Working Paper: The Nature of Innovation for Urban Sustainability

Urban nature-based solutions are novel interventions that mobilize nature to address pressing societal challenges in cities. These include, but are not limited to, climate change adaptation and mitigation, health and well-being, biodiversity enhancement and economic development. Because of these benefits, nature-based solutions are increasingly seen as promising to contribute to grand societal challenges in urban contexts. Yet, currently their application is limited and their wider upscaling is necessary. However, limited knowledge is available on the range of factors that are critical to consider in innovating with and scaling up NBS.