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Nature-based solutions (NbS) have emerged as a key strategy for sustainably addressing multiple urban challenges, with rapidly increasing knowledge production requiring synthesis to better understand whether and how NbS work in different social, ecological, economic, or governance contexts. Insights in this Perspective are drawn from a thematic review of 61 NbS review articles supported by an expert assessment of NbS knowledge in seven global regions to examine key challenges, fill gaps in Global South assessment, and provide insights for scaling up NbS for impact in cities. Eight NbS challenges emerged from our review of NbS reviews including conceptual, thematic, geographic, ecological, inclusivity, health, governance, and systems challenges. An additional expert assessment reviewing literature and cases in seven global regions further revealed the following: 1) Local context-based ecological knowledge is essential for NbS success; 2) Improved technical knowledge is required for planning and designing NbS; 3) NbS need to be included in all levels of planning and governance; 4) Putting justice and equity at the center of urban NbS approaches is critical, and 5) Inclusive and participatory governance processes will be key to long-term success of NbS. We synthesized findings from the NbS review results and regional expert assessments to offer four critical pathways for scaling up NbS: 1) foster new NbS research, technological innovation, and learning, 2) build a global NbS alliance for sharing knowledge, 3) ensure a systems approach to NbS planning and implementation, and 4) increase financing and political will for diverse NbS implementation.
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This content will become publicly available on July 22, 2026
Inter- and transdisciplinary knowledge is critical for nature-based solutions to contribute to just urban transformations
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are used to transform existing unsustainable and undesirable path dependencies in cities. For NBS to contribute to just urban transformations, a stronger inter- and transdisciplinary knowledge base is needed. This knowledge base is essential to engage with six complex yet crucial questions about NBS, including “for what?,” “which nature?,” “where?,” “how?,” “when,” and “for whom?.” To address these questions, we identify two critical opportunities to advance the knowledge of NBS. First, we argue for solidifying interdisciplinary approaches to examine how NBS can be designed, planned, and implemented for multifunctionality. Second, we argue that researchers need to work transdisciplinarily with diverse stakeholders to ensure the design, siting, and planning of NBS are appropriate to the context. In both critical opportunities, justice should be a core guiding principle from the beginning of planning the NBS, starting with the foundational understanding that NBS are not inherently just or unjust. Instead, their value depends on a holistic examination of the context in which they operate and the institutional logic that guides their planning. To center justice in the inter- and transdisciplinary research and practice of NBS, a knowledge shift from epistemological injustice to epistemological inclusivity is a critical way forward.
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- PAR ID:
- 10632948
- Publisher / Repository:
- https://www.pnas.org/topic/573
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 122
- Issue:
- 29
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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