The continent-wide ECRN is working with community andactivist groups to transform unused space on buildings in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Belfast, Antwerp, Nicosia, Gothenburg, Chemnitz, and Faro. Some initiatives are environmental (water collection, solar panel installation, Rotterdam’s Luchtpark Hofbogen elevated park etc), while others are cultural: Barcelona’s Terrats en Cultura festival turned rooftops into concert spaces, while Nicosia’s 1010 Hall is a cultural space with a focus on stargazing thanks to the high-powered telescope mounted on the roof for public use. Moving roofs away from their current state as solid, dark heat absorbent blocks can also work to reduce the ‘heat island’ effect produced by densely built urban areas.
