Be Ready Pilot Project in Niš: Greening Public Spaces for a Climate-Resilient City

As part of the Be Ready project, the City of Niš implemented a pilot action aimed at reducing Urban Heat Island effects through targeted greening of key public spaces and active stakeholder involvement.

The main intervention took place at King Milan Square, where four canopies above the underground passage were greened and five tall deciduous trees were planted at existing and new locations. Climate-resilient species such as Quercus ‘Green Pillar’, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’ were selected for their suitability for dense urban conditions. A second pilot site, the plaza in front of the Puppet Theatre, was enhanced with a new tree line of seven Prunus serrulata trees, improving shade and urban comfort.

A particularly innovative component of the project was the implementation of a city-wide seedling donation campaign, integrating modern digital tools and a participatory approach. The upgraded Web GIS greening platform and the improved Eko Lovac mobile application allow citizens and institutions to:

identify existing and potential planting locations in real time,
donate seedlings or funds through the Green Fund,
track planted trees and adopt seedlings through donations, and
propose new greening locations across the city.

The pilot also placed strong emphasis on stakeholder involvement and community engagement. Coalition partners worked closely together through continuous communication and information exchange and supported participatory assessments of vulnerability and UHI risks. Workshops with citizens, supported by academic expertise from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, were also essential for the creation of the pilot action.