Abstract
Cities and metropolitan regions face numerous societal challenges that require detailed landscape analysis to support sustainable spatial planning. Nature-based solutions (NBS) represent a cost-effective approach for addressing several of these societal challenges. This research aims to develop and implement a systematic approach using spatial indicators and landscape metrics to map and prioritize societal challenges in metropolitan regions. The objectives are to identify key issues, assess their spatial distribution, and provide actionable insights for urban planning. Insights on mapping societal challenges are so far rare, especially in the Global South. This study focuses on the Kabul Region (KR), selected due to its rapid urbanization, diverse socio-economic challenges, and limited existing research on urban issues. The research design involves a systematic approach of literature review, assessment, metric development, mapping, and validation. Firstly, key NBS publications and frameworks identified through snowball analysis are reviewed to assess societal challenges for their feasibility of being addressed through NBS and their relevance to KR. Secondly, landscape metrics and spatial indicators are developed through a targeted literature review. Thirdly, societal challenges are mapped using selected indicators and landscape metrics in KR, involving spatial multi-criteria analysis to weight and combine each indicator's impact, identifying hotspots and cold spots. Finally, findings are validated through Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with community experts. The results focus on the case study application in the KR, which includes the development of detailed priority maps highlighting areas for intervention. These maps identify specific hotspots and cold spots of societal challenges, providing a clear spatial distribution of issues that need addressing. This approach enhances decision-making for sustainable development and resource allocation, providing a replicable model for other metropolitan areas to promote urban resilience and sustainability