Innovative urban forestry governance in Melbourne?: Investigating "green placemaking" as a nature-based solution

Optimizing urban green spaces using a decision-support model for carbon sequestration and ecological connectivity

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital for enhancing urban ecological health and resident well-being. However, their diverse functions need to be balanced based on spatial limitations and varying stakeholder preferences. Integrated planning approaches are needed to exploit the multiple benefits of UGSs. This study introduces a multi-objective decision-support model designed to optimize UGS planning by simultaneously addressing carbon sequestration, ecological connectivity, and cost constraints. The model incorporates the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II to identify Pareto-optimal solutions for tailored decision-making strategies that balance different priorities. The model indicated that ecological connectivity can be improved by 7.57 % while meeting carbon-reduction and budgetary targets. The model effectively balanced trade-offs, underscoring the importance of both the quantity and strategic placement of green space. This decision-support framework empowers decision-makers to rapidly simulate and validate optimal scenarios, effectively balance competing objectives, and provide a scientific basis through verifiable feedback, ultimately promoting the development of sustainable urban environments.

Nature-based solutions in spatial planning and policies for climate change adaptation: A literature review

Nature-based solutions (NbSs) are recognised as relevant to spatial planning in addressing societal challenges, although their uptake is limited and fragmented to some case studies, and difficulties emerge from their implementation and operationalisation. The research developed a literature review to investigate how NbS has been considered for its implementation and operationalisation in spatial planning and how NbS has been included across different policy instruments and used to address climate change adaptation (CCA). The results highlighted: Firstly, the review contributed to bridge the gap in NbS implementation and operationalisation by proposing a novel three-dimensional categorisation system to guide the selection of suitable NbS principles to address societal challenges; secondly, this study still revealed gaps in some policy areas, despite the effort to extensively apply NbS across diverse policy instruments to CCA. Overall, the review further emphasises the need for future research focused on monitoring and evaluating NbS's effectiveness to CCA.

Rituals as Nature-Based Governance of reciprocity between people and nature

The conventional approach to environmental governance, based on institutions, regulations, and interventions, has failed to stop the current ecological catastrophe. I suggest a radical alternative: Ritual as the core mode of 'nature-based governance' (NBG) that enacts deep and comprehensive reciprocity between people and nature. NBG grounds governance mechanisms in embodied more-than-human practices with normative force. I build on theories of embodiment to suggest a general concept of ritual that is inspired by but generalizes over Indigenous thought and is informed by East Asian ideas about ritual as the pivot of social order. Further, the embodiment framework recognises ritual as a kind of action humans and non-humans share as living beings. Therefore, rituals can be harnessed in workable governance mechanisms to create and sustain communities of multi-species cohabitation. I distinguish between two basic types of reciprocity corresponding to two types of governance: Disembodied reciprocity enacted by conventional human-only governance schemes and embodied reciprocity enacted by NBG. Embodied reciprocity creates relationality of people and nature. Equipped with these theoretical insights, I suggest practical applications in the context of NBG of Nature-based solutions, discussing three stylized models. These are the formation of urban multi-species communities in urban gardening and urban forests, the commoning of ecosystem services of animal populations in wildfire protection, and reconceptualizing eco-compensation as a reciprocal ritual of gift-giving.

The spatial heterogeneity of urban green space distribution and configuration in Lilongwe City, Malawi

Urban green spaces provide several benefits related to the quality of urban life. The existence and spatial arrangement of these spaces within neighbourhoods and functional land uses have significant implications for the well-being of urban dwellers. Previous studies on green spaces in urban areas of Malawi have focused on a broader and macro-level perspective, offering insightful information on general trends in different cities. However, there is a significant research shortage in localised understanding, which requires carrying out micro-level assessments concentrating on land use zones and neighbourhoods within these cities. In this study, we used remote sensing data and landscape metrics to understand the distribution and configuration of urban green spaces in the city's neighbourhoods and functional land uses and their relationship with urban form. The study revealed that 20% of neighbourhoods fail to meet the WHO-recommended standard of 9 m2 of green space per person, with a predominant concentration of these undersupplied areas in high-density and quasi-residential zones. In addition, 56.2% of Lilongwe City's total green area was contained under functional land uses. Particularly, high-rise residential, medium-density residential, low-density residential, quasi-residential, high-rise flat area, commercial class, high-rise commercial, heavy industry, light industry, and government land use zones contained 17.3%, 12.0%, 22.2%, 12.0%, 4.1%, 6.4%, 6.1%, 5.0%, 1.6%, and 13.3% of the total green spaces in functional land uses, respectively. Importantly, this research found significant correlations between urban form metrics, namely building coverage, building density, building perimeter area ratio, road density, and the distribution and configuration of urban green spaces. This necessitates an integrated approach to urban planning and design, emphasising the importance of balancing development with green space preservation.

Exploring the contribution of nature-based solutions for environmental challenges in the Netherlands

Nature-based solutions (NbS) offer a promising and sustainable approach to addressing multiple environmental challenges, including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Despite the potential of NbS, their actual effectiveness in solving these challenges remains uncertain. Therefore, this study evaluates the contribution of NbS implemented in a nature-inclusive scenario for six environmental challenges and associated policy targets in the Netherlands. Fifteen different NbS were applied in the scenario in urban, agricultural, aquatic, and protected nature areas, with measures like flower field margins, green roofs, groundwater level management, and river restoration. The spatially-explicit Natural Capital Model was used to quantify the effectiveness of all applied NbS at a national-scale. Results show NbS significantly contribute to simultaneously solving all six assessed environmental challenges. The most significant impact was seen in improving the quality of water bodies (+34 %), making agriculture more sustainable (+24 %), and protecting and restoring biodiversity (+22 %). The contribution of NbS to address the quality of the living environment (+13 %), climate change (+10 %), and the energy transition was less effective (+2 %). Furthermore, NbS can help to achieve sectoral policy targets at the global, EU, and national levels, including those related to the Birds Habitats Directives, carbon emission, and pesticide reduction targets. This study highlights the potential of NbS to effectively address multiple environmental challenges, although they do not provide a complete solution, and suggests that future research could focus on identifying even more effective ways to implement NbS, and to mainstream their use in policy and practice.

Participatory intention and behavior towards riparian peri-urban forests management; an extended theory of planned behavior application

Introduction

Peri-urban forests play crucial role in quality of life and environment for citizens. To effectively utilize the services provided by these forests, it is essential to establish an integrated forest management system that aims to achieve a balance of all ecosystem services. This can be accomplished through a participatory approach that involves key citizen stakeholders. Mountaineers shape a specific group which have showed high pro-environmental behaviors to protect natural resources. This research aimed to examine the influencing factors on mountaineers' intention to participate and their actual behavior in the management of riparian peri-urban forests in this field using extended theory of planned behavior.

Methods

Environmental values and perceived barriers were added to original model as additional components to enhance its explanatory power. A sample size of 416 individuals was surveyed using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Smart-PLS.

Results

The findings of the analysis revealed that the developed model accounted for 75.2% of the variance in mountaineers' intention and 67.8% of behavior. The results demonstrated that three main components of model including attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control significantly influenced individuals' intentions to participate in peri-urban forests management. Furthermore, intentions were cleared to have a positive influence on actual behavior in this context. Additionally, environmental values were found to be positively correlated with individuals' intentions but not statistically significant behavior toward participate in urban forest management. Perceived barriers were found to have a negative impact on individuals' intentions toward participate in urban forest management. The perceived barriers and behavior had not statistically significant relationship.

Conclusion

The results of study provide valuable insights for the development of effective management strategies to promote mountaineers' participation in riparian PUFs management. The study emphasizes the importance of environmental education and awareness campaigns targeted at mountaineers.

Animals and Cities: A Reflection on Their Potential in Innovating Nature-Based Solutions

In recent decades, nature-based solutions (NBSs) have spread in scientific research, and they are increasingly deployed in cities' strategic planning. While the number of nonhuman animals in cities is growing, a specific reflection on the advantages of human-animal interactions as potential NBSs is still lacking. This article aims to provide an overview of the current situation of animals in cities and to explore the roles of animals and their interactions with humans in such a context. These topics are crucial to the European project IN-HABIT in Lucca (Italy), which aims to codify an integrated policy on the relationship between people and animals; its outputs will then be transferred and replicated in other cities. This article concludes by highlighting the need for the involvement of different stakeholders in public-private-people partnerships to implement actions that aim to valorize human-animal relationships and their positive effects. This study presents a perspective on the relevance of animal NBSs to increase the quality of life in cities, both for citizens and for animals living in cities, and to also introduce the opportunity to develop an integrated animal urban policy able to valorize human-animal interactions in cities.

Citizen science can enhance strategies to detect and manage invasive forest pests and pathogens

Incorporating a citizen science approach into biological invasion management strategies can enhance biosecurity. Many citizen science projects exist to strengthen the management of forest pest and pathogen invasions within both pre- and post-border scenarios. Besides the value of citizen science initiatives for early detection and monitoring, they also contribute widely to raising awareness, informing decisions about eradication and containment efforts to minimize pest and pathogen spread, and even finding resistant plant material for restoration of landscapes degraded by disease. Overall, many projects actively engage citizens in the different stages of forest pest and pathogen invasions, but it is unclear how they work together across all stages of the entire biological invasion process to enhance biosecurity. Here we provide examples of citizen science projects for each stage of the biological invasion process, discuss options for developing a citizen science program to enhance biosecurity, and suggest approaches for integrating citizen science into biosecurity measures to help safeguard forest resources in the future.

What types of green space disrupt a lonelygenic environment? A cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Associations between green space type and social loneliness (a scarcity of people one feels they can depend on) were investigated in city-living participants in the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study.

METHODS

Availability of green space, tree canopy and open grass were measured as a percentage of land-use within 1.6 km road-network distance buffers using high-resolution data. Multilevel logistic regressions adjusted for confounding tested associations between each green space indicator with the odds of social loneliness at baseline (prevalence) and follow-up (incidence), adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic confounders.

RESULTS

The prevalence of social loneliness at baseline was 5.3% (n = 5627 /105,498). Incidence of social loneliness at follow-up was 3.4% (n = 1772/51,365). Adjusted regressions indicated reduced odds of prevalent (OR = 0.95, 95%CI = 0.92-0.98) and incident social loneliness with 10% more green space (OR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.90- 0.96). Similar associations were found with a 10% increase in tree canopy for both prevalent (OR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.88-0.95) and incident social loneliness (OR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.88-0.97). Two-way interaction terms indicated effect modification by sex but not couple status. Among women, a 10% increase in total green space was associated with lower odds of prevalent (OR = 0.95, 0.91-0.95) and incident (OR = 0.89, 0.85-0.95) social loneliness. A 10% increase in tree canopy among women was associated with lower odds of prevalent (OR = 0.89, 085-0.92) and incident (OR = 0.85, 0.80-0.92) social loneliness. Meanwhile, a 10% increase in open grass among women was associated with higher odds of prevalent (OR = 1.08, 1.01-1.15) and incident (OR = 1.19, 1.03-1.35) social loneliness. Associations for men were statistically significant for a 10% increase in total green space (OR = 0.96, 0.92-0.99) and tree canopy (OR = 0.93, 0.90-0.97) for prevalent social loneliness only.

CONCLUSION

Urban greening and tree canopy restoration may reduce risks of social loneliness, perhaps especially in women.

Urban-Rural Dependencies and Opportunities to Design Nature-Based Solutions for Resilience in Europe and China

Interrelationships between urban and rural areas are fundamental for the development and safeguarding of viable future living conditions and quality of life. These areas are not well-delineated or self-sufficient, and existing interrelations may privilege one over the other. Major urban challenges facing China and Europe are related to changes in climate, environment, and to decision-making that makes urban and rural landscapes more susceptible to environmental pressures. Focusing on the six European and Chinese cities and surrounding rural areas, under study in the joint EC and MOST-funded REGREEN project, we examine how nature-based solutions (NBS) may assist in counteracting these pressures. We explore urban-rural dependencies and partnerships regarding NBS that can enhance resilience in Europe and China. We analyse differences between European and Chinese systems of governance, reflecting on the significance of the scale of research needed to understand how NBS provide benefits. We highlight interactions between differently delineated sheds (watershed, airshed, natureshed, and peopleshed), which influence the interrelationships between urban and rural areas. There may be one-way or two-way interdependence, and the impact may be uni or multi-directional. The European and Chinese solutions, exemplified in this article, tackle the nexus of environmental and peoplesheds. We discuss complex human interactions (and how to model them) that may, or may not, lead to viable and equitable partnerships for implementing NBS in cities within Europe and in China.

Developing a Metropolitan-Wide Urban Forest Strategy for a Large, Expanding and Densifying Capital City: Lessons from Melbourne, Australia

Urban forests provide many ecosystem services, such as reducing heat, improving air quality, treatment of stormwater, carbon sequestration, as well as biodiversity benefits. These benefits have resulted in increasing demand for urban forests and strategies to maintain and enhance this natural infrastructure. In response to a broader resilience strategy for Melbourne, Australia, we outline how a metropolitan-wide urban forest strategy (Living Melbourne) was developed, encompassing multiple jurisdictions and all land tenures. To this end, we mapped tree cover within the Melbourne metropolitan area, modelled potential habitat for some bird species, and investigated the role of tree cover for urban heat island mitigation. We outline the consultation and governance frameworks used to develop the strategy, the vision, goals and actions recommended, including canopy and shrub cover targets for different parts of the metropolitan area. The metropolitan-wide urban forest strategy acts as an overarching framework to guide local government authorities and various stakeholders towards a shared objective of increasing tree cover in Melbourne and we discuss the outcomes and lessons from this approach.

Planning nature-based solutions: Principles, steps, and insights

Nature-based solutions (NBS) find increasing attention as actions to address societal challenges through harnessing ecological processes, yet knowledge gaps exist regarding approaches to landscape planning with NBS. This paper aims to provide suggestions of how planning NBS can be conceptualized and applied in practice. We develop a framework for planning NBS by merging insights from literature and a case study in the Lahn river landscape, Germany. Our framework relates to three key criteria that define NBS, and consists of six steps of planning: Co-define setting, Understand challenges, Create visions and scenarios, Assess potential impacts, Develop solution strategies, and Realize and monitor. Its implementation is guided by five principles, namely Place-specificity, Evidence base, Integration, Equity, and Transdisciplinarity. Drawing on the empirical insights from the case study, we suggest suitable methods and a checklist of supportive procedures for applying the framework in practice. Taken together, our framework can facilitate planning NBS and provides further steps towards mainstreaming.

Nature-based solutions in the urban context: terminology, classification and scoring for urban challenges and ecosystem services

The concept of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) has emerged to foster sustainable development by transversally addressing social, economic, and environmental urban challenges. However, there is still a considerable lack of agreement on the conceptualization of NBS, especially concerning typologies, nomenclature, and performance assessments in terms of ecosystem services (ES) and urban challenges (UC). Therefore, this article consolidates the knowledge from 4 European projects to set a path for a common understanding of NBS and thus, facilitate their mainstreaming. To do so, firstly, we performed elicitation workshops to develop an integrative list of NBS, based on the identification of overlaps among NBS from different projects. The terminologies were formalized via web-based surveys. Secondly, the NBS were clustered, following a conceptual hierarchical classification. Thirdly, we developed an integrative assessment of NBS performance (ES and UC) based on the qualitative evaluations from each project. Afterwards, we run a PCA and calculated the evenness index to explore patterns among NBS. The main conceptual advancement resides in providing a list of 32 NBS and putting forward two novel NBS categories: NBS units (NBS_u) that are stand-alone green technologies or green urban spaces, which can be combined with other solutions (nature-based or not); NBS interventions (NBS_i) that refer to the act of intervening in existing ecosystems and in NBS_u, by applying techniques to support natural processes. The statistical analysis suggests that NBS_u are more versatile than NBS_i in terms of UC and ES. Moreover, the results of the integrative assessment of NBS performance suggest a greater agreement concerning the role of NBS in addressing environmental UC, cultural and regulating ES than regarding socio-economic UC and supporting and provision ES. Finally, the 'green factor' and the replication of non-intensive practices occurring in nature seem to be key criteria for practitioners to identify a particular solution as an NBS.

Mapping the Research Landscape of Nature-Based Solutions in Urbanism

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are an innovative concept that mimics the processes of natural ecosystems, popularized principally in the European Union. With a substantial body of literature amassed since the term’s inception in 2015, there is a need to systematically review existing literature to identify overarching gaps and trends, according to disciplinary focus, geographic scope, and key themes, and direct future research inquiry and policy recommendations. This review consists of bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis for NBS studies in urbanism. NBS studies were found to relate strongly with other concepts of ‘Ecosystem Services’, ‘Green Infrastructure’, ‘Climate Change’, and ‘Risk management and Resilience’, which align with four major thematic goals set by the European Commission. Within NBS scholarship, various sub-themes have emerged, namely, ‘Greening’, ‘Urban Development’, ‘Water’, ‘Wellbeing’, and ‘Governance’. Furthermore, we illustrate that the amount and thematic focus of NBS research have been unevenly distributed worldwide. Analysis of emerging trends shows a recent increase in topics, such as adaptive governance of NBS, and the incorporation of social justice in sustainability transitions. Based on an assessment of extant NBS literature, we offer some recommendations for the future direction of the research fields.

Planning to Practice: Impacts of Large-Scale and Rapid Urban Afforestation on Greenspace Patterns in the Beijing Plain Area

(1) Research Highlights: Afforestation is one of the most effective urban greening practices for mitigating a variety of environmental issues. Globally, municipal governments have launched large-scale afforestation programs in metropolitan areas during the last decades. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban greenspace patterns are seldom studied during such afforestation programs. (2) Background and Objectives: In this study, the Beijing Plain Afforestation Project (BPAP), which planted 70,711 ha of trees in only four years, was examined by integrating spatial and landscape analysis. To evaluate the real-world outcomes of this massive program, we investigated the spatial-temporal dynamics of landscape patterns during the implementation process to identify potential impacts and challenges for future management of new afforestation. (3) Materials and Methods: We analyzed the transition of various patch types and sizes, applied landscape indicators to measure the temporal changes in urban greenspace patterns, and used the landscape expansion index to quantify the rate and extent of greenspace spatial expansion. (4) Results: Our results illustrated that the implementation of afforestation in the Beijing plain area had generally achieved its initial goal of increasing the proportion of land devoted to forest (increased 8.43%) and parks (increased 0.23%). Afforestation also accelerated the conversion of small-size greenspaces to large-size patches. However, the significant discrepancies found between planned and actual afforestation sites, as well as the large conversion of cropland to forest, may present major challenges for project optimization and future management. (5) Conclusions: This study demonstrated that spatial analysis is a useful and potentially replicable method that can rapidly provide new data to support further afforestation ecosystem assessments and provide spatial insights into the optimization of large inner-city afforestation projects.

Forests in common: Learning from diversity of community forest arrangements in Europe

Europe has a wealth of community forest arrangements. This paper aims to transcend the diversity of locally specific terms and forms, to highlight the value of considering them inclusively. Building on methods to make sense of diversity, we use reflexive grounded inquiry in fifteen cases in Italy, Scotland, Slovenia and Sweden. Within four dimensions (forest, community, relationships between them, and relationships with wider society), we identify 43 subdimensions to describe them collectively. Our approach shows how European arrangements contribute to wider discourses of collective natural resource management. Both tradition and innovation in Europe inform options for environmental governance. Arrangements challenge the distinction between 'communities of place' and 'communities of interest', with implications for social and environmental justice. They exemplify multilevel environmental governance through both vertical and horizontal connections. Emerging from long histories of political and environmental pressures, they have a role in enhancing society's connection with nature and adaptive capacity.

Green Infrastructure Planning Principles: An Integrated Literature Review

Green infrastructure is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas, including green and blue spaces and other ecosystems, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services at various scales. Apart from the ecological functions, green infrastructure, as a planning tool, contributes to social and economic benefits, leading to the achievement of sustainable, resilient, inclusive and competitive urban areas. Despite recent developments, there is still no consensus among researchers and practitioners regarding the concept of green infrastructure as well as its implementation approaches, which makes it often difficult for urban planners and other professionals in the field to develop a robust green infrastructure in some parts of the world. To address this issue, an integrative literature review was conducted to identify which green infrastructure planning principles should be acknowledged in spatial planning practices to promote sustainability and resilience. As a result of this literature review, the most common eight green infrastructure planning principles were selected—connectivity, multifunctionality, applicability, integration, diversity, multiscale, governance, and continuity. These principles intend to promote and simplify the development and use of green infrastructure by different academic and implementation organizations and provide a more defined model for sustainable landscape management in order to help practitioners and decision makers during the conceptualization and planning of green infrastructure.

Addressing Challenges of Urban Water Management in Chinese Sponge Cities via Nature-Based Solutions

Urban flooding has become a serious issue in most Chinese cities due to rapid urbanization and extreme weather, as evidenced by severe events in Beijing (2012), Ningbo (2013), Guangzhou (2015), Wuhan (2016), Shenzhen (2019), and Chongqing (2020). The Chinese “Sponge City Program” (SCP), initiated in 2013 and adopted by 30 pilot cities, is developing solutions to manage urban flood risk, purify stormwater, and provide water storage opportunities for future usage. Emerging challenges to the continued implementation of Sponge Cities include (1) uncertainty regarding future hydrological conditions related to climate change projections, which complicates urban planning and designing infrastructure that will be fit for purpose over its intended operating life, and (2) the competing priorities of stakeholders and their reluctance to make trade-offs, which obstruct future investment in the SCP. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) is an umbrella concept that emerged from Europe, which encourages the holistic idea of considering wider options that combine “Blue–Green” practices with traditional engineering to deliver “integrated systems of Blue–Green–Grey infrastructure”. NBS includes interventions making use of natural processes and ecosystem services for functional purposes, and this could help to improve current pilot SCP practices. This manuscript reviews the development of the SCP, focusing on its construction and design aspects, and discusses how approaches using NBS could be included in the SCP to tackle not only urban water challenges but also a wide range of social and environmental challenges, including human health, pollution (via nutrients, metals, sediments, plastics, etc.), flood risk, and biodiversity.

Uptake and implementation of Nature-Based Solutions: An analysis of barriers using Interpretive Structural Modeling

Cities increasingly have to find innovative ways to address challenges arising from climate change and urbanization. Nature-based solutions (NBS) have been gaining attention as multifunctional solutions that may help cities to address these challenges. However, the adoption and implementation of these solutions have been limited due to various barriers. This study aims to identify a taxonomy of dominant barriers to the uptake and implementation of NBS and their relationships. Fifteen barriers are identified from the literature and expert interviews and then ranked through a questionnaire. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) serves to identify the mutual interdependencies among these barriers, which results in a structural model of six levels. Subsequently, Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC analysis) is used to classify the barriers into four categories. The results suggest that political, institutional and knowledge-related barriers are the most dominant barriers to NBS. Cities that intend to apply NBS can draw on these findings, especially by more effectively prioritizing and managing their actions.

How Urban Forest Managers Evaluate Management and Governance Challenges in Their Decision-Making

Decisions about urban forests are critical to urban liveability and resilience. This study aimed to evaluate the range of positions held by urban forest managers from local governments in the state of Victoria, Australia, regarding the management and governance challenges that affect their decision-making. This study was based on a Q-method approach, a procedure that allows researchers to evaluate the range of positions that exist about a topic in a structured manner based on the experiences of a wide group of people. We created statements on a wide range of urban forest management and governance challenges and asked urban forest managers to rate their level of agreement with these statements via an online survey. Managers generally agreed about the challenges posed by urban development and climate change for implementing local government policies on urban forest protection and expansion. However, there were divergent views about how effective solutions based on increasing operational capacities, such as increasing budgets and personnel, could address these challenges. For some managers, it was more effective to improve critical governance challenges, such as inter-departmental and inter-municipal coordination, community engagement, and addressing the culture of risk aversion in local governments. Urban forest regional strategies aimed at coordinating management and governance issues across cities should build on existing consensus on development and environmental threats and address critical management and governance issues not solely related to local government operational capacity.

Analyzing Evidence of Sustainable Urban Water Management Systems: A Review through the Lenses of Sociotechnical Transitions

Sustainability concerns and multiple socio-environmental pressures have necessitated a shift towards Sustainable Urban Water Management (SUWM) systems. Viewing SUWM systems as sociotechnical, this paper departs from eight factors previously identified by transition research: Pressures, Context, Purposes, Actors, Instruments, Processes, Outputs, and Outcomes as a methodological framework for a structured review of 100 articles. The study seeks to analyze empirical cases of planning and implementing SUWM systems worldwide. A wide range of public actors—driven by social and environmental factors rather than by economic pressures—have initiated SUWM projects so as to locally fulfill defined social and environmental purposes. We provide evidence on the emergence of new actors, such as experts, users, and private developers, as well as on the diverse and innovative technical and societal instruments used to promote and implement SUWM systems. We also explore their contexts and institutional capacity to deal with pressures and to mobilize significant financial and human resources, which is in itself vital for the transition to SUWM. Planned or implemented SUWM outputs are divided into green (wet ponds, raingardens, and green roofs) and gray (rain barrels and porous pavements) measures. The outcomes of SUWM projects—in terms of societal and technical learning, and their institutional uptakes—are often implicit or lacking, which seemingly reduces the rate of desirable change.

Stakeholders’ Engagement on Nature-Based Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review

Cities are facing a broad range of social and environmental challenges due to the current pressure of global urbanization. Nature-based solutions aim to utilize green infrastructure to improve people’s health and wellbeing. The design of urban environments must embrace the individual ideals of citizens and stakeholders which can only be achieved if effective methods of communication, involvement, and feedback are ensured. Such a procedure creates trust during its implementation, helping to take ownership and stewardship of processes and sites. This systematic literature review explores the current state of the art regarding citizen and stakeholder participation in nature-based solutions (NBS). The search on the SCOPUS database identified 142 papers in total that met the inclusion criteria. The participation analysis was separated in two areas: (a) analysis of perceptions, preferences, and perspectives of citizens and stakeholders, and (b) analysis of the participation process, including challenges and opportunities, motivations, methods and frameworks, and collaborative governance. The results revealed that stakeholder and citizen participation or collaboration in nature-based solutions is increasingly recognized as promising; however, research in several related domains is still lacking.

Sustainability

This review on Sustainability covers selected 2018 publications on the focus of sustainability. It is divided into the following sections: (a) Water quantity; (b) Water quality; (c) Climate change and resilience; (d) Planning and ecosystem evaluation; (e) Life cycle assessment (LCA) applications; (f) Sustainable management; (g) Sustainability and asset management; (h) Sustainability in wastewater treatment; (i) Sustainable water and wastewater utilities; (j) Sustainable water resource management.

Perception of Urban Trees by Polish Tree Professionals vs. Nonprofessionals

Sustainable urban forests require tree acceptance and support. Two groups of respondents, professionals (working in urban green areas) and individuals (with no professional connection with trees) revealed their attitudes towards trees by assessing statements in a survey questionnaire. Similar general attitude from professionals and nonprofessionals towards the examined benefits and harms related to urban trees was observed. Tree benefits were perceived as much more important than the annoyance they might cause. However, 6% of nonprofessionals found only negative aspects in trees, proving to be arboriphobes. No arboriphobes and no “Tree sceptics” were among the professionals. Around 40% of the respondents in the two groups found the number of trees in the surrounding areas too low. The nuisance caused by trees was seen as more disturbing by younger and lower-educated professionals. Women tended to assess trees as more attractive and as having a stronger influence on socioeconomic contributions than men. Men dominated the “Tree indifferent” group. The attractiveness of trees and their impact on socioeconomic contributions were related to the place of residence and the level of education among the nonprofessionals. The level of education of the nonprofessionals was also connected to being clustered into one of the four abovementioned groups of respondents. A majority of medium and big city dwellers as well as a minority of villagers were in the “Tree liking” cluster.

The Use of E-Tools to Engage Citizens in Urban Green Infrastructure Governance: Where Do We Stand and Where Are We Going?

In the unfolding reality of advanced internet-based communication tools, the possibilities and implications for citizens’ e-engagement is revealing. The paper introduces different examples of e-tools used in participatory urban green infrastructure governance. E-tools here includes various location-based service apps, and volunteered geographic information stemming from social media activities, as well as public participation geographic information system approaches. Through an analytical framework describing five categories, we discuss the different scopes and possibilities, as well as general barriers and problems to participatory e-tools. We suggest some basic premises for the application of e-tools in urban green infrastructure governance and discussed future development of this field. E-tools can allow interaction between citizens, public authorities, and other stakeholders; however, research on the implications of such location-based governance is needed to make full use of the rapid on-going development of such information and communication technologies, and to avoid possible pitfalls. We suggest that future research into this area of environmental–social–technical solutions should test, discuss, and develop frameworks and standards, for the use of different e-tools in combination with offline approaches.

Nature-based solutions for resilient landscapes and cities

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly applied to guide the design of resilient landscapes and cities to enable them to reach economic development goals with beneficial outcomes for the environment and society. The NBS concept is closely related to other concepts including sustainability, resilience, ecosystem services, coupled human and environment, and green (blue) infrastructure; however, NBS represent a more efficient and cost-effective approach to development than traditional approaches. The European Commission is actively engaged in investing in NBS as a driver in developing ecosystem services-based approaches throughout Europe and the world. The pool of knowledge and expertise presented in this Special Issue of Environmental Research highlights the applications of NBS as 'living' and adaptable tools to boost the capacity of landscapes and cities to face today's critical environmental, economic and societal challenges. Based on the literature and papers of this Special Issue, we propose five specific challenges for the future of NBS.

Speaking “Green”: A Worldwide Survey on Collaboration among Stakeholders in Urban Park Design and Management

Urban parks can provide a range of valuable benefits, including essential ecosystem services. Their successful management is often in the hands of government agencies, who rely on interaction with other stakeholders for specialized knowledge. In order to examine the attitudes of different actors toward professional collaboration and to identify ways of improving the effectiveness of knowledge transfer, a global survey was conducted among the members of the World Urban Parks (WUP) association. The results show that representatives of public agencies, due to their lower level of up-to-date knowledge, have a pressing need for collaboration with private practitioners, academic researchers, and community advocates. Interactive, face-to-face learning is most valued, especially if it includes practical as well as theoretical information. Most respondents indicated that ‘personal contacts’ are more important than professional affiliation for the initiation of new collaborations, and for many, the possibilities for joint creativity are the most highly prioritized benefits. Obstacles to be addressed include ‘bureaucracy’ and a ‘divergence of interests or approaches among stakeholders’, indicating the need for a “common language”—i.e., “speaking green”—which may accommodate diverse priorities and concerns. In accomplishing this, a special role is seen for international professional associations that can help to build bridges between countries and professions.

Potential of Particle Matter Dry Deposition on Green Roofs and Living Walls Vegetation for Mitigating Urban Atmospheric Pollution in Semiarid Climates

In the last two decades, the incorporation of green roofs and living walls in buildings has increased significantly worldwide because of their benefits such as building energy savings, promoting biodiversity, controlling water run-off, mitigating urban heat island effect, improving indoor and urban air quality, and connecting people with nature. However, few studies have quantified the impact of green roofs (GRs) and living walls (LWs) on mitigating air pollution, especially in semiarid climates where airborne particle matter (PM) levels are high. Therefore, the aim of this paper is quantifying the dry deposition of PM10 and PM2.5 by several vegetation species commonly used in GRs and LWs in semiarid climates. Five species (Pitosporumtobira, Lavandulaangustifolia, Lampranthusspectabillis, Sedumalbum, and Sedumreflexum) for GRs and four species (Apteniacordiflora, Erigeronkarvinskianus, Sedumpalmeri, and Sedumspuriump.) for LWs were tested in an experimental facility—through washing, filtering, and weighing—to quantify the dry deposition of PM2.5 and PM10 on vegetation leaves as well as PM captured by the leaf wax. The main result is that a significant amount of PM is deposited on the typical vegetation used in GRs and LWs in semiarid climates. However, large differences in PM dry deposition were found among species, ranging from 0.09 μg/cm2∙h−1 to 1.32 μg/cm2∙h−1 for PM2.5, 0.48 μg/cm2∙h−1 to 4.7 μg/cm2∙h−1 for PM10 and 0.41 μg/cm2∙h−1 to 25.6 μg/cm2∙h−1 for leaf wax. The species that showed the highest potential to capture PM were S. album, S. reflexum, S. palmeri, and L. spectabillis. This study shows this green infrastructures can contribute to mitigate air pollution, thus GRs and LWs have the potential for being included in decontamination plans.