NEB-2026-01-BUSINESS-03 | Green Synergy: Reusing urban parks as climate-neutral carbon-sink neighbourhood hubs

Green Synergy is a climate-adaptive neighbourhood regeneration concept aligned with the New European Bauhaus objective of transforming the built environment into beautiful, sustainable and inclusive living spaces.

The initiative reuses underutilised urban parks and public open spaces as carbon-sink, water-smart and health-promoting neighbourhood hubs, integrating:

• nature-based climate adaptation and biodiversity enhancement

• participatory governance and social inclusion

• energy awareness and resilience building

• spatial design linked to disaster preparedness and everyday urban life

The concept builds on an existing Turkish pilot partnership involving:

• a university leading participatory design, social impact monitoring and capacity building

• a municipality responsible for spatial implementation and institutional integration

• an SME specialised in sustainability and green transition solutions

This ready-to-deploy national consortium provides a strong foundation for European scaling and replication within a NEB Research and Innovation Action.

Within the BUSINESS-03 topic, the project will:

• demonstrate adaptive reuse of public spaces as climate-neutral neighbourhood infrastructure

• develop governance, financing and replication models for municipal green transition

• produce living-lab evidence linking environmental performance, social cohesion and public health

• deliver transferable implementation roadmaps for European cities

The university and SME partners aim to act as the scientific lead or coordinator for governance, participation, and replication; social impact; and innovation. They will also coordinate living labs, health and wellness activities, and community engagement processes.

The consortium seeks collaboration with:

• European municipalities and regions

• Landscape, architecture, and urban design teams

• Climate, energy, and resilience SMEs;

• Financing and impact investment actors

• Research institutions that contribute to NEB deployment.

This opportunity enables the scalable reuse of urban spaces as climate-neutral neighborhood systems and directly contributes to the NEB's ambition of a socially inclusive green transformation across Europe.