In the face of global change and fundamental environmental, economic and social challenges in an increasingly urban world, sustainable development and resilience have become strategic issues for cities in Europe and beyond. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are seen to hold significant promise in responding to these challenges and enabling urban transition to sustainability. Yet there is a substantial gap between the promise of NBS and their uptake.
NATure based URban innoVATION (NATURVATION) takes a transdisciplinary, internationally comparative approach to unlock the potential of NBS in cities, and explore governance, business, finance and participation models that enable their successful integration into the urban fabric, using Győr, Malmö, Newcastle, Utrecht, Leipzig and Barcelona as lead case studies. In the project CEU will coordinate the development of a database to map the use and impact of NBS in 100 European cities, as well as to characterise existing practice; support the creation of transdisciplinary analytical foundations and the development of a novel Nature Based Solutions Assessment Framework; undertake in-depth, internationally comparative case study analysis in Győr (Hungary), Tianjin (China) and Winnipeg (Canada); investigate the systemic regulatory, financial and development conditions, and participation models, then developing and applying a scenario back-casting exercise in Győr (Hungary); and, support dissemination and impact creation activities to generate momentum, build capacity, and enable replication to realise the potential of NBS.