Sleeping Beauty, a project funded by the European Commission and led by AIT, aims to awaken the beauty of overlooked and neglected public spaces and transform them into vibrant places. The aim is to promote thriving cities and communities - inspired and connected by the beauty of nature.
The project was officially launched from 4 to 6 June 2025 with a kick-off event at Filmquartier Wien. Partner organisations from all over Europe came together to tackle the revitalisation of six so-called ‘sleeping beauties’ - i.e. pilot locations: Riga (LV), Wrocław (PL), Fröseke (SE), Bolzano (IT), Kozani (EL) and Collegno (IT). These locations will be transformed into multifunctional living spaces, guided by the principles and values of nature-based solutions (NBS) and New European Bauhaus (NEB) - a combination of sustainability, inclusion and aesthetic quality.
The project launch of Sleeping Beauty was a creative and lively event, embedded in a theatrical setting full of nature and joie de vivre. The venue was the Filmquartier Wien - a formerly isolated and neglected space that was transformed into a green oasis in the heart of the city. This location exemplifies the aim of the project: to awaken the beauty of forgotten public spaces.
Sleeping Beauty pursues a three-phase approach: from exploring and setting a local framework to the concrete implementation of innovative measures to scaling up and anchoring. The six principles of ‘regenerate, revalue, reuse, reconnect, reorganise and replicate’ form the basis for the design of resilient, biodiverse and inclusive public spaces. The challenges at the locations are manifold: urban heat islands, vacancies, migration, light pollution or a lack of greenery. The project responds to these challenges with customised, nature-based solutions - linked by the overarching vision of making the ‘natural beauty’ of each location visible and socially usable.
The project is coordinated by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. A total of 21 organisations from 9 European countries are working together to revive the potential of overlooked, underused and forgotten public spaces. The pilot sites have different climatic and social conditions, from rural to urban, and face different challenges such as urban heat islands, migration, lack of greenery or light pollution. Each location is rethought as a multifunctional living space, designed through the integration of NBS and NEB values. The project is based on six central principles: Regenerate, Re-value, Re-use, Re-connect, Re-organise and Replicate. These form the foundation for creative combinations of NEB & NBS to promote biodiversity, health, resilience and social participation.
Sleeping Beauty understands design as a joint process: with the Community of Practice (CoP), the project establishes a platform for exchange, learning and co-design between city administrations, experts and citizens. The aim is to anchor awareness and expertise for the sustainable upgrading of public spaces on a broad basis.
The project will run for four years (2025-2029) and is funded by Horizon Europe under grant agreement no. 101181784.