Re-Thinking People and Nature Interactions in Urban Nature-Based Solutions
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: 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.
Source: Sustainability
DOI: 10.3390/su17073043
Institutions: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Liverpool Hope University, Aarhus University, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Swansea University, Tsinghua University, University of Exeter, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Bangor University, Aarhus Municipality, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Urban Environment, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
Awards: G1907022835, G2823433547, G2825035452, G2987378790, G3214720995, G3645794401, G3986274089, G5340073859, G6217993111, G7045123340, G7930595551, G8034522681, G8420060718, Fostering nature-based solutions for smart, green and healthy urban transitions in Europe and China, G8901655421, G977622763
OpenAlex ID: W4408996745