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Our report finds that globally, the value of urban nature’s benefits is nine times the costs, delivering tremendous value for cities, communities, and investors.The report shares novel quantified estimates of urban nature’s energy, carbon, and cost savings potential for buildings, stormwater management, and transportation in six cities around the world Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Ahmedabad, India; Austin, Texas, USA; Curitiba, Brazil; Houston, Texas, USA; and Sacramento, California, USA. For example........
- Building-adjacent trees, overall city tree canopy, and green roofs can reduce building energy use and peak demand associated with mechanical cooling, saving Sacramento over $150 million in investment in new power generation.
- Distributed green stormwater features like rain gardens, grassy parks, and natural lakes could help avoid up to 87 percent of the embodied carbon of grey infrastructure, like large concrete basins and tanks, in cities like Ahmedabad, India.
- Street trees could reduce a city’s annual vehicle kilometers traveled equivalent to taking 4,200 cars off the road in 2050 in a city like Austin, leading to $1.5 billion in health benefits.
Despite this immense value, few cities are optimizing their use of nature, especially as a climate and resilience solution. By 2050, the annual global net benefits of urban nature could be $3.1 trillion per year. But the world will need to triple its current level of investment in urban nature to achieve this result. This report arms local policymakers and investors with the information they need to make the case for urgently scaling up investment in urban nature.
Momentum is growing to address the urgent challenges of climate change, ecosystem degradation, and rapid urbanization. With cities expected to house 68% of the world’s population by 2050, warming twice as fast as the global average, and disproportionately affected by storms, droughts, and coastal flooding, we need to use every tool at our disposal to ensure a low-carbon, livable, resilient, and equitable urban future. One frequently overlooked tool with great potential is urban nature — cities’ forests, parks, street trees, green stormwater infrastructure, and bodies of water. The benefits urban nature provides include jobs, higher property values, improved physical and mental health, pollution mitigation, heat mitigation, lower energy bills, safer streets, flood protection, biodiversity, and community connectedness. Strategic and systematic investment in urban nature can unleash these benefits to help cities meet climate, quality-of-life, resilience, and equity goals. But the economic value of these benefits is not always well quantified, and potential funders struggle to build a business case for investments in urban nature. Local governments have to bear most of the costs of providing and maintaining these resources, while property owners, businesses, insurers, and the general public enjoy the benefits. It doesn’t have to be this way. Urban nature is not merely a cost to bear but an enormous investment opportunity. Its many benefits have substantial economic value that outweighs its cost at the city scale, globally, and over time — but we will only realize those benefits with investment. Our analysis found the following- Spending $7 trillion on urban nature globally could create $59 trillion in net benefits between 2023 and 2050 — a benefit-cost ratio of nine-to-one. By 2050, annual net benefits could be $3.1 trillion per year. • Annual investment in urban nature needs to increase on average to $98 billion, or three times current levels, to achieve these results. (For comparison, this is around how much the European Union spent on renewable energy subsidies in 2019. The report highlights the significant benefits of incorporating more nature into urban areas, demonstrating how it can positively impact communities, investors, and the climate by reducing energy consumption, improving air quality, mitigating heat waves, and providing stormwater management solutions. Key points about the report:
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Economic benefits:The report argues that investing in urban nature can generate substantial economic returns, with potential cost savings on energy, infrastructure, and healthcare due to improved health and well-being associated with greener cities.
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Climate change mitigation:Urban nature can play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sequestration and helping cities adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as heat waves.
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Community impact:Increased access to green spaces can improve residents' mental and physical health, enhance social connection, and create safer neighborhoods.
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Specific examples:The report includes case studies of cities like Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and Sacramento, California, demonstrating how they can leverage urban nature to address their unique challenges. https://rmi.org/insight/
growing-to-its-potential/ -
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28 big American cities are sinking, Subsidence threatens 34 million Americans–from Denver to DC. Popular Science Laura Baisas May 8, 2025 It’s not unknown that some major urban areas in the United States are sinking. And the problem could be even more widespread. A new analysis of the 28 most populated cities in the country found that all of them are sinking by roughly two to 10 millimeters (about 0.07 to 0.39 inches) per year. The major cause? Groundwater extraction as the demand for freshwater grows. The findings are detailed in a study published May 8 in the journal Nature Cities.
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In many gateway cities – cities tightly locked into global flows of capital and people – immigration has become the largest component of population growth, and thus a major determinant of housing markets. In Vancouver, the arrival of wealthy migrants, many holding golden visas, plus significant offshore property investment, has contributed to rapid house price inflation. In a recent paper, Lauster and von Bergmann (2023) characterise local resistance to these trends as ‘housing nationalism’, which they consider reactionary and a cultural ‘moral panic’. In contrast, we demonstrate the scale of offshore investment, the economic basis of resistance and policy change, and the broad, multiethnic support behind efforts to limit foreign property ownership. In doing so, we show that the invocation of ‘housing nationalism’ is consistent with growth machine ideology that seeks to undercut opposition. Most cities with this much attention from foreign buyers have much, much larger populations. They are better able to absorb the in-migration. Think New York, think London, think urban resort. (Bob Rennie, Vancouver condominium marketer, speech to the Urban Development Institute, 2012). Most cities with this much attention from foreign buyers have much, much larger populations. They are better able to absorb the in-migration. Think New York, think London, think urban resort. (Bob Rennie, Vancouver condominium marketer, speech to the Urban Development Institute, 2012)
In gateway cities, networked into global flows of capital and labour, population growth is now dominated by immigration, so that housing markets and immigration are tightly bound together (Hiebert Citation2017). In Vancouver, nearly half (47%) of the metropolitan population of 2.6 million were born abroad in 2021 (including 5% who were non-permanent residents), while immigration comprised four-fifths of population growth over the previous decade (Statistics Canada Citation2011, Citation2
Given the concurrent dynamics of high immigration, nativist populism and heightened political contestation around housing, it is understandable that there might be interest in potential overlap between these trends. In a recent article in this journal, Lauster and von Bergmann (Citation2023), hereafter LVB, attempt to make this connection. They posit that a new phenomenon, ‘housing nationalism’, has emerged in Canada since the mid-2010s, and argue that it draws from the same xenophobic motivations as nativist populism. Although they never directly define ‘housing nationalism’, they suggest that ‘reactionary nationalism’ is ‘the strategic framing of problems, taking of positions, and construction of solutions that blame and penalise the foreign while valorising membership in the nation’. Implied in this framing, then, ‘housing nationalism’ is ‘reactionary nationalism’ as applied to housing matters. Using this new concept, they then focus on Vancouver and the province in which it is located, British Columbia.
In this paper, we grapple with similar research questions in British Columbia (B.C.), while taking issue with a depiction of housing politics that posits the rise of ‘housing nationalism’ without adequate attention to a solid theoretical and empirical grounding or to alternate interpretations. It is important to state at the outset that the main political contestation has been around foreign ownership of housing, which we regard as mainly an economic question of flows of capital, rather than cultural attitudes to immigration. Given that foreign ownership is often understood as ‘housing purchased primarily with income or wealth earned abroad’ (Gordon Citation2020), contestation in B.C. involved attempts to limit the role of foreign money in the housing market, not reducing the number of people arriving. Only around 2023, well after the supposed emergence of ‘housing nationalism’, did a Canada-wide debate emerge about immigration levels in the context of record admissions (Kavcic and Kaushik Citation2024; see section 5), which had substantial and unbudgeted housing and infrastructure implications. The definition of ‘housing nationalism’ conflates these distinct debates and concerns, meaning that the politics are mischaracterised, as we show below. Undoubtedly, xenophobia and racism exist in parts of Canadian society, including Vancouver, and for some these motivations will have contributed to their desire to see foreign ownership curtailed, along with immigration more generally. However, the historical record, detailed below, does not support LVB’s contention that these motivations were the basis for the flurry of government housing policies from 2015 onwards, which they term ‘housing nationalism’. Indeed, we show that deploying the ‘race card’ has been a long-standing ideological tactic of the growth coalition in Vancouver to divert critical response.
Among the issues we investigate are the following: When do concerns around foreign ownership emerge in relation to housing, and when do concerns about immigration emerge? When are these concerns acted upon and when are they sidelined politically? We recognise that house price inflation has played out in other gateway cities, from Lisbon to Auckland, with similar debates around foreign ownership and immigration, so these questions have broader relevance than our case study. Indeed, the emergence of more intense policy debates around housing affordability means that it is important for scholars to better theorise the nature of housing politics, including their relation with immigration and growing ethnic diversity. We hope to contribute to this endeavour by presenting and applying a theoretical framework to understand these politics in many liberal democratic, immigrant-receiving countries.
Through a re-examination of the B.C. case, the paper demonstrates: (a) that concerns around foreign ownership, or ‘housing nationalism’, did not emerge as the result of an alleged ‘moral panic’, as maintained by LVB, but rather were a reaction to significant flows of foreign capital into the B.C. real estate market that had seriously harmed affordability; (b) that a sustained strategy of ‘denialism’ was undertaken by members of the regional growth coalition to conceal these effects, including the tactical charge of ‘racism’ and (c) that political pressure for policies to curtail foreign ownership was led by a multicultural group of leftist actors with widespread public support, rather than having ‘reactionary’ or nativist origins harking back to historical anti-Chinese attitudes.f ‘housing nationalism’ is consistent with growth machine ideology that seeks to undercut opposition.....read on https://www.tandfonline.com/
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Sustainable Public Spaces: The Role of Landscape Architecture In Urban Resilience. Landscape architects can develop solutions that address many of these issues while focusing on urban resilience and sustainability. Earth.Org Rose MorrisonGlobal CommonsMar 20th 2025 A critical role of landscape architecture is creating pleasant places where people want to spend time and encourage others to join them. However, those designing these purposeful public spaces must also ensure they do not negatively affect ecosystems and they can withstand the challenges of the future. Otherwise, parks and other planned outdoor spaces could bear the adverse consequences of events such as floods, wildfires, and extreme heat. Some urban resilience specialists are also identifying ways to restore already damaged ecosystems. In Barranquilla, Colombia, planners are tackling the pollution in Leon Creek, which runs through the city’s center. Participants are reviving some 600 hectares of swampland that creates a natural barrier between the sea and the city, protecting its inhabitants against impending rising ocean levels. This effort involves planting more than 250,000 trees and creating more than 200,000 square meters of public space, according to the UN Environment Programme. Landscape architects can develop solutions that address many of these issues while focusing on urban resilience and sustainability. A critical role of landscape architecture is creating pleasant places where people want to spend time and encourage others to join them. However, those designing these purposeful public spaces must also ensure they do not negatively affect ecosystems and they can withstand the challenges of the future. Otherwise, parks and other planned outdoor spaces could bear the adverse consequences of events such as floods, wildfires, and extreme heat. Some urban resilience specialists are also identifying ways to restore already damaged ecosystems. In Barranquilla, Colombia, planners are tackling the pollution in Leon Creek, which runs through the city’s center. Participants are reviving some 600 hectares of swampland that creates a natural barrier between the sea and the city, protecting its inhabitants against impending rising ocean levels. This effort involves planting more than 250,000 trees and creating more than 200,000 square meters of public space, according to the UN Environment Programme.
The Role of Landscape Architecture.....Landscape architecture combines science, design, architecture, engineering and art to create sustainable public spaces for everyone to enjoy. Numerous aspects increase the appeal of these public space projects – from intentional design, clear signage and well-maintained natural features to safety features like good lighting and handrails. Community events like classes or festivals as well as programs and amenities that promote connection with nature are also key. Landscape architecture can also improve the lives of people living along city streets. Teams associated with a non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon, planted 49,246 trees along city streets between 1990 and 2019, tracking when and where they planted each one. When researchers published the results in 2022, they found each tree caused a 20% reduction in non-accidental mortality rates and a 6% decline in cardiovascular deaths. Additionally, researchers found the association strengthened as the trees grew, highlighting the importance of preserving existing urban trees whenever possible.
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Blueprints for a Green City
Integrating urban nature into cities reduces emissions, saves money, and promotes equity.RMI November 14, 2022 Zach Clayton, Mia RebacRMIk, Julia Meisel, Shelby Kuenzli Global challenges are pushing cities to their breaking point. Worsening air pollution, regular extreme heat, severe flooding, and other climate-induced extreme weather events claim thousands of lives and do hundreds of billions of dollars in damage every year. Despite these daunting challenges, local governments are Despite these daunting challenges, local governments are taking the lead on climate action in many ways. In their fight to mitigate and adapt to climate change, cities must use every tool available. Urban nature is a solution we cannot afford to overlook. Many benefits of nature are well known, like recreation, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration. But urban nature — such as a city’s forests, street trees, and bodies of water — delivers countless additional benefits including climate mitigation (lower energy use and emissions), jobs, community connectedness, pollution mitigation, and heat mitigation. In economic terms, these benefits add up........
The global value of urban nature’s benefits is nine times the costs, delivering tremendous value for cities and communities. Despite this immense value, few cities are optimizing their use of nature as a climate and resilience solution. RMI’s new report, Growing to Its Potential: The Value of Urban Nature for Communities, Investors, and the Climate,helps local decision makers and investors make the case for investing in urban nature. In the report, we quantify the overall value of nature’s benefits in cities and — for the first time — specifically quantify urban nature’s potential to reduce energy consumption and associated emissions at the city level. In six cities across the globe, we found urban nature has the power to help cities meet their climate mitigation goals by measurably reducing building energy use, the carbon footprint of stormwater management systems, and transportation emissions.
Urban Nature Eases Our Relentless Energy Demand.......Planting trees and adding green roofs to buildings can cool cities naturally, reducing building energy use and peak demand while saving residents money and increasing their comfort. For homes and businesses, nearby trees and green roofs provide ambient cooling, shade, and insulation that reduce the need for air conditioning or heating, lowering both energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Greater tree canopy on a city-wide scale can reduce the need for air conditioning and lower peak electricity demand enough, so expensive and polluting natural gas “peaker” plants don’t need to start operating. Utilities could also avoid building new natural gas peaker plants in the future.Cities like Sacramento, California, have been taking advantage of the benefits of urban trees for over 30 years. In 1990, the municipal utility and the Sacramento Tree Foundation began providing residents with free shade trees to lower their electricity bills, and through this and other programs, the Foundation has planted 1.5 million trees to date. The Foundation estimates the trees it has planted in disadvantaged Sacramento communities can save residents $1.3 million from lower energy bills over the trees’ lifetimes. While these are remarkable accomplishments, less-shaded neighborhoods still need more trees so all residents can enjoy their health, economic, and environmental benefits......read on, there's much more https://rmi.org/blueprints-for-a-green-city/
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