The Green Urban Part of Nicosia weaves together the diverse facets of the capital of Cyprus, seamlessly blending the historic with the contemporary, the traditional with the avant-garde, and natural greenery around the longest river of the island with the vibrant urban centre of the capital. This path unites various facades of Nicosia and stands as a testament to unity and sustainability. Comprising five distinct stops, it serves as a showcase for the innovative solutions embraced by both the city and its inhabitants, preserving cherished traditions while embracing modern and eco-friendly practices.
The path is a linear route can be embarked upon from either end, and depending on the start location, either starts or finishes with a relaxing walk along the banks of River Pedieos, a life-giving artery that runs through the heart of our city. From either end, the route gracefully takes the visitors to the heart of the historical walled city of Nicosia, which is surrounded by Venetian walls dating back to the 16th century.
The route covers five stops, each of which is an example of sustainable solutions to urban problems. One of the stops is Eleftheria Square, the historic central square of the city, which has been renovated and transformed completely; Laiki Gitonia, a renovated traditional neighbourhood, which displays both the traditional ways of Cypriot life and architecture; Gardens of the Future, a community garden and education centre at the heart of the urban capital; Bandabulya Municipal Market, a historic closed bazaar that has been renovated into a bustling hub; and Home for Cooperation, a one-of-a-kind community centre that resides within the UN Buffer Zone, a powerful symbol of hope and reconciliation, working tirelessly to bring peace and harmony to the whole community.
Through this Green Urban Path, we aim to tell the story of Nicosia’s transformation over time – a narrative shaped by the forces of modernization and urbanization while remaining anchored in the city’s timeless traditions. These stops express the city’s hope and commitment to a sustainable future, where harmony and eco-consciousness prevail, ensuring a future where the city and its cherished inhabitants thrive. are many green spaces which are playing an important role not only for nature but also for humans. Especially in the time of climate change and after Covid pandemic, we started to understand that we need more green areas in each human settlement. And we need to treat them differently than before. More and more municipalities decided not to mow the lawns, plant flower meadows or renaturalise lakes and other water areas.
Berlin has for a few years been a melting pot of creative ideas, solutions and business. More and more Berliners are choosing a different way of life, more sustainable and more connected with nature including refreshed old methods (using traditional green areas as parks or growing food and relaxing in allotment gardens) or new innovative ideas (such as community gardens).
Green Urban Path of Berlin we have chosen 5 stops (in spring of 2023) which are located in the north of Berlin Mitte district. The amazing location of Berlin between forest and lakes, within many of the post-glacial geomorphic formations, offers an interesting possibility of creation of green areas. We would like to present 2 parks, 2 different ways of gardening, 4 lakes and one settlement. The aim of this route is to show interesting green areas, to raise awareness of thimportance of these areas, showing new developments and trends for green spaces.
If you walk with average speed and you give yourself 10-15 minutes for each stop you need around 2 hours (including reading our guide and using the app).
We hope to show in this tour something which will help you to understand what is happening in green areas, and what you could do to reach a few sustainable development goals. Because every action counts to save our planet!