Enhancing social and environmental aspects by opening up the seaside to the community, revitalizing and reintroducing nature to a dysfunctional and neglected urban site, and former industrial harbor in the central area of Tallinn within the Boreal climatic zone.
Tallinn: The city of Tallinn aims to show how urban planning and design solutions, incorporating living labs and a mix of digital and non-digital tools, can be deployed in a participatory manner following NEB and EU Green Deal principles. The project focuses on implementing coastal and other Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) to rejuvenate a city-owned seaside area and its connecting streets. The goal is to transform it into an NBS-based public beach that enhances resilience, urban climate neutrality, and is aesthetically pleasing, functional, safe, and accessible to vulnerable groups such as families with children and the elderly.
Kajaani: The pilot site in Kajaani is an important local snow dumping area called Pyykönpuro. At present, there is no system in place for filtering or treating the meltwater. This results in the discharge of pollutants, debris, and other contaminants into the stream and downstream water bodies. This poses a risk to water quality and the surrounding ecosystem.
The project will introduce NBS measures to treat snowmelt runoff before it enters the stream. This is expected to significantly improve water quality and reduce the litter load.
The pilot can serve as a demonstration site for nature-based solutions in cold climate urban environments, raising awareness and providing transferable knowledge for other Arctic and sub-Arctic towns.
