Urban nature offers a variety of potential services to cities’ and their inhabitants, especially when it comes to meeting the challenges of climate resilience and well-being, but the potential of these services is still largely underused today. While the concept of nature-based solutions (NBS) has been gaining ground in the urban planning sector for some years now, its practical application is still hampered by a lack of integration into the traditional tools used by urban planners and designers.
When urban planners and designers embark on new urban restoration projects that incorporate NBS, they face several specific challenges. They must possess technical expertise in ecological principles, landscape architecture, and sustainable urban design. Accessing comprehensive and current data on local ecosystems, biodiversity, hydrology, and climate conditions is crucial but often difficult. Implementing innovative design approaches and techniques that may be unfamiliar in the local context can be daunting. Collaboration across disciplines such as ecology, hydrology, and engineering is essential but requires navigating differences in terminology and methodologies. Engaging diverse stakeholders, including local communities and businesses, is critical for gaining support and aligning project goals with local needs. They need to navigate complex regulatory frameworks and zoning ordinances that may not always support NBS goals, requiring advocacy for policy reforms and securing necessary permits. Securing adequate funding and resources for NBS projects can be challenging, necessitating exploration of alternative funding sources and cost-effective design solutions. Assessing and managing risks associated with NBS projects, such as ecological impacts and long-term sustainability, requires proactive risk assessment and development of contingency plans. Establishing robust monitoring protocols to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of NBS over time is essential for adaptive management and continuous improvement. Building internal capacity within planning agencies and design firms through ongoing training and professional development is crucial for effective planning, design, and implementation of NBS projects.
Several common barriers and blockers often hinder efforts to solve the challenges and address the needs of integrating NBS in urban planning and design. Limited understanding among stakeholders about the benefits and potential of NBS can hinder support and investment in these solutions.Fragmentation across different government departments, agencies, and stakeholders can lead to conflicting priorities and disjointed efforts in implementing NBS. The structural instability of municipal teams in Latin American cities reinforces this problem. Decision-makers focused on short-term economic gains may prioritise conventional development over longer-term investments in NBS, which can deliver more sustainable and resilient outcomes. NBS projects often involve complex interactions between ecological, social, and technical factors, leading to uncertainty in outcomes and implementation challenges. It's particularly problematic when NBS or green infrastructure proposals come up against traditional grey infrastructure alternatives that benefit from solid data based on multiple local experiences. In Latin American cities, where many urban areas and neighbourhoods still need to be consolidated, negative perceptions or misunderstandings among communities about the impacts or benefits of NBS can lead to opposition or lack of support for these projects when expectations are focused on grey solutions. Last but not least, lack of technical skills, capacity and tools among planners, designers, and practitioners to effectively plan, design, dimension and implement NBS projects can be a significant barrier or generate consequent delays.
Addressing the technical aspects of integrating NBS in planning and design involves several strategic approaches. To enhance technical capacity, professionals like urban planners and designers should benefit from specialised training, workshops, and certification programs focusing on sustainable urban design and green infrastructure. INTERLACE developed an online course dedicated to urban ecosystem restoration processes, where practical skills and case studies are emphasised.
Tools and resources such as GIS-based mapping tools, decision support systems, design tools and modelling software are crucial. These aids help assess site suitability, simulate NBS impacts, and optimise design solutions. With the NBS 3D objects integrated into the SketchUp library as part of INTERLACE, designers now do not need to draw NBS objects from scratch. The Envimet tool was also used by the INTERLACE team to optimise the integration of NBS in response to urban overheating in Envigado, Colombia - we invite you to look at the case study for inspiring details. Comprehensive design guidelines and manuals should outline best practices and technical specifications, supported by digital platforms for sharing knowledge and project templates. After OPPLA in Europe, Latin America will now be able to count on a knowledge platform dedicated to NBS for the region; the Latin American NBS repository developed within INTERLACE will be launched in September 2024.
Data collection and analysis are pivotal. Ecological assessments and baseline studies inform NBS selection and design. Robust monitoring frameworks using scientific nature- and socially-based methodologies can allow tracking NBS performance in providing ecosystem services. INTERLACE developed an example for the cities of Chemnitz and Envigado.
Integrating NBS into planning involves updating urban master plans, zoning regulations, and land use policies. The identification of priority areas for the deployment of NBS can be achieved by cross-referencing territorial data relating to the main climate and social resilience issues. Multi-disciplinary collaboration among planners, landscape architects, ecologists, and engineers ensures comprehensive project development. Adaptive management enables iterative planning and adjustment based on monitoring data and stakeholder feedback. The NBS assessment framework proposed by INTERLACE formalises and coordinates a set of multi-scale and multiapproach processes for integrating NBS into urban planning, from the territory and strategic high-scale to the very local implementation site scale, taking into account the complexity of the combination of participatory processes, expert support and decision-making.
We also have to implement robust and genuine participatory planning processes that actively involve local communities in NBS projects from inception to implementation. Fostering dialogue, addressing concerns, and showcasing the tangible benefits of NBS to build community support and ownership are key tasks that INTERLACE is supporting through its new version of the Unlimited Cities tool. Enriched by a new database and specific information on NBS, this version of the participation tool facilitates dialogue regarding urban nature between experts, decision-makers and the local population on the basis of shared knowledge and visions.
You might also like to visit the City NbS Tool section on prioritising NbS to address specific urban environmental challenges, which relates to this topic
Anecdotal quotes and advice from INTERLACE partners in relation to solving the challenge. E.g. brief descriptions of success stories and methods/products used.
This can include links to any relevant INTERLACE stories on the Medium.com platform once available.