Mainstreaming ecosystem services and biodiversity

This practice supports the city’s vision to create a network of forest parks that will be integrated into a metropolitan green belt with a multi-use ecosystem, a focus on economic and social inclusion, and recreational and tourism functions. The project reflects the New European Bauhaus core values of aesthetics, sustainability and inclusion. Făget was selected to be the first such forest park because it is the city’s largest municipally-owned forest, located near a valuable Natura 2000 protected site, and a popular weekend destination for people who want to reconnect with nature. 

The project is a pilot component of a broader local and metropolitan policy, itself included in a 2021-2027 Integrated Urban Development Strategy to expand green infrastructure by at least 200 hectares by 2030, and make existing green areas more attractive and inclusive. The policy is also a central part of Cluj-Napoca’s Action Plan for Climate Neutrality, developed after the city was selected to become one of the EU Mission’s ‘100 climate-neutral and smart cities’ by 2030.  
 

This practice takes on a sustainable and integrated approach from the start. One of its first key steps was to deliver an Integrated Management Plan, including a list of necessary interventions. Based on this, a competition was launched to select the best design ideas.

A jury, which included architects and members of the project team, selected ideas and graphic concepts, ensuring that they followed certain sustainability criteria. All participants were requested to consider using only organic materials (especially wood) for small, minimally invasive interventions of no more than 15 square metres, with no foundations, and the possibility to be removed without leaving a visible trace.

The forest zoning for various uses and subsequent physical interventions was the result of a large co-design process with scientific support from the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca. Various other public and private stakeholders were also involved. The overall objective of the process has been to design a sustainable, multifunctional forest park for multiple categories of users, from schoolchildren and students to scientists and residents wanting to reconnect with nature. It is designed to provide experiences such as walking, biking, resting, fitness, yoga relaxation, reading, and educational and scientific activities. 

This good practice is founded on a participatory approach. The co-design phase included several workshops and a public consultation event with over 100 participants. Subsequent direct meetings involved a variety of relevant stakeholders. At local level this included universities, NGOs and activists. There were also representatives of the metropolitan intercommunal association (IDA) and communes from the metropolitan area, the County School Inspectorate, County Environmental Protection Agency, Salvamont, and the regional Transylvania Branch of the Romanian Order of Architects. Romsilva, the national body responsible for managing publicly owned forests, also took part. Their inputs were fundamental in developing the Integrated Multi-use Management Plan and designing minimally invasive interventions.

The co-delivery phase involved the direct participation of stakeholders such as Babeș-Bolyai University, the County School Inspectorate, the Environmental Protection Agency, ‘Ecouri Verzi’ and ‘Societatea Ornitologică Română’. They helped implement the micro-physical interventions and the activities need to popularise them. These included educational activities for pupils, scientific activities for students, mountain bike tours and volunteering campaigns. 

The area has become well established as a destination for hiking and biking, as well as a space for open air courses for pupils. 

Cluj-Napoca Municipality and the Cluj Metropolitan Area IDA, with the support of other public institutions and NGOs, have organised educational and recreation activities for 350 pupils, allowing them to find out more about the trees, birds and other animals living in the forest, and the geology of the area. The initiative has an intergenerational approach, involving university students and professors, some of them retired, and volunteers as guides. Each December an NGO organises a large orientation competition for over 100 pupils from different counties. 

Gaining European-wide recognition through the New European Bauhaus Award for Reconnecting with Nature made the local and national headlines. It instilled a sense of local pride that is very difficult to document but is empirically perceptible.  

This practice is replicable and scalable for cities facing similar challenges across the EU. The model contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Urban Agenda in multiple ways. For example, peri-urban forest parks provide spaces for recreation, exercise and relaxation, which contribute to the physical and mental wellbeing of urban residents. The practice also enhances urban green infrastructure by integrating forest parks into urban planning, making cities more sustainable and resilient.

In terms of urban planning integration, incorporating peri-urban forest parks into urban planning aligns with the EU's goal of promoting sustainable land use and combatting urban sprawl. Supporting a range of functions, from space for recreation to habitats for various species, promoting urban biodiversity, Cluj’s forest park model reflects the multi-functional use of urban land promoted by the Urban Agenda.

One of the key aspects for the practice to be successfully transferred is openness and political will, and a vibrant civil society. Cluj has a successful multiple helix of cooperation, providing a basis for co-creation with citizens, public administration, the private sector, universities and NGOs.

Information on the practice has been shared widely, for example during numerous transnational meetings within the Interreg project through which it was developed, and through the media, including an article in Frontiers, a leading research publisher.