Park Novi Zagreb is one of the city’s most ambitious yet unfinished green projects. Planned as part of the Plava potkova, a continuous blue-green axis across Novi Zagreb, the park was envisioned to connect neighbourhoods, enhance biodiversity, and provide much-needed recreational space south of the Sava River. Despite its scale and strategic location, the area remains fragmented and underused, revealing both a clear challenge and a powerful opportunity.
The Co-Innovation Lab Park Novi Zagreb builds on this potential by bringing together city officials, researchers, students, local communities, developers, and civil society to co-create, test, and scale NbS that respond to urban and climate challenges.
Co-innovation Lab 1 is a collaboration among the North West Croatia Energy and Climate Agency (REGEA), the City of Zagreb, the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, and GDi LTD.
From ideas to impact
At the heart of the lab is a focus on blue-green infrastructure and the creation of linear neighbourhood park corridors. These corridors reconnect fragmented green and blue spaces, transforming them into a continuous, accessible network that supports biodiversity, strengthens ecological connectivity, and invites people back into nature.
The lab acts as a living environment for co-design and prototyping, where solutions are tested, refined, and prepared for wider replication, not only in Novi Zagreb but in other neighbourhoods facing similar challenges.
What We aim to achieve
- Inclusive co-creation by actively engaging stakeholders to ensure solutions reflect local needs and everyday realities
- Scalable NbS prototypes that can be adapted across neighbourhoods and cities
- Better connected urban nature, integrating isolated green and blue spaces into coherent networks
- Empowered communities, equipping students and citizens with the skills and knowledge to shape their urban environment
- Climate-resilient neighbourhoods, addressing flooding, urban heat, and biodiversity loss through cost effective NbS
The photos are provided by the City of Zagreb