ICLEI Members Hamburg (Germany) and Malmö (Sweden) took centre stage at the final CLEVER Cities project conference in Hamburg, which focused on how cities and European projects can positively impact communities through urban greening. The conference featured more than just knowledge sharing; it celebrated years of dedication to Nature-based-Solutions (NbS), co-creation, climate change adaptation, and urban restoration.

Hamburg's Neugraben-Fischbek neighbourhood exemplified sustainability and environmental initiatives by creating a "green corridor" for biodiversity and collaborating with a local school to establish educational gardens. This highlights the significance of cooperation with residents and environmental education. Malmö targeted the challenges in the Lindängen neighbourhood, characterised by cultural diversity and socioeconomic disparities. It aimed to co-create health-related solutions with local residents and organisations. Helen Nilsson, a member of the Malmö environmental department, outlined how these efforts align with Malmö's broader initiatives to address inequality, urban development, and climate change, including sustainability-focused areas.

Both cities demonstrated what Axel Timpe, proGIreg, summed up: “Participation isn’t the term any more. It is not: we are a city & we want something. We need an ongoing co-creation process. Ask residents first: what do you want & need? Only then should we choose a NbS and monitoring approach.” The event was a timely reminder that the challenges we face require a collective effort and a commitment to innovative solutions. In particular, the uniqueness of the whole CLEVER project lies in the fact that different cities and municipalities have had the opportunity to learn from their own citizens on the one side and on the other side from the other project partner cities, creating a supporting pan-European network.

For a deeper understanding of the insights shared during the conference, explore the CLEVER Cities Guidance, one of the final outputs of the project and which was presented at the conference. Access best practices, lessons learnt, and innovative case studies related to NbS mainstreaming in policy and planning, social impact generation and measurement, as well as co-creation and stakeholder empowerment. Learn more by viewing recordings of the conference.