Turning to nature for urban solutions

CORDIScovery – unearthing the hottest topics in EU science, research and innovation

About three quarters of the population in the EU are urbanites. Are you living in an inclusive area, with parks and public spaces you and the other local residents have had a say in designing? Or is that something that seems out of your reach?

Nature-based solutions, or NBSs, co-creation, living labs – what do these terms mean and why are they important? Let’s turn to our three guests today, all of whom benefited from research and innovation funding:

Darko Ferčej is head of the EU project Unit within the Slovenian non-profit institute, E-zavod. His area of interest is transforming policy theories into practical changes that benefit people’s lives in urban environments.

Laura Fregolent is professor of Urban Planning at the University of Venice in Italy. Over the years she has investigated the processes of urban transformation and sprawl, and the social impact of housing dynamics.

Gonçalo Canto Moniz is a professor of Architecture and researcher at the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. He is fascinated by the way co-creation of nature-based solutions within our cities can promote more inclusive urban neighbourhoods.