Past reseach and networking

PAST RESEARCH AND NETWORKING PROJECTS

COST ACTIONS

 

URBAN ALLOTMENT GARDENS www.urbanallotments.eu

This four-year project funded under the COST programme focussed on urban allotment and community gardens, examining their social spatial, ecological and policy-related aspects across 26 countries. The main output was a book “Urban Allotment Gardens in Europe” published by Routledge https://www.routledge.com/Urban-Allotment-Gardens-in-Europe/Bell-Fox-Kamper-Keshavarz-Benson-Caputo-Noori-Voigt/p/book/9781138921092

Duration: 2012-2016; COST Programme

URBAN AGRICULTURE IN EUROPE

This four-year project funded under the COST programme focussed on urban agriculture, examining a range of economic, social and environmental aspects across 26 countries. The main output was a book “Urban Agriculture Europe” published by Jovis https://www.jovis.de/en/books/details/product/urban-agriculture-europe.html

Duration 2012-2016; COST programme

TOBEWELL: Tourism, Wellbeing and Ecosystem services

http://www.tobewell.eu

This project, funded under the CPOST programme brought together principles of ecosystem services (ES), which focus on life support systems, with more non-material services such as culture, health and wellbeing through tourism. It aimed to link research on wellbeing provided by ecosystems and their use via tourism, leisure and recreation activities.

Duration 2012-2016; COST Programme

GREENINURBS: Green infrastructure and urban forestry 

http://www.greeninurbs.com/

This four-year project funded under the COST programme focussed on urban green infrastructure and urban forestry, examining their social spatial, ecological and policy-related aspects across 26 countries. The main output was a book “The Urban Forest” Published by Springer http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319502793

Duration 2012-2016; COST programme

 

EBANELAS: Eastern Baltic Network of Landscape Architecture Schools http://www.ebanelas.org/

This network of schools in the Eastern Baltic countries was formed to strengthen cooperation and to build capacity in the subject field. Meetings and other activities take place.

Duration: 2013-2016; NORDPLUS

CARE-FOR-US II http://www.nordicforestresearch.org/care-for-us2

This was a network of organisations in the Nordic-Baltic field active in developing capacity in urban forestry. Meetings took place, a conference was held in Tartu in 2012 and policy briefs were produced.

Duration 2011-2015; SNS

BLUEHEALTH https://bluehealth2020.eu/

BlueHealth is a pan-European research initiative investigating the links between environment, climate and health. The programme is specifically focused on understanding how water-based environments in towns and cities can affect health and wellbeing. It brings together experts from nine institutions and is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. The work in EMÜ is focused mainly in two areas:

OPTIMISING ‘BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE’ FOR HEALTH 

The access and use of urban blue spaces is controlled by their design. BlueHealth researchers are assessing the impact of planning practices intended to support the use of blue infrastructure at both a city and local level. They are providing guidance on how to improve access, aesthetic value, and the motivation to visit these spaces, whilst also minimising risks.

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS IN HEALTHCARE

BlueHealth is exploring how virtual environments might be used in health and social care settings to boost wellbeing for elderly, vulnerable and infirm populations. It is designing an interactive and mobile virtual reality system, and using these highly controlled settings to provide a theoretical basis for the planning of blue spaces in the real world.

http://www.syke.fi/en-US/Research__Development/Research_and_development_projects/Projects/BONUS_ROSEMARIE

MODSCAPES: THE MODERNIST REINVENTION OF THE RURAL LANDSCAPE  https://modscapes.eu/about/

MODSCAPES explores rural landscapes produced by large-scale agricultural development and colonisation schemes planned in the 20th century. This transnational research project investigates 11 case studies across Europe and beyond. It aims to explore, document, and raise awareness around this largely underestimated shared cultural heritage, which has seldom been the topic of international and interdisciplinary research. The project introduces the concept of landscapes as a unifying paradigm between tangible (the built environment) and intangible legacies (the related cultural and sociopolitical contexts) to bridge the gap between research, practice and policies through a trans-disciplinary approach. EMÜ is the lead for Work Package 2: Physical legacies.

E-CLIC - An experiment on the Landscape Convention                                

www.e-clicproject.eu,  http://e-clic.ning.com/

The main concern of E-CLIC was to change peoples’ perception of EU policies, make them more familiar to the non-professional and encourage people to assess the impact of such policies upon their lives and everyday activities. Moreover, E-CLIC tried innovative methods to involve people in policy making and policy assessment, taking advantage of the power of ICTs and the internet, and focusing on the European Landscape Convention (ELC) as a “pilot case” of European policy with a direct impact on the environment and economy of all human communities. A learning methodology and a number of interactive learning tools including a “European Landscape Database of Best Practice”; and a library of ICT resources that may help demonstrate the challenges faced by landscapes were created.

Duration: 2013-2015; Lifelong Learning Programme

GreenMan - Tartu, Rezekne, Pskov: Green Management forUrban Development & Planning in EE-LV-RU Border Capitals. 

GreenMan was a Russia/Estonia/Latvia cooperation project focussing on the management of urban green spaces. It connected three cities (Pskov RU, Rezekne LV and Tartu EE) with three universities. Among the impacts were the implementation of projects in all three cities plus the prodiction of tools and a manual for green space management which can be downloaded here (English, Russian, Latvian and Estonian versions)

(D)rain for Life - Promoting Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in Estonia-Latvia cross-border area to improve the environment for active and sustainable communities. 

Promoting Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in Estonia-Latvia cross-border area to improve the environment for active and sustainable communities. The project explored the best ways to develop sustainable urban drainage systems in Estonia and Latvia. Joint feasibility studies in Baldone (LV), Võru (EE), Rīga (LV) and Pärnu (EE) looked for the most efficient ways to drain surface waters back into the environment in ecological ways without expensive piping works. Local community groups were actively involved in discussions and educated about these issues.

Duration: 2012-2013

ASPIS - Auditing the Sustainability of Public Spaces. ASPIS was a 3-year European project, running from 2009 to 2012, co-funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme (Transversal Programmes – Key Activity 3 ICT – Multilateral Projects). ASPIS involved 7 European countries and 9 organisations, including universities, planning and IT consultancies, research institutes and local authorities, aiming to promote learning for public participation in planning and raise awareness on the sustainability of open public spaces among citizens and professionals (architects/planners/students). The project introduces a Games-based Learning (GBL) methodology, complemented with other interactive communication/internet-based tools, aiming to encourage “learning by-doing” through simulation, negotiation and role-playing. The learning products of ASPIS address professional architects and planners as much as citizens, and are also designed for introduction in school and university curricula, making learning more attractive and relevant to real life situations.

CANEPAL - The European Heritage of Sheep Farming and Pastoral Life. http://www.prismanet.gr/canepal

Canepal was a project under the EU Culture programme studying at and celebrating the pastoral life around the management of sheep – landscapes, food, culture, customs etc. Among the outputs were exhibitions and a cookbook of recipes
Duration: 2012-2014; Culture programme