Benefits of Urban Greening
Harnessing the Power of Plants
Neighbourhood Development Offices with a bottom-up approach through the formation of the People’s Committee of the Neighbourhood Social Council have prioritised the real needs of the residents. This is the lack of green space per capita, and at all stages from construction to development, they have relied on the opinions of researchers in order to identify native species compatible with the ecosystem and project evaluation has been emphasised. Also, the offices organise field trips in cooperation with the universities so that the professors and experts express their opinions regarding the improvement of the state of the parks. In some neighbourhoods, such as Bilal, the resin of pine trees had caused the loss of other plant species, and by inviting environmental experts from offices, they tried to rehabilitate and plant compatible species.
Considering that the outlook of parks is to develop a theme focused on children, multi-purpose parks have been built in neighbourhood centres and integrated with other recreational and cultural uses, especially for children. In this way, one day a week has been set aside for educational and recreational programmes for children. In addition, the existence of handicraft markets for head of household women has provided a place for residents to gather and communicate. Thus, in addition to reducing the heat island and air conditioning of the neighbourhood, these local parks also focus on expanding neighbourhood relations through developing positive hangouts, mental development of children and improving the status of women.
Delivering Multiple Benefits
In addition to having a positive effect on mental health, these local parks have led to a decrease in the temperature around them, at least in poor areas, especially in neighbourhoods with less green space per capita, and by absorbing CO2, they have contributed to better air quality in the neighbourhood. In addition, making a space for residents to meet, has improved social cohesion and empathy, and since parks have been welcomed and widely participated by people, the sense of maintenance and belonging to these green spaces has increased. One of the most important reasons for the construction and development of these parks is the perceived necessity of the local community and the frequent requests of the residents, which is included in the local planning, and it is the responsibility of the residents and Neighbourhood Development Offices to take care of it. In addition, due to the increased optimism and trust of the residents in the outskirts in the city managers, in the new planning, urban policies have been tried to support these areas more. The new city council also emphasises the development of parks on the outskirts, and for the first time in the city, all the involved organisations have cooperated with coordinated management in the construction and equipping of the park. In this way, along with the municipalities of the regions, other organisations have supported this innovation in various ways.
The City’s Bold and Innovative Vision
The most important outlook of the innovation is to provide the maximum need of the people for green space in order to improve the vitality of the neighbourhood because local parks are located and equipped with the direct demand and full participation of the people and in addition to innovation, in the environmental field, for example, the use of recycled materials for elements such as benches, trash cans and symbols, and irrigation with treated wastewater, it has also tried to innovate in the cultural and social fields. But in addition to all this, a new element such as mobile libraries and holding educational classes in various fields for children has also led to more contact between residents and children’s parents, and additionally improving neighbourhood relations, it has also helped to increase education and learning. Also, the night street market (Shab Bazaar) license, which with the lowest cost provides a table for women to sell their household products and handicrafts, has improved the overall economic situation of women, and the negative hangouts of the neighbourhoods such as drug addicts and rough sleepers have been minimised, and instead, positive hangouts such as the elderly gatherings for intellectual games have increased. Finally, Neighbourhood Development Offices mobilised comprehensive and integrated urban management for the first time in the country in order to equip and build local parks.
Partnerships and Collaboration
Considering that this project was implemented by Neighbourhood Development Offices in the outskirts, several local departments centred on the central and regional municipalities, the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children, libraries, charity foundations, NGO groups and the city council have been involved and cooperated. The design, equipping, execution and maintenance of these public spaces have been done by Neighbourhood Development Offices with direct supervision from the municipality. Also, the local parks project was an interdisciplinary project that has benefited from many experts and consultants in both the public and private sectors. Experts and specialists of the public sector such as architects, civil engineers and environmental experts have presented their opinions about the needs of the localities, ideas, design, implementation and compatible plant species, and sociologists and university professors have expressed their opinions regarding the methods of improving social cohesion and neighbourhood relations. In some cases, field trips and meetings with academic and municipal experts have been held in the parks to get a comprehensive view of the current situation where they can express their opinions. In addition to these, even the experts in different fields living in these neighbourhoods, have voluntarily noticed their readiness in all stages of the project, and parents and residents have also commented on the hours of providing educational services and the mobile libraries.
Addressing Urban Challenges
The Issue
Due to inefficient urban planning policies, inequalities have arisen in access to public spaces, especially for outskirts residents, who cannot afford to travel to them due to their distance from well-equipped regional parks. Also, due to the lack of green space, heat waves have been more frequent in these areas, which has led to a decrease in the quality of life of the residents and has a more destructive effect on the more vulnerable groups such as children, women and the elderly. This lack of space for children to release their energy has caused them to become unsociable due to the lack of space for cooperative games and has led to a decrease in self-confidence and turning to high-risk social actions such as increasing anger and quarrels, etc. In this regard, abandoned lands and parks without facilities such as adequate lighting or a children’s playground, have made these places a haven for drug addicts and urban vagrants, which endangers the safety of people, especially children and women. In some areas, the presence of unprotected rivers (canals) with an unpleasant smell, which has been the gathering place of drug addicts and rough sleepers, has caused harassment and insecurity to the residents. Therefore, building new low-cost parks, green spaces and sidewalks on the edge of the rivers (canals) not only improves the vitality and social cohesion but also increases the security of these areas.
The Impact of the Issue
Mashhad is one of the cities that has the highest population of outskirts residents, and children and women suffer the most. Changing vacant lands into parks and equipping existing parks at a low cost in these areas not only helps to reduce the physical and psychological problems of vulnerable groups, but also improves the cohesion and improvement of neighbourhood relations in neighbourhoods between residents, especially parents.
A Nature Oriented Future
Considering these challenges, some of the main benefits of this project are:
- Increasing green spaces in the outskirts by creating playgrounds and playground equipment for children to provide their physical and mental health.
- Helping to reduce the temperature, especially in areas where the constructions are dense and lack any green space.
- Increasing attendance and security of citizens by creating social vitality.
- Providing the possibility for residents to use accessible and pleasant spaces close to their homes with the aim of improving social relations in the neighbourhood and improving social cohesion among adults.
- Developing other cultural and educational uses through the building of mobile libraries and holding various educational classes in the green spaces.
- Helping to improve the economic situation and empowering the head of household women by making a place in national parks in order to present their products.
Nature Positive Solutions
Implementation
At first, the offices identified the needs and prioritised them by holding local committees and public hearings, and one of the things that had a high priority for the residents was the need to build and increase the number of local parks. Therefore, the local community has fully participated in the various stages of equipping, building, implementing and maintaining these places. This has led to trust in urban governance, a greater responsibility toward the preservation and maintenance of these places, and greater participation of residents in other plans. In fact, since the implementation of the local parks project, people directly share their needs and demands with the Neighbourhood Development Offices. This has improved the belongingness to these spaces and brought the residents closer together and their participation in cultural and educational events. So far, more than five parks have been built and equipped, which has had a positive cultural and social impact on the residents of several neighbourhoods, especially children and women. In addition to providing a playground and leisure area for free time, it has led to air conditioning in these densely-populated areas and provided security. Therefore, this project not only in the environmental field but also by improving social cohesion through cultural and educational activities, has presented green space as a significant element in the direction of a sustainable and resilient city, which has attracted the attention of other areas of the city and even other cities in the country.
Feasibility
The Urban Space Regeneration Organisation, through Neighbourhood Development Offices, equips and increases the number of local parks with low cost and from municipal revenues. This has led to the saving of local resources and provided services such as night markets run by head of household women which has helped to earn money and improve their conditions. Also, the value of properties located in the neighbourhood of vacant lands that have been changed into parks has increased, and other uses such as commercial and recreational use have been improved alongside them. Given that in the past only the increasing number of green spaces and its equipment was considered, the plan of local parks has led to focus on other factors such as providing educational services, ensuring the safety of women and children, and improving neighbourhood relations. In addition, one of the most important changes in policymaking is paying attention to comprehensive and integrated urban management in order to equip and build local parks, which has provided a change of mind and a fundamental solution to deal with the outskirts’ problems.
Multi-Stakeholder Support
According to the declaration of the need from the residents in order to equip or increase the number of the local parks, Neighbourhood Development Offices used the residents’ opinions in all stages of ideation, implementation, and maintenance along with the experts and specialists’ opinions (green space experts, urban planning and university professors). For example, in Bilal neighbourhood, children were asked to paint the playground equipment they wanted, which caused a major change in the way people use and understand local parks. Also, other organisations, such as sports and youth, equip sports equipment in the parks and even organise local competitions in the parks. In some neighbourhoods, benefactors have built sports fields in the parks, and the Libraries Foundation is also trying to more establish a culture of reading by launching mobile libraries in the parks. For a number of reasons, including increasing security, and holding cultural and educational events, an increase in the use of local parks has been observed among all beneficiaries, especially children, women, and the elderly.
Management and Maintenance
Establishment of Neighbourhood Development Offices is aimed at identifying the needs and deficiencies of the outskirts, and in this way, people pursue their demands more effectively and consciously. In this regard, one of the first demands of the people is the building of a local park, which in addition to improving vitality and providing playgrounds for children, will put an end to the gathering of drug addicts in green spaces without sufficient equipment and vacant lands. In building these parks, in addition to being self-supporting in water supply, we have tried to choose plant species with less need for water and less caring cost. In addition, maintenance is provided with the participation of residents and local organisations. Regarding the unexpected challenges, the offices are first transferred to the regional municipality, and in order to solve them, the experts, residents and non-governmental organisations’ opinions are prioritised first, and then experts and city managers make decisions based on these opinions.
Measuring and Reporting Impact
Monitoring Results
In fact, successful projects such as Gol Afshan Local Park, which aims to add cultural and educational activities to the green spaces in order to improve neighbourhood relations and social cohesion, have encouraged city managers to implement this project not only in other parks in the outskirts but also in the entire parks of the city. Also, linear parks have been built on the edge of the rivers (canals) to prevent the gathering of vagrants and drug addicts, which are currently used for family walks, and this has increased the security of the neighbourhood. Due to the maintenance and supervision of residents and green space agents, the progress assessment is constantly being updated. Due to the cultural effects, especially on children, whose mental and intellectual development is considered along with physical activity, the urban regeneration organisation decided to increase the green spaces budget and even welcome other residents’ suggestions. In addition, Neighbourhood Development Offices have taken important steps to improve economic activities for heads of households and women in green spaces.
Demonstrating Progress
In fact, successful projects such as Gol Afshan Local Park, which aims to add cultural and educational activities to the green spaces in order to improve neighbourhood relations and social cohesion, have encouraged city managers to implement this project not only in other parks in the outskirts but also in the entire parks of the city. Also, linear parks have been built on the edge of the rivers (canals) to prevent the gathering of vagrants and drug addicts, which are currently used for family walks, and this has increased the security of the neighbourhood. Due to the maintenance and supervision of residents and green space agents, the progress assessment is constantly being updated. Due to the cultural effects, especially on children, whose mental and intellectual development is considered along with physical activity, the urban regeneration organisation decided to increase the green spaces budget and even welcome other residents’ suggestions. In addition, Neighbourhood Development Offices have taken important steps to improve economic activities for heads of households and women in green spaces.
Measuring Impact
The most important achievement of the local parks project is to increase the participation of the residents and increase their trust in the city management. It has reduced their loneliness because the outskirts have always considered themselves outlying and separated from the city, but this project has given them confidence and increased their awareness of the issues of their neighbourhood. Besides that, the role of children and women in the implementation of the plan has been highlighted and as a vulnerable group, they have been the first priority of ideation, design and implementation. In addition, the lack of green spaces in these neighbourhoods has been partially resolved and it has brought urban vitality to the residents.
Learning and Transferability
Adaption and Enhancement
At first, the municipalities of the regions started building and developing parks without paying attention to the opinions and demands of the residents. Most of these parks were not only abandoned and remained unused, but also became a place for drug addicts and rough sleepers. However, after the establishment of Neighbourhood Development Offices, these offices have used their opinions by inviting residents in all stages of locating, building and equipping. After a while, according to the need of the outskirts for cultural and educational facilities for children, help for head of household women, and ultimately improving neighbourhood relations, the Neighbourhood Development Offices decided to request other organisations to take steps to build mobile libraries, provide sports equipment, outdoor training classes, and markets for head of household women at the lowest cost.
Potential for Replication
Due to the innovative approach of the local parks project in different dimensions such as environmental (choosing compatible species and less need for maintenance and low cost), cultural (creating mobile libraries for children and skill and educational programmes), social (increasing local communication and improving social cohesion and participation), and economical (markets for the head of household women), green spaces are considered as multipurpose places among city planners and managers. In addition to all the benefits of this project, its implementation has contributed to urban management and increased the quality of life of city residents and improved inter-organisational cooperation in the city.
Inspiring Other Cities
The local parks project in the outskirts, like other projects of Neighbourhood Development Offices, is the beginning of a new movement in the planning of outskirts and urban decay, which other urban areas and even other cities are trying to follow. These parks lead to the planning of green spaces in the city, especially the outskirts in a new way, and present a new model of combining other uses with the green spaces and optimising it. Also, creating all-around management in dealing with the problems of the outskirts, especially the building and equipping of parks, has become a model for urban management for other cities in Iran. Finally, the green spaces as multi-purpose use have been a place for outdoor learning, leisure time and physical activity.
Resilience
Reducing Negative Impacts and Ensuring Sustainability
The design of equipment and plant species has been implemented based on the geography and natural resources of the outskirts, and tried to use locally available materials for paving and recycled materials in equipment such as trash cans and benches. Due to the high population density and the presence of many cars and motorcycles, local parks are located next to the main access points of the neighbourhoods in order to absorb the most CO2. It has also encouraged the establishment of environmental projects aimed at creating a more flexible and functional natural ecosystem, which minimises CO2 emissions and levels of pollution that are absorbed under different parts.
Environmental Considerations
Local parks in order to recover the destroyed areas and build new public spaces for more contact of the population with nature, in addition to choosing native plant species compatible with the environment and using rainwater and sewage for green spaces irrigation, have chosen trees with more shade and less need for maintenance and irrigation in local parks. This has significantly contributed to air conditioning, microclimate creating and balancing the environment of these densely populated areas. In recent years, due to the drought and lack of water, the municipality has collected hedges and replaced them with resistant species that require less water, such as barberry.
Use of Natural Resources
Some vacant lands have been used to build local parks, and in most cases, these vacant lands have been turned into places for garbage. In addition, these parks were built and equipped in order to recover the destroyed areas for residents to come in contact with nature, and their use is more than a green space. Although efforts have been made to choose plant species with less need for water, that are resistant to dehydration and resistant to adverse soil conditions (such as elm, bitter olive, ash, and honeysuckle), treated sewage water is used to irrigate lawns that need regular irrigation. Recycled materials have been used for equipment such as trashcans, benches and symbols. Also, other measures have been taken, such as reducing lawns, using species with less need for water that is resistant to adverse conditions, and planting trees and shrubs in large numbers.
