Adaptive Urban Planning for Sustainable Urban Transformations: A Data-driven Framework for Cities Ecosystem Services-Based Quantification

This paper provides a conceptual framework in supporting the defini-tion of data-driven adaptive planning approaches for achieving sustainable urban transformations. The pressure on natural capital and the essential services it pro-vides call for a transition of cities towards sustainability that can intertwine socio-ecological and socio-technological dynamics. Biodiversity, natural ecosystems, and ecosystem services come out as central themes for planning the transition of cities, and innovative approaches to urban planning and design are essential to tackle the issue of sustainability. Therefore, the study advocates for data-driven approaches that integrate purposefully selected indicators and metrics for land-use-derived categories that capture complex urban socio-ecological and socio-technological dynamics by integrating urban ecosystem services, urban planning and design, and urban climate indicators. This preliminary conceptual framework offers insights for urban planning that address current challenges and adapts to the dynamic nature of urban environments. Further investigations are needed to test the framework, data availability, and indicators in a case study area. With further methodological and empirical support, the proposed approach could serve as a valuable framework for adaptive urban planning strategies, guiding cities in their transition toward sustainability.