Greening cities: Assessing the implementation of Nature-based Solutions - A comparative case study between Malmö and Malaga

Sammanfattning: Today, approximately 55% of the total global population lives in urban areas, while in Europe the number is higher than 70%, and both figures are expected to continue growing during the next decades. At the same time, cities are facing an increasing number of challenges, such as sea level rise, increased temperatures, air quality and more extreme weather events. Nature-based Solutions (NbS), although still in its infancy, is a relatively new concept that can harness the power and sophistication of nature to turn environmental, social and economic challenges into innovation opportunities. The aim of this thesis is to estimate the potential impacts of NbS in the cities of Malmö (Sweden) and Malaga (Spain), and study and compare the different mechanisms used for their implementation and use. The thesis uses expert interviews as well as the EKLIPSE framework, a methodological tool used to evaluate NbS initiatives, taking into account their impacts on the triple bottom line and providing a set of indicators and methods for their evaluation. Based on the characteristics of the NbS projects identified in both cities, these solutions are especially effective at tackling challenges in the areas of water management, climate mitigation and adaptation, and urban regeneration. The use of these solutions seems to be driven by their ability to adapt cities to current climates and mitigate the effects of climate change, although some barriers are also identified, such as lack of knowledge of the impacts on the social and economic systems and their effectiveness in the long-term, or lack of political commitment and funding for their application. NbS have potential to address some of the environmental, social and economic problems of cities, but the projects need to be designed with a clear objective in mind in order to be successful, and their effectiveness evaluated through the use of indicators.