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Sustainability
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Future of Nature Seen from a Perspective of Urban Sustainability
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Future of Nature Seen from a Perspective of Urban Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 8424

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hai-Ying Liu

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Guest Editor
The Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, P.O. Box 100, 2027 Kjeller, Norway
Interests: climate change; citizen observatories; environmental impacts; health and wellbeing; nature-based solutions; SDGs; urban sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giovanna Ottaviani Aalmo

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Guest Editor
Division of food production and society, NIBIO – The Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Ås, Norway
Dr. Xianwen Chen

E-Mail
Guest Editor
NINA – Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Oslo, Norway

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to discuss the role nature and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can play towards urban sustainability. It is well recognized that the quality of the natural and physical environment are key determinants of social well-being and urban quality of life. An important precondition for health and well-being in urban environments is access to nature. Evidence supporting the health benefits of nature has grown considerably, with an increasing number of studies highlighting the links between accesses to greenspaces/having visual contact with nature and health. Several studies suggest links between well-being and biodiversity and point to the positive influence of nature on stress relief. Physical activity in nature is valuable for mental health problems and a buffer against depression and anxiety disorders.

We invite you to contribute to this issue by submitting research articles or comprehensive reviews from all disciplines, including, but are not limited to i) Case studies and existing projects illustrating how nature and NbS contribute to improving health and well-being in cities; ii) Outline the future potential of nature and NbS and the role it can play in the perspective of urban sustainability; iii) Analyze good practice of nature and NbS linking biodiversity and climate change strategies in cities; and iv) showcase the benefits of nature and NbS during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We envisage this Special Issue becoming a cornerstone of the literature, illustrating how the quality of the natural and physical environment and livability in cities are key determinants of social well-being and urban quality of life. Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure in accordance with the journal with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Dr. Hai-Ying Liu
Dr. Giovanna Ottaviani Aalmo
Dr. Xianwen Chen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bio-material re-usability
  • co-creation
  • environmental governance
  • health and well-being in cities
  • nature-based solutions
  • urban ecosystems services
  • urban environmental sustainability
  • transdisciplinary
  • circular bioeconomy in urban context

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

56 pages, 4143 KiB  
Review
The Role of Nature-Based Solutions for Improving Environmental Quality, Health and Well-Being
by Hai-Ying Liu, Marion Jay and Xianwen Chen
Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10950; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910950 - 1 Oct 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7638
Abstract
Nature-based solutions (NbS) have been positioned and implemented in urban areas as solutions for enhancing urban resilience in the face of a wide range of urban challenges. However, there is a lack of recommendations of optimal NbS and appropriate typologies fitting to different [...] Read more.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) have been positioned and implemented in urban areas as solutions for enhancing urban resilience in the face of a wide range of urban challenges. However, there is a lack of recommendations of optimal NbS and appropriate typologies fitting to different contexts and urban design. The analytical frameworks for NbS implementation and impact evaluation, that integrate NbS into local policy frameworks, socio-economic transition pathways, and spatial planning, remain fragmented. In this article, the NbS concept and its related terminologies are first discussed. Second, the types of NbS implemented in Europe are reviewed and their benefits over time are explored, prior to categorizing them and highlighting the key methods, criteria, and indicators to identify and assess the NbS’s impacts, co-benefits, and trade-offs. The latter involved a review of the websites of 52 projects and some relevant publications funded by EU Research and Innovation programs and other relevant publications. The results show that there is a shared understanding that the NbS concept encompasses benefits of restoration and rehabilitation of ecosystems, carbon neutrality, improved environmental quality, health and well-being, and evidence for such benefits. This study also shows that most NbS-related projects and activities in Europe use hybrid approaches, with NbS typically developed, tested, or implemented to target specific types of environmental–social–economic challenges. The results of this study indicate that NbS as a holistic concept would be beneficial in the context of climate action and sustainable solutions to enhance ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity within cities. As such, this article provides a snapshot of the role of NbS in urban sustainability development, a guide to the state-of-the-art, and key messages and recommendations of this rapidly emerging and evolving field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future of Nature Seen from a Perspective of Urban Sustainability)
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