Re-thinking people and nature interactions in urban nature-based solutions

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  • Laurence Jones
    UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bangor
  • Sally Anderson
    Aarhus University
  • Jeppe Læssøe
    Aarhus University
  • Ellen Banzhaf
    Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig
  • Anne Jensen
    Aarhus University
  • Annie Tubadji
    Swansea University
  • Michael Hutchins
    Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford
  • Jun Yang
    Tsinghua University
  • Tim Taylor
    University of Exeter Medical School
  • Benedict Wheeler
    University of Exeter Medical School
  • David Fletcher
    UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH)
  • Thora Tenbrink
  • Liz Wilcox-Jones
    Denbighshire County Council
  • Signe Iversen
    Aarhus Kommune
  • Åsa Sang
    Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala
  • Tao Lin
    Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Yaoyang Xu
    Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Lingwen Lu
    Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Gregor Levin
    Aarhus University
  • Marianne Zandersen
    Aarhus University
People-environment interactions within nature-based solutions (NBS) are not always understood. This has implications for communicating the benefits of NBS and for how we plan cities. We present a framework that highlights a duality in NBS. The NBS as an asset includes both natural capital and human-centred capital, including organisational structures. NBS also exist as a system within which people are able to interact. Temporal and spatial scales moderate the benefits that NBS provide, which in turn are dependent on the scale at which social processes operate. Co-production and equity are central to the interactions among people and institutions in the design, use and management of NBS, and this requires clear communication. Drawing on ideas from culture-based development (CBD), we suggest an approach to communicate the benefits of NBS in a neutral but effective way. We propose guidelines for planning NBS that allow the optimisation of NBS locations and designs for particular outcomes.

Keywords

  • cities, co-production, ecosystem services, framework, green infrastructure (GI), green space
Original languageEnglish
Article number3043
JournalSustainability
Volume17
Issue number7
Early online date29 Mar 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2025

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