The EU Biodiversity Strategy calls to all European cities and towns above 20.000 inhabitants develop an "Urban Nature Plan", including measures to create biodiverse and accessible urban green space (including urban forests, parks, treelined streets …). UNPplus aims to support the cities and towns to develop and implement these plans, mainstreaming and strengthening biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital in urban policies, urban communities and urban economics. Together with 11 academic partners and 5 European cities (Barcelona, Paris, Burgas, Mannheim, Belgrado), UNPplus is exploring innovations and barriers related to Urban Nature Plans. The aim is to create a multi-scale framework that helps local authorities to integrate existing policies, measures and strategies related to urban greening across multiple scales (urban, peri-urban, landscape) and mainstream biodiverse urban nature as a priority across municipal departments and sectors (e.g., housing, mobility, utilities, and public health). UNP+ will take learning from this process to bridge gaps, foster collaboration, and propel a next-generation strategy for urban ecosystem transformation, aligning with the EU's Biodiversity Stratey 2030 and the Nature Restoration Law.
EFI will contribute to developing the scientific foundation for the new generation of Urban Nature plans, will develop a human-ecological connectivity model for trading off developments in grey versus green infrastructure, and will evaluate the impact of Urban Nature Plans on the involvement of citizens in participatory planning, management and governance. EFI will also be developing and running the UNPplus Capacity Building Programme.
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UNPplus is funded by the European Union (Grant Agreement No. 101135386). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) solely and do not necessarily reflect hose of the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
