The Role of Nature in Urban Regeneration

This contribution aims to provide multidisciplinary knowledge on the effectiveness of experimenting with nature-based solutions (NBS) for urban regeneration policy, planning, design and governance. Specifically, the following research questions have been investigated through a cross-case study conducted in the cities of Barcelona, Copenhagen and Marseille: What is the wider contribution of NBS for urban generation? What are the added value, the strengths and the weaknesses of urban regeneration programmes leveraging on NBS? and What is the up-scale potential of NBS withing selected urban regeneration programmes in Europe in a post-COVID-19 scenario? The focus of the research is to create an understanding of what type of NBS development process can bring forward sustainable urban development, the different stakeholders that might be involved, the nature of their involvement and the relationship between the actors. Three cities have been identified as most informative to explore how nature-based solutions can be valid alternatives for buildings, districts and infrastructures re-development, as a starting point to foster urban resilience: Copenhagen, Barcelona and Marseille. The results of the conducted study reveal future opportunities as well as challenges with respect to possible integrated strategies for successful co-designed and co-created NBS for urban regeneration, especially in light of the revised post-COVID-19 pandemic urban agendas focusing on health and wellbeing of citizens as well as on more balanced and resilient urban built environments.