Nature-based solutions

Worldwide, more than half of the population lives in cities, and this number is still rising. In Europe, more than 70% of the population is already living in urban areas. As Europe and the world continue to urbanize, challenges for sustainable development and human wellbeing will be more concentrated in cities. Nature-based solutions (NBS) are becoming an effective tool for such eco urban regeneration, but their social impact is being questioned. The European Commission defines NBS as ‘solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience’.

General introduction to approach

This cluster of approaches examines how cities are attempting to become greener or more sustainable using nature-based solutions (NBS), that the European Commission defines as ‘solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience´. Examples of NBS inspired and supported by nature are numerous and include green roofs and city parks that limit heat stress, city lagoons that store water and permeable surfaces, vegetation and rain gardens to intercept storm water. NBS can deliver multiple benefits such as multi-functionality green spaces can support adaptation to climate change while also being used for sports and recreations, serve as a place for local distinctiveness, increase the aesthetic appeal of a neighborhood, and provide a sense of community. NATURVATION (Nature Based Urban Innovation, 2016-2020) outlined that despite their significant potential, the use of NBS solutions remained marginal, fragmented, and highly uneven within and between cities in 2016. The CLEVER Cities (2018-2023) project is identifying ten key barriers to NBS implementation: limited knowledge base for nature-based solutions; inadequate governance structures ; balancing the multiple goals NBS can deliver; effective citizen involvement; insufficient social inclusion and social acceptance; lack of political and financial support; monitoring challenges; upscaling difficulties. GrowGreen seeks to embed NBS in long term city planning, development and management, so that accessible green and blue spaces are a permanent feature of all urban areas. Many approaches have identified need for local communities’ active participation in the creation of NBS, whom URBAN GreenUP (New Strategy for Re-Naturing Cities through NBS, 2017-2022) identify as the core of their cities’ green regeneration. Nature4Cities (NBS for re-naturing cities: knowledge diffusion and decision support platform through new collaborative models, 2016 - 2020) is creating a comprehensive NBS reference Platform to empower urban planning decision making based around new governance and collaborative models driven by citizens, researchers, policy makers, and industry leaders. They distinguish 3 levels for NBS activity: 1) building or plot level 2) at neighborhood or district level 3) NBS, at city level and beyond. One project offering a justice analysis of the impact of NBS and related City Greening initiatives is GREENLULUS (Green Locally Unwanted Land Uses, 2016 – 2021) which explores attempts to measure if greener cities are less racially and socially equitable and whether greening projects tend to increase environmental inequalities, by a thorough examination of 40 cities in the US and Europe.