🏙️ Nature4Cities Project Summary: Re-naturing Cities with NBS
The Nature4Cities (N4C) project was a Coordination and Support Action aimed at removing barriers to the widespread adoption of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in urban areas. The project’s overall objective was to build a self-learning platform to empower urban planning decision-making for NBS, thereby addressing challenges like unsustainable urbanization, climate change, and the loss of ecosystem services.
🎯 Approach and Core Deliverable
The N4C approach focused on providing a comprehensive, integrated, and participatory framework through a single online resource: the Nature4Cities Platform.
Platform Structure
The platform contains technical advice, methods, and tools structured into eight complementary and interactive modules designed to engage urban stakeholders in a collective learning process.
Main Results and Tools
The project delivered a robust set of knowledge bases, typologies, and assessment methodologies:
- Knowledge and Typology:
- Developed a multi-scalar and multi-thematic NBS typology with corresponding NBS fact sheets.
- Consolidated an Urban Challenges framework covering NBS impacts on 11 distinct urban issues.
- Created an Implementation Models Typology and online database for governance, financing, and business models.
- Provided a Step-by-step guide for NBS interventions.
- Assessment Methodologies:
- Developed a holistic multi-criteria assessment methodology to evaluate benefits, co-benefits, and costs.
- Defined two new valuation scales: the Monetary valuation scale and the Environmental Quality of Life valuation scale (EQoL).
- Integrated environmental assessment methodologies, including Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA).
- Tested sophisticated methods like Agent-Based Modelling and developed a Dynamic assessment approach for indicator time series.
- Tools (Integrated into the Platform):
- NBS Explorer: For browsing NBS knowledge.
- Geocluster4NBS: Includes a project observatory, pre-selection tool, and replication functionalities.
- Diagnostic of your city’s trends: Integrates the Colouree Analytics and GreenCity tools.
- NBS project assessment module: Contains various assessment tools like the Expert Model-Based Box, the socio-economic tool NBenefit$, and the Environmental assessment tool.
- Noise Modelling tool extension for NBS (stand-alone application).
🚀 Impact and Business Model
Progress Beyond State-of-the-Art
N4C established an integrated holistic and participatory framework that directly supports new governance, business, and finance models for NBS in urban planning. The development of simulation tools within the platform enables stakeholders to simulate trade-offs associated with different NBS scenarios, which is critical for evidence-based decision-making.
Impact and Business
- Market Support: The platform’s tools support municipalities, real estate developers, and planners, fostering the creation of a global market and new business opportunities toward the green economy.
- Pilot Validation: The platform was successfully tested on four pilot cities, which are expected to serve as ambassadors for its wider adoption across the EU and globally.
- Business Model: The N4C platform was released as a Beta version under a Freemium Business Model. It is free for municipalities and technicians to use, but further support can be accessed via consulting services provided by the tool owners.
- Go to the official page
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