Cities have always been engines of creativity and resilience—but they’ve also been built on a fundamental mistake: leaving nature out. For decades, concrete and steel have replaced forests and wetlands, shaping urban environments that trap heat, pollute air, and isolate communities.
Now, a global movement is reimagining what cities can be. Through nature-based solutions—sometimes called green infrastructure or ecosystem-based adaptation—scientists, planners, and policymakers are designing urban spaces that work with nature, not against it.
The NATURA network connects researchers and city leaders across seven world regions to rethink how nature shapes urban life. Their latest achievement, the Global Roadmap on Urban Nature-Based Solutions, is the first region-by-region assessment of how cities can integrate nature into infrastructure, planning, and policy.
From cooling heat-stricken neighbourhoods to reducing stormwater runoff and restoring biodiversity, nature-based solutions are proving scalable, adaptable, and practical. Projects like Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon Stream Park—where a concrete drainage channel was transformed into a thriving ecological park—demonstrate how cities can rebuild both ecosystems and community life.
The Roadmap gathers lessons from more than 80 experts and countless real-world projects, creating a practical guide for city governments, urban planners, and local communities worldwide. It calls for hybrid systems that blend grey and green infrastructure and for policies that make nature a core part of urban design.
Nature-based solutions are no longer niche experiments; they are essential tools for climate resilience and human well-being. The message is clear: this isn’t just about surviving climate change—it’s about reimagining the cities we want to live in.
The future is green, and it’s already growing.
