Gaps and Opportunities to Sustainable Urban Development through Nature-based Solutions

Doris Knoblauch; Linda Mederake

Gaps and Opportunities to Sustainable Urban Development through Nature-based Solutions

CLEVER Cities Policy Brief

Publication: Policy Brief
Citation: Knoblauch, D., Naumann, S., Mederake, L., Araujo Sosa, A. C. 2020: CLEVER Cities Policy Brief. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.

The multifunctional character of nature-based solutions (NBS) enables them to provide responses to both social and environmental challenges. Analysis has shown that there is significant potential for NBS to help achieve sustainable urban development objectives. Nonetheless, challenges for mainstreaming NBS remain. While some of these can be addressed at the local level, others need to be addressed at the national and/or EU level with strong support from the international level.

This policy brief provides gaps and opportunities to sustainable urban development through NBS at local and national as well as EU and international level. It also analyses local needs from the European and international levels. The document is available for download.

Contact

Doris Knoblauch

Coordinator Plastics

Coordinator Urban & Spatial Governance

Senior Fellow

Mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions

4 July 2022
McKenna Davis

Presentation:Speech

The climate crisis is impacting cities and communities across the globe. As extreme weather events become increasingly frequent, cities must work together to find effective nature-based solutions (NBS) to adapt to their changing climates. As lead partner in the BEGIN project, the Dutch city of Dodrecht welcomed cities, practitioners, researchers and citizens to join the conversation on the future of livable cities. To this end, the NEXT LEVEL 2021 conference was held as a hybrid event on the 20th of October 2021. Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis was invited as an expert to present on NBS governance and policy.

Taking Nature-based Solutions to the Next Level

20 October 2021
McKenna Davis

Presentation:Speech

The Urban Agenda for the EU recognizes the importance of nature-based solutions as tools for sustainable recovery and development. Yet implementation and mainstreaming at city level remain limited. Can the European Green Deal support these efforts? What role can European research projects play? To answer these questions, McKenna Davis was invited as an expert to contribute to the European Urban Knowledge Network’s (EUKN) Policy Lab on 'The Urban Agenda for the EU, its 'green' actions and the European Green Deal'. The 18 March 2021 event aimed to unravel the 'green' actions of the Urban Agenda for the EU and develop concrete messages for the ministers under Slovenia's Presidency on how to support cities dealing with regulatory obstacles when trying to reach environmental goals.

The Urban Agenda for the EU, its 'Green' Actions and the European Green Deal

18 March 2021
McKenna Davis

Publication:Report

This report by Ecologic Institute explores the extent to which current policy frameworks support sustainable urban development and nature-based solutions (NBS). It reveals that a variety of different terms are used across countries in policies and discourses in support of sustainable urban development, with green (and blue) infrastructure being the most frequently used. However, while many policies were shown to have strong explicit support for sustainable urban development, these often lack mandatory policy instruments.

Multi-level Policy Framework for Sustainable Urban Development and Nature-based Solutions – Status quo, gaps and opportunities

CLEVER Cities Deliverable 1.2

Year 2019

Publication:Fact Sheet

Private businesses lack awareness of market opportunities and appropriate business models for deploying nature-based solutions. This CLEVER Cities factsheet outlines types of NBS financing sources and the potentials of public-private partnerships. The CLEVER Cities factsheet No 3, edited by Ecologic Institute, is available for download.

Impact-driven Financing and Investment Strategies for Urban Regeneration

CLEVER Cities Factsheet 3

Year 2019

Publication:Fact Sheet

Private businesses lack awareness of market opportunities and appropriate business models for deploying nature-based solutions. This CLEVER Cities factsheet outlines green market opportunities and potential business policies for urban nature-based solutions. The CLEVER Cities factsheet No 2, edited by Ecologic Institute, is available for download.

Green Market Opportunities and Business Policies for Urban Nature-based Solutions

CLEVER Cities Factsheet 2

Year 2019

Publication:Fact Sheet

This CLEVER Cities factsheet outlines the main barriers and success factors for successful implementation of nature-based solutions. The CLEVER Cities factsheet No 1, edited by Ecologic Institute, is available for download.

Key Barriers to and Factors for Improving the Successful Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions

CLEVER Cities Factsheet 1

Year 2019

Project:Horizon 2020

With three quarters of the European Union's population living in cities and further increases expected, societies are increasingly facing socio-political shifts and marginalization. Limited availability of physical space, changing urban demographics, and increasing cultural diversity compound these challenges and create issues like high crime rates, social inequality, poverty, health threats, and unemployment. Some areas are particularly vulnerable, such as economically deprived, abandoned and neglected urban areas with a low share of green spaces. The Horizon2020 funded project “CLEVER Cities” responds to these challenges by designing and implementing locally tailored nature-based solutions (NBS) to foster sustainable and socially inclusive urban regeneration.

Co-designing Locally-tailored Ecological Solutions for Value-added, Socially Inclusive Regeneration in Cities (CLEVER Cities)

Jun 2018 - Nov 2023

Language: English
Authorship: Doris Knoblauch

Sandra Naumann

Linda Mederake

Ariel Araujo
Credits: Editors: Clara Grimes, Priscila Jordão (ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability)
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Year: 2020
Dimension: 2 pp.
Project: Co-designing Locally-tailored Ecological Solutions for Value-added, Socially Inclusive Regeneration in Cities (CLEVER Cities)
Project ID: 2812
Keywords: Adaptation

Cities

nature-based solutions, NBS, green cities, clever cities, ecological solutions

Europe, global

Download: CLEVER Cities Policy Brief [pdf, 1.36 MB, English]

Further Links

CLEVER Cities project website

PublicationBookAddressing Climate Change in Cities – Catalogue of urban nature-based solutions

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are solutions that are inspired and supported by nature. They can be used in urban settings to complement or replace "traditional" or "grey" solutions to perform functions, such as thermal insulation and stormwater retention and filtration.... Read more

English version: Iwaszuk, E., Rudik, G., Duin, L., Mederake, L., Davis, M., Naumann, S., Wagner, I., 2019: Addressing Climate Change in Cities. Catalogue of Urban Nature-Based Solutions. Ecologic Institute, the Sendzimir Foundation: Berlin, Krakow.

Polish version: Iwaszuk, E., Rudik, G., Duin, L., Mederake, L., Davis, M., Naumann, S., Wagner, I., 2019: Błękitno-zielona
infrastruktura dla łagodzenia zmian klimatu w miastach. Katalog techniczny. Ecologic Institute, Fundacja Sendzimira: Berlin, Krakow.

PublicationReportMulti-level Policy Framework for Sustainable Urban Development and Nature-based Solutions – Status quo, gaps and opportunities

In this report, Doris Knoblauch, Sandra Naumann, Linda Mederake and Ariel Carlos Araujo Sosa (all Ecologic Institute) explore the extent to which current policy frameworks support sustainable urban development and nature-based solutions (NBS). To this end, policies... Read more

Knoblauch et al. (2019). Multi-level policy framework for sustainable urban development and nature-based solutions -- Status quo, gaps and oppor-tunities. Deliverable 1.2, CLEVER Cities, H2020 grant no. 776604.

PresentationChairingMobilizing Up-scaling of Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change Throughout 2020 and Beyond – DG ENV workshop

On 4 and 5 February 2020, Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis and Ewa Iwaszuk attended an expert workshop "Mobilizing up-scaling of Nature-based Solutions for climate change throughout 2020 and beyond" convened by the Directorate-General for Environment of the European... Read more

Chairing:Mobilizing Up-scaling of Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change Throughout 2020 and Beyond – DG ENV workshop

Date: 4 - 5 February 2020
Location: Brussels, Belgium

PresentationChairingThe EU-funded H2020 Programme for Nature-Based Solutions

At the 2019 European Urban Green Infrastructure Conference (EUGIC), Ecologic Institute's McKenna Davis chaired a session looking at the role of Horizon 2020 funding for nature-based solutions (NBS) and co-organized a side session to present insights from the NATURVATION... Read more

Chairing:The EU-funded H2020 Programme for Nature-Based Solutions

Date: 10 - 11 April 2019
Location: London, United Kingdom

PresentationSpeechNature-based solutions – An effective approach to increase cities' climate resilience?

What role can nature-based solutions (NBS) play in climate change adaptation and mitigation? How can NBS be applied in order to achieve integrated risk management and resilience? These questions were addressed at the 'Paris Forum on NBS'. Sandra Naumann, Senior... Read more

Speech:Nature-based solutions – An effective approach to increase cities' climate resilience?

Date: 5 April 2019
Location: Paris, France

PresentationSpeechWhat is the Role of Society, Politics and Science in Urban Nature Conservation and in the Implementation of Nature-based Solutions?

In our age, scientific knowledge is increasing rapidly – while biodiversity is simultaneously decreasing rapidly. Both practitioners and scientists agree that better applicable knowledge and the steps based on this knowledge that can be implemented in real life are... Read more

Speech:What is the Role of Society, Politics and Science in Urban Nature Conservation and in the Implementation of Nature-based Solutions?

Date
Location

Adaptation
Agriculture
Arctic
Biodiversity
Bioeconomy
Cities
Climate
Climate Foreign Policy
Coastal + Marine
Communication
Consumer Policy
Culture + Ecology
Digitalization
EU
Economics
Education
Energy
Environmental Law – Ecologic Legal
Evaluation
Events
Finance
Food
Foreign Policy
Governance
Health
Indicators
Industry
International Development
Land Use
Mobility
Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure
Plastics
Public Diplomacy
Resource Conservation + Circular Economy
Trade
Water