Acronym

ParksMatter

NUMBER

PLUA.01.03-IP.01-0012/23

Project type

Regular project

STATUS

During implementation

PRIORITY

ENVIRONMENT

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE

1.3 Enhancing protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution

LEAD PARTNER

Department of Investment Policy, Projects, International Relations, Tourism and City Promotion of Ivano-Frankivsk City Council (Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine)

PARTNER

Municipality of Rzeszów (Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland)

Project description

Urban green spaces in Ivano-Frankivsk (UA) and Rzeszow (PL) are not only places for active rest, and socialisation but also provide crucial ecosystem services as they filter rain, reduce water pollution and help to cool the urban areas reducing the heat-island effect. However, both cities are facing the same challenges related to the use of natural objects, which are addressed by the ParksMatter project.

The target areas in both cities are parks located in densely populated neighbourhoods with old greenery requiring development and suffering from the luck of appropriate infrastructure to cope with an increasing number of users. The project partners are willing to solve this problem sustainably, protecting the existing ecosystems and giving residents the space to satisfy their needs in outdoor recreation. To achieve this, a Strategic plan for urban greenery management in Ivano-Frankivsk and Rzeszów will be developed, defining the standards of greenery maintenance in city parks and improving the planning and management of green zones through the involvement of key actors. As enhancing the awareness of residents on nature protection and the value of green zones is seen as an important project task, various promotional and educational activities are planned, such as a media campaign, workshops on urban greenery management, awareness-rising events for children, etc. Finally, the infrastructure of Molodizhnyi Park in Ivano-Frankivsk and Wladyslaw Szafer Park in Rzeszów will be improved. It will help to increase the amount of green infrastructure and obtain the maximum number of social and environmental services from it.

Thanks to the project, the two parks will become popular places for socialisation and recreation for the residents, which will help to reduce pressure on other recreational zones.