kes's blog

Justice struggles around greening in Barcelona

kes — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 12:30:33 +0000

As a means of coming together to mark the final stages of the URIP Stakeholder process (in the framework of the Naturvation project), in October 2020, the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and ENT organized a biketour exploring new green spaces and innovations taking place in Poblenou, a post-industrial neighborhood within the Sant Marti district of Barcelona. About 30 of us, participants from academia, local public institutions, social and environmental associations, as well as neighborhood groups, came together while keeping safe distances and security measures in an event marked (but thankfully not defined) by the COVID-19 pandemic. During our bike tour, we explored varied typologies of Nature-based solutions—from city-planned large-scale projects to community-driven, informal interventions—and also met with grassroots groups fighting to stay in their neighborhood as gentrification and urbanistic pressures mostly associated with the 22@ Plan set to transform 200 hectares of formerly industrial lots into service and IT sector areas.

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Fighting the 'Asphalt Desert' and ‘Land Consumption’ in Cities

kes — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 09:50:51 +0000

Urban planning and climate change are closely interlinked. The way we build our cities affects both the local and the global climate. Dense urban development and paved inner cities not only generate more heat, they are also increasingly creating problems for city sewer systems. Rainwater cannot run off easily, so that the groundwater is more difficult to replenish, and the risk of flooding increases. Climate change is increasing this phenomenon, since extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain, droughts or heat waves are occurring more and more frequently.

The NATURVATION project, together with its partner and cooperation cities, has been exploring new pathways for addressing this problem. Bavaria’s state capital, Munich, is one of the case studies in the NATURVATION project. It is the most heavily sealed city in Germany. Almost half of the city's area is either built on or sealed with asphalt.

Since 2019, Munich has a funding program to address this problem. It promotes unsealing with up to 40 Euros per square meter. This allows funding for the greening of private courtyards and, under certain conditions, the premises of private companies. The funding has been increased from 23,000 to 80,000 Euros annually. Until today, more than 1,100 objects have now been greened or unsealed in this way. However, there are almost 173,000 residential buildings in Munich alone. Although interest in the funding program is increasing, the success still appears to be limited.

Rethinking has to take place.

The problems have to be addressed systematically and at a larger scale. Every day, a total of 56 hectares of land are redesignated as settlement or traffic areas in Germany. During one year, this corresponds roughly to the area of the city of Frankfurt.

To address this, the Federal Government of Germany wants to reduce land consumption to less than 30 hectares per day by 2030, and environmental associations are calling for a so-called circular economy. This means that only "new" land is designated if, in return, the same area is unsealed in another place. The city of Malmö in Sweden, which is a NATURVATION partner city, has also been looking into ways to compensate land consumption, developing related tools for the city scale.

Learning and dissemination through the NATURVATION project.

Nature-based solutions have to be systematically mainstreamed in urban planning and across cities’ sector work. There are increasing initiatives aimed at promoting unsealing and systematically mainstreaming from which we can learn from in this context. The partner cities in the NATURVATION project and their urban-regional innovation partnerships (URIPs) have fostered related advancements and joint learning. In addition, the URBAN NATURE ATLAS, elaborated during the NATURVATION project, is one of the first online sources that brings together existing efforts worldwide. In addition, the NATURVATION Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on nature-based solutions provides a learning platform for both professionals and academics alike to learn from each other and join efforts.

If urban planners, together with private businesses and citizens, will manage to fight today’s asphalt deserts and land consumption, urban life will become more pleasant, ecosystems can be restored, and the supply of groundwater improved. The work of the NATURVATION partner and cooperation cities, together with the developed tools and courses, are one important step in this direction.

By Christine Wamsler, Professor at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) and knowledge broker within the Naturvation project.

Resilient Cities 2019: Bringing Urban Nature into Focus?

kes — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 05:34:29 +0000

In the face of climate change and increasing environmental, economic and social pressures, building resilience and sustainable development has become a strategic issue for cities. For a decade, the Resilient Cities conference series organised by ICLEI has created an international and creative space where local governments, researchers, business and civil society can meet and contribute to the learning community on urban resilience.

For ICLEI, resilient cities to “absorb and recover from any shock or stress while maintaining essential functions, structures, and identity as well as adapting and thriving in the face of continual change. Building resilience requires identifying and assessing hazard risks, reducing vulnerability and exposure, and lastly, increasing resistance and adaptive capacity.” As Resilient Cities 2019 kicks off, it is clear that nature-based solutions are on the agenda. NATURVATION is sharing our findings on “taking action for urban nature”, drawing on 54 case studies from 18 European and international cities.

In terms of governance strategies, our work suggests that there is considerable gains to be made from aligning European and national policy agendas to use nature-based solutions to address climate change and the ways in which cities are working with nature for a wider range of sustainability goals. Using a range of governance approaches, cities can generate new partnerships and initiatives to realise urban sustainability through nature-based solutions. Making sure these initiatives can be sustained relies on creating strong roots – core principles such as being inclusive, ensuring social justice, and ongoing recognition of the need for ambitious action are needed to realise their potential.

In terms of business models, our research shows that coordinating the contributions of different actors to realising nature based-solutions is one of the key opportunities, but also challenges of implementing urban nature-based solutions. Our work maps out different models that depict how the integration of nature-based solutions can benefit different people and organisations (including reduction of climate risks, improving health and quality of life, and use of urban public space). Models range from the green densification model, which integrates nature-based solutions into urban real estate development to the education model, where urban nature-based solutions are set up and managed in support of environmental education.

In terms of innovation pathways, our work investigates the enabling conditions and driving forces for nature-based solutions in the context of urban sustainability transitions. Our research provides an entry point to explore and better understand innovation pathways for nature-based solutions. It presents 12 examples of nature-based solutions, and illustrates the findings through: four targets (Happy and healthy cities, Water friendly cities, Renaturing cities, and Resilient and thriving cities); three processes (Crisis to connectivity, Marginal to mainstream, Government to governance); and four actions (Leading & Visioning, Governing & Collaborating, Experimenting & Learning, and Mobilising & Financing).

In terms of citizen engagement, our work highlights that diverse values, interests, and needs are associated with nature-based solutions. It is therefore important that they are taken into account in decision-making. As engaging communities contribute to realising all the sustainability benefits of nature-based solutions, our research helps to outline how to engage diverse communities and actors in decision-making. This covers guidance on how marginalized groups can be reached and included, and describes what works in terms of approaches and methods to citizen engagement for nature-based solutions. Our findings aim to support organisations that are working with nature-based solutions at the grassroots level.

The conference and related events at Resilient Cities 2019 offer exciting possibilities to advance investment in and implementation of nature-based solutions in Europe and around the world. For further insights from 54 examples of nature-based solutions in 18 cities explore our NATURVATION website to find a collection of snapshots and briefs on urban resilience and urban forests and water challenges with practical and innovative experiences of nature-based solutions.

World Cities Day

kes — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 13:54:16 +0000

NATURVATION involves 14 institutions across Europe working in fields as diverse as urban development, innovation studies, geography, ecology, environmental assessment and economics. Our partnership includes city governments, non-governmental organisations and business. We will assess what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities, examine how innovation is taking place, and work with communities and stakeholders to develop the knowledge and tools required to realise the potential of nature-based solutions for meeting urban sustainability goals.

Want to learn more about nature-based solutions?

Atlas - The Urban Nature Atlas contains almost 1000 examples of nature-based solutions from across 100 European cities.

Assessment - We are developing an Assessment Framework that brings together different kinds of knowledge, integrates the contributions of multiple initiatives and assesses the value of nature-based solutions in relation to the goals of urban sustainability.

Action - And see what is emerging from the NATURVATION project on developing policy, creating business models, enabling finance and engaging citizens.

Nature and Cities: A workshop in Melbourne with Naturvation and Urban GreenUp

kes — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 00:44:57 +0000

The Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub at Melbourne University organized a free interactive seminar on nature-based solutions (NBS) with RMIT University and an international collaborator Lund University. NBS use the natural properties of ecosystems. They have the potential to limit impacts of climate change, enhance biodiversity and improve environmental quality while contributing to economic activities and social well-being. Examples are 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. Yet despite their significant potential, the use of NBS remains marginal, fragmented, and highly uneven within and between cities. The seminar aimed to act as an inspiration and critical discussion of NBS innovation and implementation in cities.

The seminar, facilitated by Dr Cathy Oke, included presentations from Associate Professor Kes McCormick, Professor Sarah Bekessy and Associate Professor Kirsten Parris with time for questions and discussion on the relationships between NBS, cities, nature and biodiversity. Kes McCormick presented emerging findings from the Naturvation project focusing on the Urban Nature Atlas with 1000 examples from NBS in 100 cities and the development of 54 case studies from 18 cities, including Melbourne. Sarah Bekessy talked about the Urban GreenUp project and the critical role of biodiversity and nature in cities. Kirsten Paris concluded the presentations by outlining the framework developed in a recent paper called the seven lamps of planning for biodiversity in the city.

How effective are nature-based solutions in cities?

kes — Thu, 31 May 2018 07:57:37 +0000

The increasing urban population worldwide is experiencing challenges imposed by climate change, decreasing environmental quality and threats to health and wellbeing. Consequently, cities are seeking for new strategies to tackle these urban challenges in a sustainable way. Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognized for their potential to contribute to solving these challenges. The concept of NBS builds on and support other related ‘green’ concepts describing the relationship between nature and human wellbeing, such as the ecosystem services (ES) concept.

But despite the increasing attention, the literature on this topic is scattered and fragmented, and we lack the ‘big picture’ of the effectiveness of NBS in tackling sustainability challenges. As part of the Naturvation project, the GLOBIO team of PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency in collaboration with the Centre of Environmental and Climate Research (CEC) set out to ‘map’ the evidence base of ES delivery by urban green and blue infrastructure. We developed an urban ES database which contains an overview of more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific publications reporting on ES provided by green and blue infrastructure. We focused our literature search on eight ES that are generally considered particularly important in the urban context: local climate regulation, storm water retention, water purification, soil remediation, air quality regulation, pollination, recreational and aesthetic value.

The database describes the evidence base by providing information on various aspects such as in which urban setting services are measured (e.g. in a park, garden or green roof), how the services are assessed (e.g. field measurement or by the use of an model), and which sustainable challenges could potentially be addressed by the NBS. The database also contains information on the indicators used to quantify the ES and provides, where possible, indicative values of these indicators. The database will be helpful in identifying current knowledge gaps and limitations and can be used for further development of assessment tools, such as models that quantify the effectiveness of current and future urban NBS.