Nature has provided humankind with food, fuel, and shelter throughout evolutionary history. However, in contemporary cities, many natural landscapes have become degraded and replaced with impermeable hard surfaces (e.g., roads, paving, car parks and buildings). The reversal of this trend is dynamic, complex and still in its infancy. There are many facets of urban greening initiatives involving multiple benefits, sensitivities and limitations. The aim of this paper is to develop a characterisation method of nature based solutions for designing and retrofitting in the built environment, and to facilitate knowledge transfer between disciplines and for design optimisation. Based on a review of the literature across disciplines, key characteristics could be organised into four groups: policy and community initiatives, multiple benefits assessment, topology, and design options. Challenges and opportunities for developing a characterisation framework to improve the use of nature based solutions in the built environment are discussed.

Characterisation of Nature-Based Solutions for the Built Environment

Challenges to implementing urban sustainable stormwater management from a governance perspective: A literature review

Mainstreaming the ecosystem services (ES) concept in EU policy-making, i.e., introducing it in a variety of policy fields, comes along with great expectations from practitioners, policy-makers, and scientists to improve environmental policy and halt the loss of biodiversity. While most environmental policies incorporate ES-related governance tools, only very few policies refer to ES explicitly, and for most non-environmental policies mainstreaming has, if at all, just begun. This article addresses three major challenges for mainstreaming the ES concept into EU policies: the need for (1) vertical and (2) horizontal policy integration, and (3) the question of stakeholder involvement in policy-making. It further examines the different meanings of ‘mainstreaming’ and discusses how the ES concept can be used as boundary concept in participatory processes to overcome the challenges by mediating between the different understandings of the forms and objectives of mainstreaming. The paper draws empirically on a review of legal, policy, and scientific documents and on a focus group with six policy-makers from several EU Directorate Generals. The article finds that mainstreaming the ES concept into EU policy-making is no ‘silver bullet’ and that expectations management – in particular with respect to the use of economic valuation methods – is necessary to avoid frustration of involved stakeholders. Further, while participatory approaches may be helpful for local policy integration and balancing trade-offs across policy fields, they may fail in face of administrative challenges of vertical policy integration or of imbalanced power relations and opposing agendas on the horizontal policy integration. To become trustworthy and effective organisational structures, new participatory elements need to be effectively linked with the relevant existing administrations and (other) democratically legitimised decision-making structures. Finally, a well-facilitated and careful process of reflection of the boundary work involved may improve the potential of mainstreaming the ES concept.

Opportunities and challenges for mainstreaming the ecosystem services concept in the multi-level policy-making within the EU

Stressor prioritisation in riverine ecosystems: Which environmental factors shape benthic invertebrate assemblage metrics?

Landscape services as boundary concept in landscape governance: Building social capital in collaboration and adapting the landscape

Knowledge of relationships between land cover (i.e., land use) and abiotic and biotic features of headwater streams enhances our ability to predict and effectively assess conditions in a variety of aquatic ecosystems. We evaluated land use effects on stream condition in an Iowa watershed dominated by intensive row crop agriculture and low- intensity urban development by quantifying relationships among land cover, stream invertebrate assemblages and other stream biophysical characteristics (i.e., invertebrate habitat) at 29 sites. On average, 81% of subbasin land cover was agricultural and 6% of land cover was urban across study sites. High nitrate concentrations (range  =  5.6–29.0 mg/L) and high relative abundance of oligochaetes and chironomid midges reflected degraded conditions at all sites. However, agriculture and urban land use appeared to have different effects on stream features. Nitrate concentrations were positively related to agricultural land cover, and turbidity and nitrate concentr...

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=nrem_pubs

Land Use, Stream Habitat and Benthic Invertebrate Assemblages in a Highly Altered Iowa Watershed

Restoration of ecosystem functions in urban environments is made challenging by 1) a public that often lacks understanding of ecological principles, 2) inadequate evidence of the effectiveness of restoration practices, and 3) difficulty integrating social and biophysical factors in studies of urban ecosystems. This paper describes a case study in which potential solutions to these challenges were explored. We facilitated collaborative learning through public participation in the design and implementation of an urban riparian buffer along a headwater stream in a neighborhood park, a process that was informed by ecological research. Learning outcomes were evaluated using surveys and qualitative assessment of discussion. Results indicated that participants’ knowledge about water quality problems associated with urbanization, stormwater, and nonpoint-source pollution increased, familiarity with stormwater management practices increased, and perceptions about the importance of stream ecosystem functions changed. In-stream monitoring of sediment delivery, as well as direct measurements of buffer infiltration capacity, provided early evidence of buffer effectiveness in prevention of sediment inputs to the stream and absorption of runoff from surrounding surfaces. This study provides a useful model for integration of collaborative learning through participation, ecological restoration, and ecological research in an urban setting. Elements deemed essential to success of this model included an opportunity for dialog focused on a specific natural feature, sustained interaction between participants and researchers, opportunities for hands-on participation by urban residents, and flexibility in restoration practice installation.

Cassie J. Herringshaw

Papers

Land Use, Stream Habitat and Benthic Invertebrate Assemblages in a Highly Altered Iowa Watershed

Learning about restoration of urban ecosystems: a case study integrating public participation, stormwater management, and ecological research