Municipal Strategy and Planning
Municipal Strategy and Planning
A central overarching challenge communicated by UNaLab partner cities was being able to move beyond piloting and experimentation of NBS to the concept being established as a principle in business-as-usual urban development. This demonstrates the importance of considering NBS in the context of wider urban development practices. In this regard, the intrinsic and strategic integration of NBS as a concept into the “DNA” of the city through elements such land use planning, building codes, and zoning is an important step in this process. Many of the actions highlighted in other sections will play a role in addressing this challenge, but there are a range of additional actions that have been identified within the context of municipal strategy and planning which can help embed NBS in longer planning processes in cities.
Actions
Development of shared visions
An important building block of long-term planning approaches begins with the development of a collective vision.
Embedding NBS in existing plans and strategies
The action-oriented approach of developing “solutions” differentiate NBS from the other concepts.
Utilising environmental and sustainability management systems
In order to ensure objectives in the municipality are being met it is important that the sustainability performance is tracked and assessed in a systematic way.
Development of a resilience strategy
In order to effectively respond to anticipated future changes, cities need to undertake strategic action today to enhance their resilience in the future.
Awareness campaigns
Raising the awareness of local stakeholders and citizens is vital to implement successful NBS programs.
Use of Blue-Green Factors
This instrument, the Blue Green Factor, allows developers and designers the freedom to decide how green or blue elements should be incorporated in the respective plans and, at the same time, can be used as evaluation criteria in public procurement or in the distribution of land.
Experimental areas for pilot projects
Experimentation can allow for the development of locally attuned interventions whilst facilitating learning processes between municipal staff, citizens, developers and other possible stakeholders.