| Description | Maribor, the second-largest city in Slovenia and the capital of the Podravje region—one of the most climate-vulnerable areas in the country—has become a testing ground for innovative greening and nature-based solutions (NbS). Such approaches serve as carbon sinks, reduce disaster risks, strengthen food and water security, enhance biodiversity, and support human health by mitigating urban heat islands, improving air quality, reducing noise, and offering recreational space. The city’s greening efforts have been supported by financial sources such as the national Climate Fund (replenished by EU ETS auctioning revenues) and various European funds and projects including Urban Innovative Actions, Horizon 2020, and ERDF.
Over the past years, numerous initiatives have been implemented and built on one another, gradually expanding green spaces across the city. Key examples include: planting a tiny urban forest in Magdalena using the Miyawaki method after analyzing urban heat islands and degraded areas; conducting an inventory of historic courtyards and encouraging their greening through a Best Courtyard prize competition; establishing a 400 m green belt along the degraded Radvanje stream with volunteers and utility companies; and creating a Mini Urban Tree Nursery to ensure affordable, locally adapted seedlings. The UPSURGE project added a green corridor, riparian cycling route, pocket gardens, blue infrastructure, an urban mobile forest, and regeneration of the riparian park along Pekrski brook. In parallel, the Urban Soil4Food project recycled biological waste into soil for organic urban gardens, local food chains, parks, and an Agri living lab for circular economy innovations. More recently, the Ready4Heat project established pergolas in kindergartens for shade, developed plant-use recommendations, and is preparing a local heat strategy and action plan.
The Maribor experience demonstrates that nature-based solutions can be successfully scaled across the wider Danube region. Their applicability is high provided there is strong leadership, engaged communities, effective cooperation across institutions, and inclusive communication and participatory approaches to ensure both implementation and long-term sustainability. |
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