The Living Lab in Konin focuses on post-industrial areas and modernist large housing estates in a city transitioning from coal mining towards climate neutrality. To support this transformation, the Living Lab co-evaluates past local Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), particularly green projects submitted through the municipal civic budget, to identify implementation barriers, enabling factors, and capacity needs.

Through digital geo-surveys and interactive in-person workshops, local stakeholders identify neglected urban “hotspots” requiring ecological revitalisation. Participants then use Virtual Reality (VR) tools to collaboratively visualise and refine 3D models of green spaces for a selected neighbourhood.

To turn these designs into actionable interventions, strategic backcasting workshops map concrete steps from a shared 2050 vision back to the present, resulting in a tailored Nature-Based Solutions Action Plan. Finally, the Living Lab establishes formal cooperation mechanisms among municipal authorities, local NGOs, and businesses, while exploring governance and financing models to support the long-term maintenance and sustainability of NBS.