Reggio Emilia’s Climate-Friendly Parks

Reggio Emilia is a medium-sized city located in Northeast Italy. Situated in the critical area of the Po Valley, Reggio Emilia’s climate is affected by low wind circulation and high humidity, which amplifies the urban heat island effect and worsens health risks. Tackling this issue is a crucial priority for the municipality to safeguard vulnerable populations and enhance urban resilience. 

Reggio Emilia’s Climate Adaptation Strategy 

The Municipality of Reggio Emilia is embracing “Climate-Friendly Parks” as a new vision for adaptive urban greenery—aimed at bringing nature back to the city to tackle climate change through innovative design and management. 

In 2020, Reggio Emilia adopted its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, grounded in historical and projected climate data up to 2 100 and a comprehensive analysis of local climate hazards. The strategy defines six key goals: 

1. Increase urban greenery to reduce heat stress
2. Integrate nature-based solutions into multifunctional infrastructure
3. Enhance the fragmentation of urban patches to support ecological connectivity
4. Align urban growth with sustainable land use
5. Safeguard public health by mitigating climate risks
6. Improve water resource management. 

Central to the strategy is a shift toward “Natural Urbanism”—a model where greenery is not just part of the city, but an active, integrated element enhancing its attractiveness, sustainability, and resilience. 

Climate-Friendly Parks  

Under the LIFE CITYAdaP3 project, the municipality designed and piloted a new adaptive park model in four city parks with diverse landscapes. This model uses four key landscape-environmental elements to mitigate heat islands as well as improving vegetation resilience: 

• Micro-forests: Dense, fast-growing plantations using the Miyawaki method, featuring native, adaptive, and edible species to test resilience and cooling capacity.
• Hedgerows: Inspired by traditional Po Valley hedges, these promote biodiversity and wind protection.
• Multi-species Lawns: A polyphitic approach that replaces monoculture grass with diverse forage crops to support soil health and local heritage.
• Tree Rows: Planted along paths and play areas to provide shade and reduce ambient temperatures. 

The Climate-Friendly Parks model combines four key landscape elements—micro-forests, hedgerows, multi-species lawns, and tree rows—to maximise climate adaptation benefits.  

^{Photo credit: Municipality of Reggio Emilia}

Each solution plays a specific role in cooling the city, improving biodiversity, and enhancing soil and air quality. A wetland was also added in one park, introducing a canal-bank habitat to boost water’s natural cooling and support local flora and fauna. A unique aspect of the model is the experimental use of diverse plant combinations—including native and non-native species from different climate zones—to monitor their resilience and impact on key indicators like shading, soil regeneration, and evapotranspiration.  

This approach supports the creation of complex, adaptive green spaces that are both climate-resilient and enjoyable for all. 

^{Information sign in the adaptive parks. 2023. Photo credit: Municipality of Reggio Emilia}

Stakeholders engaged 

The project is led by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia with support from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, the Central Emilia Land Reclamation Consortium, E35 Foundation, and TIL srl.  

A key innovative aspect of LIFE CITYAdaP3 is its strong stakeholder engagement, involving around 20 local businesses in planning and implementation. 

Finally, international collaboration was also central, with contributions from LIFE CITYAdaP3 Spanish partners, including municipalities from Murcia, the University of Murcia, and Eurovertice Consultores. 

Main challenges in addressing heatwaves: 

• Integrating natural elements into highly urbanized environments to mitigate microclimate
• Restoring urban biodiversity
• Improving the usability and liveability of parks
• Ensuring minimal maintenance without compromising safety and functionality
• Effectively communicating the project’s innovation to citizens and managing public perception of "low maintenance" interventions 

Lessons learnt and next steps  

The adaptive park model marked a turning point in how Reggio Emilia designs green spaces—merging climate resilience with biodiversity goals. Key takeaways: 

1. Adaptive urban planning: The project shifted internal planning approaches, recognizing vegetation as a vital ecological element rather than just aesthetic.
2. Public procurement: Adaptive criteria are now being included in tenders for both green and open space redevelopment.
3. Holistic design: Interdisciplinary collaboration—architects, landscapers, botanists, engineers—proved essential from the design phase.
4. Citizen engagement: The model’s natural aesthetics and lower maintenance needs required clear communication. This included site visits, workshops, school activities, and signage with QR codes explaining key features and benefits.

^{Citizens’ engagement activities. 2023. Photo credit: Municipality of Reggio Emilia}

Next steps: Climate-Friendly Parks have already been replicated in other 12 parks in Reggio Emilia (covering over 61 000 m²) and the municipality expects to replicate the experience in other parks. Continuous monitoring through climate sensors will help track long-term adaptation impacts. 

^{Biagi Park: example of an adaptive park. 2023. - Municipality of Reggio Emilia}

Replicability:  

Reggio Emilia’s experience shows how cities can adopt a science-based, participatory approach to urban reforestation. The adaptive park model—summarised in Italian and English reports—is already inspiring replication across Italy and Europe. It offers a scalable solution to mitigate heat, enhance biodiversity, and improve the liveability of urban spaces.    

Reggio Emilia is part of the Cities Refresh campaign, creating lively and safe places for all.

Reggio Emilia's Refresh

Maximum temperature reached during extreme heat events: 40ºC (August 2023) 

Solutions to address heat waves: 4

• Nature
• Urban Design and Technology
• Community-driven
  • Implementation of experimental urban forestry interventions based on adaptive criteria in four public parks located in different areas of the city, each with distinct territorial and landscape characteristics. The concept is based on testing the effectiveness of five landscape-environmental "devices" to mitigate the effects of climate change:
    • Microforests: Implemented using the Miyawaki method, divided into three types (native, adaptive, and edible) to test the adaptive capacity and rapid growth of a dense, multispecies forest.
    • Hedgerows: Designed to recover and modernize the traditional rural hedge function of the Po Valley, enhancing biodiversity and providing wind protection.
    • Multi-species Lawns: A polyphitic approach that replaces monotonous, monocultural grasslands with a variety of forage crops, supporting soil health and local agricultural traditions.
    • Tree Rows: Strategically planted to shade high-use areas such as pedestrian paths and playgrounds, reducing ambient temperatures.
    • Wet/Semi-wet Area: to exploit the thermoregulatory benefits of water, further mitigating the urban heat island effect.

Expected results with the solutions implemented:  

• Mitigation of urban heat island effects through increased shading and evapotranspiration
• Improvement of the urban microclimate via cooling effects (especially using the wet area)
• Enhancement of biodiversity and ecological resilience by using a mix of indigenous and adaptive plant species
• Reduction in maintenance costs by employing low-maintenance, self-regulating green devices
• Increased usability and liveability of public spaces for citizens 

Covenant Figures 

Signatory to the Covenant of Mayors since: 2009

The Municipality joined the ‘first’ Covenant of Mayors in autumn 2009 with the commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020. In 2021, the Municipality of Reggio Emilia approved adhesion to the new ‘Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy’, thus strengthening the authority's commitment to climate and environmental sustainability 

Emission reduction ambitions:  

• Overall CO2 emission reduction target: With the implementation of mitigation actions, the estimated final per capita emissions in 2030 are 3.93 tCO2/inhabitant with an overall per capita reduction corresponding to -55.5% compared to the 2000 value.
• % GHG emissions reductions by 2030: -55% compared to 2000 base year
• % GHG emissions reductions by 2050: Climate neutrality  

City Awards

• In 2024, Reggio Emilia was recognised as Green City of the Year by Legambiente, Italy’s leading environmental organisation. This recognition is part of Ecosistema Urbano 2024, an annual ranking conducted by Legambiente, which evaluates Italian cities based on key environmental performance indicators such as air quality, green spaces, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, and waste management. 

Related links 

• Municipality webpage
• CityAdaP3 project website
• Video of the Climate-Friendly Parks