Resource

Urban Nature Atlas

Author/Contact:

Naturvation project leader: Harriet Bulkeley, Durham University, UK - h.a.bulkeley@durham.ac.uk

Nature Urban Atlas team leader: Laszlo Pinter, Central European University, Hungary – naturvation@ceu.edu

Publication date:

1 November 2020

Images

Resource description:

The Urban Nature Atlas was developed in 2017 as an output of the Naturvation project (NATure-based URban innoVATION, a Horizon 2020 research project). The Atlas sought to collect evidence on nature-based solutions in order to provide a basis for the analysis of socio-economic and innovation patterns associated with the implementation of urban nature-based solutions in Europe. It also sought to provide an interactive online platform via which inspiring cases of nature-based solutions could be showcased and accessed on the project website. Initial data collection for the Atlas was conducted from June to August 2017, and after initial data collection, the content of the database was regularly maintained, and all previously existing entries were reviewed and updated as of July - November 2020.

Advantages:

The Urban Nature Atlas is the most comprehensive survey of nature-based solutions (NbS) in European cities.
The Urban Nature Atlas allows users to apply multiple filters through a quick search or advanced search options and identify cases according to various criteria.
Each nature-based solution project has a case study profile page that presents specific details of the project.

Licence:

Public/open source

Development stage:

Full, working product

Resource link:

Urban Nature Atlas

What Are Nature-based Solutions?

Nature-based solutions use the natural properties of ecosystems. They have the potential to limit impacts of climate change, enhance biodiversity, and improve environmental quality while contributing to economic activities and social well-being.

Examples are green roofs and city parks that limit heat stress, city lagoons that store water and permeable surfaces, vegetation and rain gardens to intercept storm water. Yet despite their significant potential, the use of nature-based solutions remains marginal, fragmented, and highly uneven within and between cities.

Project Objectives

To unlock the potential of NBS for sustainable urban development, NATURVATION took a transdisciplinary, internationally comparative approach to:

Advance assessment approaches
Capture the multiple impacts & values of NBS to deliver a robust evidence base for decision-making; enable innovation
Identify the most promising governance, business/finance and participation models and how to overcome the systemic conditions that currently limit their use to support systemic integration; and generate momentum to realise the potential of NBS through co-design, co-development & co-implementation of new partnerships, knowledge, recommendations, processes and tools required to build capacity, enable replication and foster cultural change.

Methods

To achieve the project goals, NATURVATION explored maps, built capacity, generated change, and took action.

Areas of Focus

NATURVATION focuses on the following areas through the lens of nature-based solutions.

Funding

This project has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 730243.