Reflecting on Year 1: UNP+ and the Path to More Biodiverse and Resilient Cities
As 2024 comes to a close, the Horizon Europe initiative UNP+ celebrates a year of transformative action in urban nature and biodiversity protection and conservation. Coordinated by Politecnico Milano, the project has made significant strides in helping European cities begin to develop, adopt and refine Urban Nature Plans (UNPs)—strategic planning frameworks that position nature as central to urban development and resilience. The final result can be a product or a process - cities' needs lead how the UNPs are implemented.
Over the past year, UNP+ has partnered with Paris, Barcelona, Mannheim, Belgrade, and Burgas in navigating the intricate processes of designing and implementing UNPs. Resulting plans will emphasize integration of urban nature across sectors, fostering collaboration between housing, mobility, utilities, and public health to achieve cohesive strategies that enhance biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and improve human well-being. The Nature Restoration Regulation and EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 make it clear that this sort of resource is not only helpful, but necessary if we are to achieve European biodiversity and climate targets.
Building Capacity and Bridging Knowledge Gaps
A cornerstone of the project this year was the kickstarting of a comprehensive capacity-building program informed by two Europe-wide surveys targeting local authorities and nature-based solution (NbS) providers. These surveys illuminated several key barriers:
- Knowledge Gaps: 68% of surveyed local authorities cited limited understanding of UNPs, highlighting a critical need for accessible, standardized tools.
- Challenges for NbS Enterprises: Businesses and developers struggle to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of urban biodiversity projects, hindering broader investment.
- Inconsistent Tools: Many cities rely on fragmented, custom-built solutions that lack scalability or alignment with broader ecological goals.
In response, UNP+ will prioritise the development of scalable, user-friendly resources to support cities in mapping biodiversity, modeling ecosystem services, and connecting natural spaces.
Elevating Citizen Engagement
UNP+ has also advanced community involvement, exemplified by participation in the Urban Butterfly Count in partnership with the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. This citizen science initiative, already active in Mannheim and soon to expand to Belgrade and Burgas, encourages residents to observe and record butterfly populations—a vital indicator of biodiversity.
With the successful models of Paris’ Opération papillons and Barcelona’s Citizen Observatory of Urban Butterflies as guiding examples, this initiative has created opportunities for public participation in environmental monitoring, fostering deeper connections between urban residents and their natural surroundings.
Showcasing Leadership in Urban Nature
The City of Paris underscored its commitment to urban biodiversity at the Future Green Cities Congress in Utrecht, where it shared its ambitious greening strategy alongside global leaders like Amsterdam, Vienna, and Singapore. Paris’ efforts to rapidly integrate the 3-30-300 rule—a guideline promoting proximity to nature for urban residents—reinforce the city’s status as a global model in urban ecology.
Barcelona has similarly demonstrated innovation through its Nature Plan 2030, which prioritizes citizen-driven transformations like the Cristòbal de Moura Street green corridor. Meanwhile, Mannheim has leveraged partnerships with local businesses to monitor urban biodiversity, exemplifying how cross-sector collaboration can amplify the impact of UNPs. We can't wait to see what happens in all five UNP cities in 2025.
A Vision for 2025 and Beyond
As UNP+ enters its second year, the project will deepen its impact by addressing advanced and context specific challenges in UNP development. These include enhancing natural space connectivity, refining biodiversity monitoring, and embedding long-term strategies into urban governance.
Moreover, the project will continue to emphasize cooperation. As seen throughout 2024, partnerships between citizens, local governments, and private entities are the bedrock of resilient urban nature planning.
The urgency to integrate nature into urban planning has never been clearer. With UNP+, European cities are not only meeting this challenge but leading the way toward a more biodiverse, healthy, and inclusive future.
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