After 6 years, the PERFECT project is coming to a close. In September 2021, the project was extended one more year through Interreg Europe’s ‘call for additional activities’ (5th Call). The project explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the use of green infrastructure and how the recognition that spending time in natural spaces has benefitted citizen’s mental and physical well-being during lockdown can be catalysed by policy changes to deliver more high-quality green infrastructure.
The project reflected on the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the pressure on, and value of, green infrastructure (GI) in urban areas. It also explored how public perception of the benefits of green infrastructure on people’s health and wellbeing has been altered.
To explore these issues, the partnership pursued a series of activities to exchange experience on policy and practical interventions to learn about good practices and explore options for navigating these new challenges. Activities included online workshops for partners and stakeholders with presentations from green infrastructure professionals and academics; stakeholder meetings and partner meetings. As a result of those conversations, 8 good practices and 2 policy papers were written and published in the context of the project extension.
Partners also got a chance to meet in person in April visiting Cornwall and in June visiting Bratislava. Both study tours were very successful and partners got a chance to exchange experiences in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
