for a few seatings in sunny locations.

Early vision
”The place has potential to be evolved into a beautiful and enjoyable outdoor area to complement the housing, by using nature based solutions. We hope this could bring the residents to spend more time outside and thereby be exposed to a green and restorative environment and want to take benefit from nature’s inherent ability to enable activity as well as rest. There is a possibility to work with nature and outdoor environment as a tool for health and rehabilitation, where the residents are involved in maintenance.”
 
Team from Tyresö
The group involved in this project includes a strategic landscapearchitect, a landscapearchitect focused on maintanance and head of the park- and nature maintenance unit. All three from different sections in the department of urban planning. The head of Källan is participating from the department of labour and social administration. A pedagogue with a special focus on inclusive meeting places is participating from the department of eldercare and welfare.

City of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (157,000), is a fast-growing city and the capital of the province of North-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city was established in 1185 right there where the rivers Aa and Dommel merge. It brought the city a spectacular nature of marshes and wetlands south of the city and a dynamic river landscape on the north.

In recent decades, the city has been working on 'The Green Delta', a network of nature reserves around the city, focusing on nature, landscape, water, recreation, heritage and agriculture. The aims is to strengthen the relationship between the city and the countryside. 

The city's geo-spatial position makes it highly vulnerable to climate change. In 2021, the plan S-Hertogenbosch, Green and Climate-proof was established as part of the Sustainability program of the city. It proposes measures to cope with heat stress, heavy rainfall and to increase biodiversity. It includes a standard for new projects in the city for water, green and nature-inclusive building. For this program the city build a vast network of local initiatives on greening cities, such as urban agriculture (transfarmers), food forests, tiny forests, weathermakers, neighbourhood gardens, green roof initiatives and small scale greening initiatives by inhabitants and/or entrepreneurs.