Cities | Ecologic Institute: Science and Policy for a Sustainable World

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Presentation

Taking Stock of NBS in European Cities and Related Policies

TimeLoc

9 July 2018 to 10 July 2018

Brasilia

Brazil

Sandra Naumann

In July 2018, Sandra Naumann from the Ecologic Institute joined the 2nd International Seminar on nature-based solutions in Brasilia (Brazil) to discuss the state of knowledge, experiences and challenges to implement nature-based solutions (NBS). She presented an overview of the almost 1000 NBS contained within the Urban Nature Atlas as well as results from the EU and national policy review conducted as part of the EU-funded NATURVATION project. Attendees included over 100 representatives of Brazilian and European cities, national and local authorities and decision makers, research, business and international organisations. The presentation slides are available online.Read more

Project

International Development

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

June 2018 to May 2023

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.Read more

Publication

Nature-based Solutions in European and National Policy Frameworks

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being adopted as an effective tool to address urban challenges. But, to what extent do current policy frameworks support or hinder their implementation? This report examines if and how the concept of NBS is addressed in select EU and Member State policies and funding instruments. The report was published within the Horizon 2020 project NATURVATION and is available for download.Read more

Publication

Utilizing Urban Living Laboratories for Social Innovation

Can urban living labs support social and governance innovations and therewith contribute to sustainable urban planning? Can they serve as a tool to assist cities in adapting to new emerging challenges? This chapter of the Urban Planet book address these questions. The chapter introduces a brief history of urban living labs and the governance challenges they intend to address, and subsequently explores whether urban living labs hold potential as a new forum for urban governance innovation experiments to support positive transformative change. The open access chapter and book are available for download.Read more

Presentation

Assessing Urban Risk and Vulnerability and Prioritizing Action

TimeLoc

26 April 2018 to 28 April 2018

Bonn

Germany

Dr. Grit Martinez

From 26 to 28 April 2018, the Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation took place in Bonn (Germany), just after the March Cities IPCC Conference, a few days ahead of the midyear Bonn climate talks and a few months before nations review SDG 11 on cities and human settlements. For the INNOVA project, Dr. Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute presented INNOVA's approach to risk assessment in the session "Assessing urban risk and vulnerability and prioritizing action." The presentation slides are available for download.Read more

Publication

Innovation, Renovation, Transformation

Good practice examples of projects promoting green growth across Central, Eastern and Southern Europe

Green growth brings about multiple social and economic benefits. Together with Ecofys, Ecologic Institute produced a brochure, which highlights examples of green growth that stem from a range of sectors (energy, buildings, transport, agriculture and industry) and are located throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The brochure presents cutting-edge technologies, forward-thinking entrepreneurs, smart combinations of financing options, and innovative project designs. The brochure is available for download. Read more

Event

Workshop

Cities

International Development

Global Environment

Governance

Land Use

Regional Food Systems and Sustainable Land Use in the Rural Urban Nexus

TimeLoc

11 April 2018

Berlin

Germany

The workshop "Regional Food Systems and Sustainable Land Use in the Rural Urban Nexus" on 11 April 2018 discussed the potential that food systems can play to improve rural urban linkages. The workshop aimed to discuss the available insights at international level about success factors of regional food policies and if these are also relevant in the German context. To do so, the workshop brought together local policy makers, federal policy makers as well as participants from research and civil society. Stephanie Wunder, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute and project leader of the Rural Urban Nexus project, presented success factors known from international examples and studies that promote rural urban linkages through regional food systems. Read more

Publication

Urban Nature Atlas – NATURVATION

naturvation.eu/atlas

So far, the Urban Nature Atlas has collected evidence on 1000 nature-based solutions (NBS) interventions. With that, it provides the most comprehensive basis for the analysis of socio-economic and innovation patterns associated with urban NBS in Europe. Ecologic Institute was involved in the design and implementation of the database, which is intended to support research, policy and public relations.Read more

News

World Wetlands Day 2018

Today almost 50% of the world's population lives in urban areas. Urban wetlands are found in cities and their suburbs. They play a vital role in making cities safe, resilient and sustainable (the goal of SDG 11). As urban sprawl takes its course, wetlands are under threat. Following up on ethnographic field studies carried out for the ERA4CS project INNOVA in one of Europe's outermost regions, Grit Martinez of Ecologic Institute was invited to participate in a regional World Wetlands activity in Guadeloupe.

Publication

Article

Cities

Water

Getting into the Water with the Ecosystem Services Approach

The DESSIN ESS evaluation framework

Ecologic Institute contributed to a practical guide for local-level evaluations of changes in ecosystem services. The approach helps to associate such changes to specific water management measures and enables both monetization and qualitative appraisal of impacts.Possible links between WFD State parameters and specific ESS classes are proposed. The article is available for download.Read more