Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) often Fail to Deliver their Promised Impact reguarding Urban Resilience
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NBS are defined as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”5. This approach offers a way to tackle multiple urban issues concurrently, yielding environmental, social, and economic benefits6. From urban forests mitigating heat island effects to constructed wetlands managing stormwater and enhancing biodiversity, NBS have demonstrated potential to transform urban landscapes and improve city dwellers’ quality of life7. However, despite growing enthusiasm and increasing implementation, the effectiveness of NBS often falls short of expectations8. Several key factors contribute to this gap between potential and reality:
- 1.Short-sighted planning: Many NBS projects are designed as one-off interventions, failing to consider long-term impacts or how they fit into the broader urban ecosystem9.
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Limited stakeholder engagement: Top-down approaches often dominate, with experts and officials implementing solutions without meaningful input from local communities, resulting in projects that fail to resonate with or meet the needs of residents6.
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Oversimplification of urban complexity: Cities are intricate systems with countless interconnected parts, and many NBS projects fail to account for this complexity, leading to unintended consequences or missed opportunities10.
- .Rigid visions of the future: Urban planners and policymakers often work with a single, inflexible vision of the future, an approach that can lead to solutions that quickly become obsolete in our rapidly changing world11.
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Siloed expertise: NBS projects often lack truly interdisciplinary teams, resulting in solutions that fail to fully integrate ecological, social, and technological considerations3,9.
These limitations reflect a broader challenge in environmental management: the disconnect between scientific approaches and local ways of knowing and interacting with nature12. This disconnect is particularly pronounced in urban areas, where diverse communities, each with their own relationship to the environment, coexist. Several frameworks have been proposed to enhance urban NBS. For example, Raymond et al.6 introduced a framework for assessing and implementing the co-benefits of NBS, Barker et al.13 explored the potential of strategic planning in implementing NBS, and the European Union has developed a roadmap emphasizing collaborative and scenario-based planning14. However, many of these approaches tend to focus on individual components. Recognizing both their innovative potential and their inherent challenges—such as the complexity of urban systems and resource requirements—the present work adopts a critical perspective that underlines the need for an integrated strategy.
Several participatory and adaptive governance frameworks have sought to address the challenges in NBS planning. Adaptive co-management15 emphasizes iterative decision-making based on stakeholder input, while transition management16 applies long-term visioning and experimentation in urban sustainability contexts. Additionally, urban living labs17 have been employed to pilot nature-based interventions with active citizen participation. However, these approaches often focus on either stakeholder engagement or future scenario development in isolation, lacking a mechanism to integrate visioning, design, and evaluation into one iterative process. In response to these limitations, the Adaptive Multifutures Framework (AMF) is introduced as a cohesive, iterative process that unifies participatory visioning, scenario planning, fractal design, and immersive visualization. By merging these components, the AMF not only bridges known implementation gaps but also provides a realistic assessment of the challenges associated with urban sustainability. The framework represents an integrated approach to conceptualize, design, and implement NBS. It embraces uncertainty, complexity, and diverse knowledge systems to pave the way for more effective, resilient, and socially just urban solutions18. As cities worldwide seek innovative approaches to address pressing environmental and social challenges, the AMF offers a timely and thought-provoking framework for reimagining urban futures in harmony with nature.
By offering a framework that considers complexity, fosters genuine participation, and plans for multiple futures, the AMF contributes to transforming urban planning practices and NBS implementation, leading to more resilient, sustainable, and equitable cities. The AMF emerges as a response to the growing recognition of limitations in current NBS implementation. As urban environments face increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, the need for a more holistic, adaptive, and inclusive approach to NBS has become evident9. The components of the AMF are illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows the interplay between participatory visioning, scenario planning, fractal design, and immersive visualization. Each component is interconnected and supports the others to create a holistic approach to urban planning and NBS implementation.
Participatory visioning: beyond technical expertise......At the heart of the AMF lies the recognition that effective NBS require more than just technical expertise; they demand an understanding of local contexts, values, and potential future scenarios.
The Adaptive Multifutures Framework: Bridging Gaps in Urban NBS Implementation......The AMF emerges as a response to the growing recognition of limitations in current NBS implementation. As urban environments face increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, the need for a more holistic, adaptive, and inclusive approach to NBS has become evident9. The components of the AMF are illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows the interplay between participatory visioning, scenario planning, fractal design, and immersive visualization. Each component is interconnected and supports the others to create a holistic approach to urban planning and NBS implementation.......read on- there's much more. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-025-00222-y
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These Floating Islands Will Form a ‘Parkipelago’ in Copenhagen’s Harbor. Good News Network Andy Corbley -Mar 5, 2021The Scandinavian countries are famous for their bays, and Copenhagen harbor in Denmark’s capital is a perfect example of that beauty in a metropolitan setting.Now a new architecture project drifting in the harbor’s waters celebrates this heritage while allowing residents to relax away from the boom of urban development along the shoreline, Complete with discreet features that will allow residents to enjoy the islands through kayaking, picnicking, and swimming, Danish design company Studio Fokstrot describes them as a celebration of traditional Danish harbor life, and a way to strengthen the cohesion of marine harbor ecosystems.
Each island is built from thin strips of wood, steel, and recycled boat material, and the first one is 215 square feet, featuring a single mature linden tree for shade. The presentation website dreams big, claiming that once more islands are finished (three new islands are slated to float in spring 2021), the entire parkipelago will be home to floating gardens, floating saunas, floating mussel farms, and a floating sail-in café—all of which can be explored for free.Underneath the islands’ hulls, special care is made to create a surface from which seaweed and other marine plants can cling, attracting small fish and crustaceans, which thereby attract larger sea life. “During summer the islands can be distributed to unused parts of the harbor, serving as an adventurous escape for the increasing amount of kayaks, sailors, and general users of the harbor coastline,” reads the website. “During winter and for special events or festivals, the islands can be brought together as a supercontinent, creating a cluster more easily accessed from the harbor side.”......(ed) I guess a thousand years of war have clued them in that peaceful moments with nature is infinitely better than wars- the tragedy is that it took so long! https://www.
AND URBAN......The Bogota-based Woodpecker, which tried to develop a material from rice fiber, palm fronds, sawdust, and even recycled plastic, eventually settled on coffee husk for its availability, fire resistance, and insect/waterproofing. Another benefit? Utilizing coffee husks would stop them ending up in landfills where they would add to the methane emissions of the country. “We saw that there was a huge necessity for a lightweight construction system for housing and classrooms in rural and isolated places where traditional construction systems cannot go—like bricks, cement, and concrete,” said CEO Alejandro Franco. The prefabricated “casa kits” have to be able to be loaded and transported on small boats, helicopters, or even on the back of a donkey. Each kit consists of lightweight steel frames that, like LEGO, can click together with minimal tool use, and coffee husk boards that can be attached to the steel frames without need for nails and screws. “The system worked perfectly considering that there was no energy supply, the soil was muddy, the airport damaged, no food, etc.—all the problems that you can imagine,” he said. “We think our houses are an excellent solution for the housing crisis there.” https://www.
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Effects of Urbanisation on Society and the Environment.....Urbanisation is the process by which cities grow as more people move from rural areas to urban centres.This phenomenon has been happening for centuries, but it's accelerating at an unprecedented rate today. By 2050, it is estimated that nearly 70% of the world's population will live in cities. Urbanisation brings a host of benefits but also comes with significant challenges. Let's explore both the positive and negative effects of urbanisation.
Positive Effects of Urbanisation.....
1. Economic Growth and Opportunities.......
Innovation Hubs: Urban areas foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Silicon Valley, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a prime example. It's home to many of the world's largest high-tech corporations and thousands of startup companies
And for kids or the kid in you Ally & Bibi: Back to the Jungle......A children's book on sustainability & the SDGs.....Great Big Green Adventure.......Changing our way of life has become vital to our survival. And so is changing the hearts and minds of everyone to create true system change. So, we've written a children's book on sustainability to educate children and parents alike. Mainstreaming the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains one of the biggest hurdles to widespread adoption.
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Vancouver Metro Vancouver's urban planning considerations need to prioritize urban economics, says renowned planner. Daily Hive Kenneth Chan Nov 1 2023 When it comes to how cities should be planned, it all comes down to urban economics. That was the core message internationally renowned urban planner Alain Bertaud had to share when he recently visited Vancouver upon being invited by former mayor Sam Sullivan. Throughout his career, Bertaud, the principal urban planner of The World Bank for two decades and a senior fellow at the Marron Institute of Urban Management for New York University for the past decade, has essentially served the globe-trotting role of the “doctor of cities” in identifying the problems and potential solutions for fixing the urban condition. “Strangely enough, a lot of planners, whether they’re in the United States or I’m sure in Canada, too, have very little understanding of economics, and therefore they like to design a city but they don’t understand that a city designs itself. You only need to provide the infrastructure to support the activities of all the people living and working in the city,” Bertaud told Daily Hive Urbanized. He brought up the vicious cycle pattern of the labour market, with people moving to a specific city for its great job opportunities, and companies choosing to open up in a specific city for both the quantity and quality of people who live there to find their ideal workers with the necessary talent and skills. “You cannot design a city if you don’t understand the economics of the city. A city is economics first. If you come to a city, it’s because there are good jobs there or people you want to work with,” he said.
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Trump Says Chicago 'Probably Next' for National Guard Invasion. "If Trump wants to take his ego trip on tour, he picked the wrong city," said one senior Illinois official. "Chicago doesn't bow down to kings or roll out the red carpet for dictators." Common Dreams Brett Wilkins Aug 23, 2025 US President Donald Trump said Friday that Chicago is the next city in his crosshairs for the kind of federal invasion and occupation currently underway in Washington, DC—a threat that sparked defiant pushback from officials in the Windy City and beyond. "After we do this, we'll go to another location, and we'll make it safe also," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to his federalization of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department and deployment of National Guard troops from the district and five Republican-controlled states."We're going to make our cities very, very safe. Chicago's a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent and we'll straighten that one out probably next," the president said, referring to progressive Brandon Johnson. "That will be our next one after this. And it won't even be tough." On August 11, Trump dubiously declared a public safety emergency in Washington, DC, despite violent crime being down 26% from a year ago, when it was at its second-lowest level since 1966, according to official statistics. Critics have noted that Trump's crackdown isn't just targeting criminals, but also unhoused and mentally ill people, who have had their homes destroyed and property taken.
On Friday, Trump threatened to completely take over Washington and oust Mayor Muriel Bowser if she does not stop pointing out that crime has decreased in the city, which the president called a "crime-infested rat hole." In addition to Chicago, Trump has threatened to send federal forces into cities including Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, and San Francisco. Violent crime is trending downward in all of those cities—with some registering h
Mayor Johnson said in a statement that "the problem with the president's approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound." "If the Trump administration is serious about driving down violence in Chicago, or anywhere else in America, then he should not have taken over $800 million away from violence prevention," he added. Other elected officials in Illinois also expressed anger and alarm at the prospect of a Trump intervention in Chicago.....read on https://www.commondreams.org/
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