Abstract
Activating Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in urban areas can be a promising strategy for enhancing urban resilience to climate change and other environmental challenges. NbS involves protecting, conserving, restoring, sustainably using, and managing natural or modified ecosystems, to provide ecosystem services that benefit human well-being and support biodiversity and sustainable development. However, the activation is often piece-meal-like, fast-tracked, highly selective, and partially inclusive, evidencing a large gap between theory and practice. This chapter first offers insights into the various concepts adopted and ways forward described in activating NbS in cities, from the strategic planning of green infrastructure to the co-creation of solutions. It then looks specifically at the activation of NbS through the implementation of green roofs in the industrial district of Bolzano South, Italy. Green roofs are an example of an NbS that can play a critical role in enhancing urban resilience, by reducing the urban heat island effect, improving air quality, managing stormwater runoff, and enhancing biodiversity. At the same time, depending on how it is activated, it can pose significant barriers and limitations to the benefits it offers. This study identifies environmental benefits, such as urban heat island mitigation, through urban and microclimate simulations in an industrial setting. It also proposes a co-participatory service design process that engages local stakeholders to ensure the long-term sustainability of nature-based solutions.