|
In this second edition, we open the doors to the City Labs not as static case studies, but as living laboratories where ideas are tested, challenged, and transformed into action. NBSINFRA developed five booklets that are more than summaries of activities from each City Labs. Each one takes you inside a different European territory, revealing its history, its vulnerabilities, and, above all, its ambition to rethink the relationship between nature and the city.
What can you expect as you turn their pages? A journey through context and complexity, from cultural landscapes to pressing climate risks, followed by a clear-eyed analysis of existing Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). You will see what has already taken root, what is emerging, and what still needs to be imagined. Each booklet maps not only solutions, but processes: who was involved, how decisions were shaped, and how local knowledge met scientific expertise.
At the heart of every City Lab lies a shared methodology. NBSINFRA is not about imposing ready-made answers; it is about building them together. The five-stage participatory framework, from co-diagnosis to co-amplification, ensures that solutions are socially grounded and technically robust. Challenges are first understood collectively. Ideas are co-designed across disciplines. Implementation is shared. Results are monitored and refined. And when something works, it does not stay local: it is amplified and replicated across Europe. Each City Lab contributes to one or more of these stages, turning theory into tangible progress. Together, they are forging a distinctly European pathway toward resilient, sustainable, and inclusive urban futures.
The booklets also spotlight best practices not as abstract guidelines, but as tested approaches that others can adapt.
Taken together, these booklets form a mosaic of practice across Europe. They show NBS are not a single recipe, but a process that is adaptive, participatory, and rooted in place. As you explore each City Lab, you will discover what has been done, how it was achieved and perhaps glimpse how these lessons can travel beyond their borders.
Keep following us on LinkedIn
Elisabete Teixeira
NBSINFRA Project Coordinator |
