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

TL;DR

This paper consolidates European project knowledge to clarify the terminology, classification, and scoring of Nature-Based Solutions, aiming to standardize their understanding and assessment in urban sustainability efforts.

Contribution

It provides a unified framework for NBS terminology, typologies, and performance assessment methods related to urban challenges and ecosystem services.

Findings

Proposes a common terminology for NBS

Classifies NBS types for urban challenges

Develops scoring criteria for NBS performance

Abstract

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.