Restoring the Pekre Stream in Maribor, Slovenia

Key Learnings

• Blended funding delivers stronger outcomes: Combining national, municipal, and European sources allowed for comprehensive results – from flood protection to urban green infrastructure and pilot innovations.
• Municipal leadership ensures coherence: The City of Maribor acted as an important coordinator, aligning different phases, engaging stakeholders, and keeping the long-term vision of stream revitalisation on track.
• Nature-based Solutions provide a common foundation: Across all phases, Nature-based Solutions play a central role – from riverbed restoration and riparian planting to green infrastructure and urban cooling measures. Implementing the Nature-based Solutions followed a coherent framework that guided all project phases and partners involved.
• Integrated planning creates multiple benefits: Linking grey, such as required engineered flood protection, and green infrastructure, like trees, with soft measures generates environmental, social, and climate gains – improved flood safety, reduced heat stress, better air quality, and new recreational opportunities for residents. Soft measures include community engagement, collaborative actions, and awareness campaigns.

Summary

The Pekre Stream initiative in Maribor transforms a previously neglected and flood-prone area into a multifunctional urban green space. The revitalisation brings together European, national and city actors and is financed in a coordinated, complementary way, following an integrated approach that blends flood protection, ecological restoration, landscape development, and community engagement. Nature-based solutions play a key role throughout, supporting environmental recovery and boosting urban resilience. Maribor's leadership ensures alignment across projects, engaging stakeholders and keeping the long-term vision on track. This experience shows that integrated planning, inclusion of local perspectives, and combining funding from different sources can lead to resilient, socially inclusive, and sustainable urban transformation.

Contact

Vlasta Krmelj vlasta [dot] krmeljenergap [dot] si (vlasta[dot]krmelj[at]energap[dot]si)

Energy and Climate Agency of Podravje (ENERGAP)