Therapeutic garden and urban regeneration in Zagreb, Croatia

© Mali Dom – Zagreb (2021)

Background and aim

The therapeutic garden in Zagreb is part of the proGIreg — ‘Productive Green Infrastructure for Post-industrial Urban Regeneration’ — project, funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020. The garden is part of the local ‘living lab’. It is located in a former industrial complex in the Sesvete district of eastern Zagreb. The therapeutic garden is one of the nature-based solutions developed in the area. Its aim is to provide access to quiet green space for gardening, social interaction and rest and relaxation, particularly for people with disabilities. 

Measures and outcomes

Besides the accessible garden beds and the common area, the therapeutic garden includes a multi-sensory park, where users can experience the space using all their senses. The garden was developed in collaboration with organisations that work with children and adults with disabilities. One of these organisations manages the everyday use of the garden, providing space for gardening, relaxation and social gatherings. Parents and carers of children and adults with disabilities are involved in activities and maintain the garden. Gardening experts and professional therapists provide thematic workshops for socially vulnerable groups.

The initiative is linked to a mobile urban farm, fuelled by solar panels, and incorporating a green roof and wall and a plant incubator. The plan is to use this mobile farm to educate the public about innovative urban gardening and farming technologies.