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UNP+: Putting a Bow on Two Great Years

UNP+ is wrapping up the second year in a three year Horizon Europe project. There is a lot to do, and not a lot of time, but we are making great gains with our support partners and pilot cities. We are so proud of how our cities are embedding biodiversity, green infrastructure, and nature-based solutions (NbS) into city planning, policy, and everyday urban life. 

 

So what did we get up to this year?

 

In 2025 we:

  • Launched our Capacity Building Programme for cities and stakeholders! Take a look at our short briefs to get started on your own UNP learning pathway. 
  • Joined international citizen science initiatives to count birds and butterflies! 
  • Created State of Play reports for all 5 UNP+ Cities. Take a look to see where the cities started, and where they want to go!
  • Began work on our greening cities’ local communication plans - step 8 of the UNP framework - exploring how communication can raise awareness, inspire action, and foster acceptance for change.
  • Published a policy brief on the Nature Restoration Regulation drawing from city experience and needs. 
  • Were recognised for the important role our cities and project are playing in driving the shift from grey to green infrastructure in ICLEI Europe’s IFLA award acceptance speech. 
  • Brought the community of practice together via 7 online and 3 in-person Urban Nature Exchanges, covering topics such as spatial planning, communication plans, reflexive monitoring, and justice. Read our reflections on our time in Paris, Burgas and Mannheim. 
  • Invested in Reflexive monitoring, an important cross-cutting learning approach. Cities are using this practice within their local teams and consortium members are also using it within the project. This process has helped cities and partners reflect on progress and barriers to developing a UNP. Cities and researchers are using this process to collaborate and support cities in growing their technical expertise and capacity as they work their way through the UNP steps. 

 

In 2026, we will:

  • Expand our Capacity Building Programme to include a miro-courses, thematic guides, webinars, and more short briefs. 
  • Work with greening cities to begin implementing UNP communication in their local contexts to raise awareness and acceptance for their urban nature work. 
  • Work towards establishing a UNP in each Greening City (Belgrade, Burgas, and Mannheim).
  • Curate more tools, guidelines, and support for cities to develop a UNP.
  • Publish two more policy briefs, building off the learnings in our cities. Our brief on co-creation will be published in February!

 

Now that we’ve gotten you excited about Urban Nature Plans, check out these resources for concrete suggestions on making change in your own communities:

 

We’ll see you in 2026!

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