Let's Crop the Diversity (LCD)

Objective: 
  • Regenerate abandoned, unused and/or under-used spaces in densely urbanized areas
  • Promote innovative agricultural practices
  • Involvement of citizens and marginalized social classes (Social benefits)

“Let’s Crop the Diversity” (LCD) aims to redevelop urban spaces through the coproduction of solutions based on nature (NbS) to promote resilience and environmental quality of the geographical areas of intervention.

The goal of this project is developing an Urban Agricultural System that, thanks to the use of NbS, allows to regenerate abandoned, unused and/or under-used spaces in densely urbanized areas. LCD intends to face this challenge in a social, innovative, multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary way, involving local stakeholders in order to develop a model based on the participation of citizens.

Area characterisation:

Scale of the project: neighbourhood

Scales impacts from which the NbS action should be assessed: object (building, etc.), city

Urban density in which the NbS is implemented: medium

Actions: 

LCD provides a set of activities related to the innovation of agricultural practices, information campaigns and involvement of citizens and marginalized social classes, and training courses aimed at local stakeholders.

NbS benefits 
  • Reducing temperature at meso or micro scale
  • Developing climate change mitigation
  • Carbon sequestration and storage
  • Restoring ecosystems and their functions
  • Increased cultural richness and biodiversity
  • Enhancing sustainable urbanisation
  • Changing image of the urban environment
  • Creation of green jobs relating to construction & maintenance of NBS
  • Increase accessibility to green open spaces
  • Increase communities’ sense of ownership
  • Increase population & infrastructures protected by NBS
  • Increase social interaction
  • Increase stakeholder awareness & knowledge about NBS
  • Provision of health benefits
  • Social inclusion
  • Social learning about location & importance of NBS
Lessons learned: 

Expected time for the NbS to become fully effective after implementation: between 2 and 5 years (medium).

Feedback: not concerned

Expected life time of the interventions: around 25 years

Dates (for project delivered): 2017

Financing: 

Global (estimated) cost of the project: 50k€ - 200k€

Financing mechanism cluster: cluster2 financial institution

The project is searching for subsidies.

NbS classification 
  • Objects Shapes
  • On the Ground
  • Structures characterized by food and resource production
  • Vegetable gardens
Table 1 - Ecosystem Services*

* adapted from CICES/MAES-urban

Development of innovative agricultural practices in high density urban area

Water management: 
Flood control
Public health wellbeing: 
Food provision
Urban temperature regulation
Social justice cohesion: 
Nature based education
Nature based recreation
Heritage, cultural
Green space management: 
Food provision
Heritage, cultural
Urban temperature regulation
Table 2 - NBS Multiple Benefits**

Regenerate abandoned, unused and/or under-used spaces in densely urbanized areas

Enhancing sustainable urbanisation: 
Changing image of the urban environment
Creation of green jobs relating to construction & maintenance of NBS
Improve air quality
Increase accessibility to green open spaces
Increase awareness of NBS solution & their effectiveness and co benefits
Increase communities’ sense of ownership
Increase social interaction
Increase stakeholder awareness & knowledge about NBS
Increase well-being
Provision of health benefits
Social inclusion
Social learning about location & importance of NBS
Restoring ecosystems and their functions: 
Increase Biodiversity
Increase quality and quantity of green and blue infrastructures
Increased cultural richness and biodiversity
Developing climate change adaptation; improving risk management and resilience: 
Flood peak reduction
Increasing infiltration
Reduce load to sewer system
Reduce run-off
Reducing temperature at meso or micro scale
Stakeholder Participation/Participatory Planning and Governance: 
  • (Project manager) Istituto Ecoambientale (no-profit association)

Main partner:

  • University of Rome

GOVERNANCE MODEL:
Governance cluster: cluster4 societal resilience
Governance model: Self-governance grassroots initiatives

Success and Limiting Factors: 

Process enablers:
Knowledge drivers → Generation of evidence → Research on benefits
Knowledge gained through experiences with implementing successful projects where urban green spaces were introduced, improved in quality, or restored as well as lessons learned from less successful projects is deemed as being instrumental for effectively employing NbS in urban planning.

Process inhibitors:
Economy barriers → Budget constraints → Lack of funding and knowledge
City budgets for green development and the maintenance of green spaces often face severe budget constraints, while staff and related expertise is decreasing.


BUSINESS MODEL:
Business cluster: ...
Business model: ...

Contacts: 

Elisa , Massa (elisa.massa@rina.org)

Rina company: landscape/architecture agency

Further information

Nature4Cities (https://www.nature4cities.eu/) aims to develop a knowledge diffusion around Nature-Based Solution (NbS) and a decision support platform through new collaborative models.

LCD is part of the Nature4Cities's pioneer case studies database, it will feed the observatory, NbS pre-selection and replication tools, gathered into the Geocluster4NBS.

LCD was chosen as a pioneer case study for the following reasons: the innovation of agricultural practices, information campaigns and involvement of citizens and marginalized social classes.

Nature4Cities project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 730468.

Urban challenges
Climate issues: 
Climate mitigation
Water management and quality: 
Flood management
Air quality: 
Air quality locally
Biodiversity and urban space: 
Urban space development and regeneration
Soil management: 
Soil management and quality
Public health and well-being: 
Quality of life
Environmental justice and social cohesion: 
Social cohesion
Urban planning and governance: 
Urban planning and form
People security: 
Control of crime
Green economy: 
Circular economy
Key Performance Indicators: