Integrated environmental management of SmALl Green Spots in FUncTional Urban ArEas following the idea of acupuncture

In many EU cities it is difficult to save large areas for planting greenery. The attractive sites are often used for settlements or investments which provide profits for the city budget.
On the other hand authorities of the cities are aware of the necessity for green spaces to inhabitants for many reasons. Not only needs for rest, recreation and aesthetic surroundings but also growing requirements for adaptation of urban areas to climate change. This urban environmental challenge needs a special solution offered by SALUTE4CE project.
The main objective of SALUTE4CE is protection and development of natural resources by the integrated environmental management of green&blue infrastructure with planting native and climate resistant vegetation in FUAs lacking large sites for this function. The project will improve capacities of the public sector and related entities in management of green&blue infrastructure in FUAs by using the small spots not attractive for other purposes. The project partnership will implement the concept of urban environmental acupuncture (UEA) consisting in a surgical and selective intervention into the urban environment, instead of large scale projects that involve thousands of hectares and tremendous costs. The numerous interventions in many small spots in a FUA can provide an effect for the FUA as a whole. The partnership will develop the common methodology and criteria of selecting both spots and types of interventions which then will be applied in elaborating action plans for 4 FUAs. These action plans will demonstrate the application of the idea of UEA as an effective and innovative way of integrated environmental management in FUA to make it more liveable place. Pilot actions in the project will show in form of small investments in 4 FUAs how to implement step by step the idea of UEA. The trainings and the project handbook on UEA as well as tools for residents involvement will provide a transnational added value of the project.R 3.3 Status of integrated environmental managment capacities of the public sector and related entities in functional urban areas achieved through transnational cooperation for making them more liveable places.The project results will form the following outputs: training on criteria of selection of spots for urban environmental acupuncture and on the use of the urban digital platform as a tool for urban environmental acupuncture management, action plans for FUAs urban environmental acupuncture based on transnational format elaborated by the partnership. Implementation of the project will cause environmental changes such as: change of urban landscape, strengthening of stewardship of nature capital, change in governance (use of tools supporting environmental management of green and blue infrastructure), change in resilience of FUAs to climate change. The project will also make changes in social awareness, knowledge and behaviour by involvement of residents, students and pupils in maintaining the planted spots, strengthening bonds in the community, increase of social capital. The project pilot actions will cause visible physical changes in the areas of FUAs by implementation of small investments in selected 4 spots in each partner FUA. It will significantly promote the project and the Programme. All these changes will be achieved by a transnational cooperation of institutional and regional partners who will be involved (with other invited entities) in trainings and workshops and the work on concrete project outputs. In this way the project will contribute to enhancement of integrated environmental management capacities in public sector and other entities in FUAs.