Seven Zagreb courtyards will soon receive a new, greener and more pleasant appearance thanks to interactive workshops that brought together students, residents and experts.
The workshops were held on 2 and 5 June 2025 at the HKD Napredak premises in Bogovićeva Street, as part of the ActGREEN project, which is being implemented with the aim of promoting climate resilience, carbon neutrality and sustainable development of urban spaces.
Participants of the workshops were
students of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, as well as
co‑owners and representatives of residents of seven Zagreb courtyards. These courtyards were selected in accordance with the
Conclusion on the order of courtyards for the implementation and financing of greening measures of 10 April 2025, based on the
Public Call for the implementation and financing of courtyard greening measures, which derives from the
Courtyard Greening Decision of the City of Zagreb.
Under the guidance of the project team from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture (Dr. Iva Rechner Dika, Dr. Ines Hrdalo and Jana Kiralj Lacković, mag. ing.) and representatives of the City of Zagreb (Nebojša Ivančević and Natalia Halbauer), students worked in teams to create landscape design solutions using design tools and nature‑based solutions, while residents actively participated in evaluating and commenting on the proposals.
The first part of each day was dedicated to the work of student teams who, divided into groups, created landscape design solutions for four, and then three courtyards, using design tools and nature‑based solutions in accordance with the criteria of the Public Call. In the afternoon, residents and representatives of co‑owners were introduced to the conceptual designs through short presentations and had the opportunity to evaluate each project.
On the first day of the workshop, solutions were presented for the courtyards at V. Klaića 27, Đ. Crnčaka 24, Krajiška 11 and Jukićeva 34, with the winning solution being the one for Đure Crnčaka 24. On the second day, the competing solutions were for Palmotićeva 29, Matka Laginje 5 and Prolaz Jurja Ratkaja, with the highest number of votes going to the team that designed the landscape solution for Matka Laginje 5.
The winning teams were awarded ActGREEN promotional materials, and all participants received a certificate of participation indicating the most successful team.
At the end of each workshop day, an anonymous survey was conducted by colleague Jana Kiralj Lacković. The aim of the research is to understand the impact of greening on quality of life, values and attitudes of citizens. The research will be conducted at three points in time: before, immediately after, and six months after the greening.
The ActGREEN project, through its activities, actively contributes to achieving the goals of the European Green Deal and encourages joint engagement of citizens and experts in creating a healthier and more sustainable urban environment.
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