Latest in: EU chapter.

Macro of a honey bee (apis mellifera) on a mint (menta piperita) blossom with blurred bokeh background; pesticide free environmental protection save the bees biodiversity concept. The Nature Restoration Law is crucial for the transformation of our cities. It’s time to support it, for citizens, future generations & our planet, writes Luigi Petito for Living Architecture Monitor.  A few issues ago, I wrote a piece about the vital contribution of green and blue infrastructure to urban biodiversity. I sang the praises of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 – a strategy that recognises the wide-ranging societal benefits of greening urban and peri-urban areas.  The cornerstone of that strategy is the Nature Restoration Law, a proposal from the European Commission for legally binding EU nature restoration targets to restore ecosystems and help to increase biodiversity, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and prevent and reduce the impacts of natural disasters. One of the ecosystems addressed in the law is urban areas for which the European Commission proposes a framework of legally binding urban greening targets in public spaces and in the design of buildings. Many readers will have probably read the headlines about the law over the last few weeks, but unfortunately not for the right reasons.  With the Nature Restoration Law the European Commission made an unprecedented and ambitious move. And in my view the law is a crucial step to guide the transformation of our cities. Let’s be clear here, the green transformation of our cities is a “must have”, an urgent and absolute necessity. Climate action is no longer a “nice to have”.  Read the full article by Luigi Petito in Living Architecture Monitor.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU are currently finalising their position on a crucial piece of legislation for biodiversity in Europe, the Nature Restoration Law. In particular, the legislation intends to set specific targets for restoring green spaces in urban areas, to ensure the return of biodiversity in European cities.  Today, to support those proposals in view of the votes in the Parliament and Council in the month of June, the EU Chapter of the WGIN is publishing, together with 29 organisations from 19 countries, an open letter calling on European policymakers to safeguard ambitious and enforceable urban greening targets in their respective positions on the Nature Restoration Law.  Read the full letter here.

View of the home based roof top farming organic garden with various vegetables an plant. Rooftop farming represents the epitome of the multiple benefits of urban green infrastructure, writes Luigi Petito for Living Architecture Monitor. Read how urban and rooftop farming could have significant support in the near future from new EU rules.  Rooftop farming is an inspiring topic. It raises interest from across the board including lawmakers, citizens, architects, designers, planners and industry providers of green roof technologies and systems. After all, who could be insensitive to the opportunity to transform unused rooftops into access to living green areas to grow local, fresh and healthy food? From an environmental perspective, the impact that the deployment at scale of urban farming could have on food related carbon footprint is significant. Emissions could be reduced massively through the combination of reducing food related carbon emissions from transport; and potential changes in food consumption of urban gardeners and local consumers whose diets evolve toward low-carbon choices including a decrease in meat consumption. Rooftop farming is at the heart of sustainability because it represents the epitome of the multiple benefits of urban green infrastructure. It’s a perfect example of how making changes in one area can have significant co-benefits:  emission reductions and health promotion, decentralized rainwater management, energy savings and increased biodiversity, just to mention a few.  Read the full article by Luigi Petito in Living Architecture Monitor. 

The deployment of urban green infrastructure, such as vegetated roofs and walls, on Europe’s buildings has been increasingly considered as a tool to both mitigate climate change and to help urban areas adapt to its growing impacts, while increasing people’s well-being. The heatwaves and severe droughts of summer 2022, another signal of our fast-changing climate, clearly stressed the importance of boosting prevention and preparedness, especially in dense urban areas such as European capitals and large cities. In the framework of the European Green Deal’s goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 while leaving “no person and no place behind”, and of the “Fit for 55” package, this paper aims to outline the multiple benefits of green roofs and walls and how they can contribute to the objectives of some key EU legislative files currently under revision. Read the full paper here.

University of Warsaw library with rooftop gardens in Poland. ID: 306313655 We live in a time of unprecedented social, environmental, and economic change. To manage and hopefully guide the transition, and to address the multiple challenges it raises, particularly when it comes to the climate, we need innovation and resilience. Resilience and innovation go hand in hand. We show resilience in our capacity to face multiple crises, for example the combined climate, energy and health crisis, adapt and rethink what we consider taken for granted. When we innovate, we go beyond resilience, bringing forward new ideas, methods and devices that provide solutions. Read the full article by Luigi Petito in the winter 2022 issue of Living Architecture Monitor.

University Warsaw’s Library – Beautiful and Multi-Functional Rooftop Gardens.  Policy innovation is key to increase green infrastructure amid the combined climate, energy and health crisis, writes Luigi Petito for Living Architecture Monitor. Read how the next 18 months are key for EU green legislation. We live in a time of unprecedented social, environmental, and economic change. To manage and hopefully guide the transition, and to address the multiple challenges it raises, particularly when it comes to the climate, we need innovation and resilience. Resilience and innovation go hand in hand. We show resilience in our capacity to face multiple crises, for example the combined climate, energy and health crisis, adapt and rethink what we consider taken for granted. When we innovate, we go beyond resilience, bringing forward new ideas, methods and devices that provide solutions. The green transformation of cities is the quintessence of resilience. We have a large body of evidence showing that the deployment of green infrastructure in urban areas delivers solutions to adapting to and managing environmental and societal challenges ranging from rainwater management to increased biodiversity, energy savings and the improved mental health and wellbeing of citizens.  Read the full article by Luigi Petito in Living Architecture Monitor.

Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ID: 1121792051 In July, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre published the “Drought in Europe – July 2022” report, an assessment of Europe’s drought situation based on the European and Global Drought Observatory. The report showed that a staggering portion of Europe was exposed to warnings (44 per cent of EU+UK) with serious consequences ranging from vegetation stress to severe impacts on farming and the energy sector (for both hydropower generation and the cooling systems of nuclear and thermal plants). The report anticipated that warmer and drier than usual conditions were (and they actually are) likely to occur in the western Euro-Mediterranean region until November 2022 with some precipitation, in many cases associated to thunderstorms, foreseen to alleviate drought conditions while causing damages and further losses.  Read the full article by Luigi Petito in the Autumn 2022 issue of Living Architecture Monitor.

Macro of a honey bee (apis mellifera) on a mint (menta piperita) blossom. ID: 1574704057 Green and blue infrastructure give an essential contribution to urban biodiversity.   Back in May 2020, the European Union presented its biodiversity strategy for 2030 – a comprehensive plan to protect nature, reverse the degradation of ecosystems and put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030. The strategy recognises that greening urban and peri-urban areas is a refuge for nature and provides a wide range of benefits for people. The strategy announced that the European Commission will have put forward – subject to an environmental, social, and economic impact assessment – a proposal for legally binding EU nature restoration targets to restore ecosystems and help to increase biodiversity, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and prevent and reduce the impacts of natural disasters. With nearly half of the EU population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, greening cities an increase urban biodiversity is a must. Read the full article by Luigi Petito in the summer 2022 issue of Living Architecture Monitor.