Urban Gardens as Multifunctional Nature-Based Solutions for Societal Goals in a Changing Climate

Ines Cabral, Sandra Costa, Ulrike Weiland, Aletta Bonn

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

    Abstract

    Urban gardens can contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation through a range of provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services as multifunctional nature-based solutions in a city. Besides providing food, urban gardens contribute to water regulation through unsealed soils, to improved air circulation and cooling through plant transpiration and shading, offering microclimate oases to many users, such as gardeners, visitors, and immediate neighbors. In combination with other green and blue infrastructures, urban gardens can thereby help to mitigate and adapt to the urban heat island effect. They also provide important habitat for wildlife and genetic diversity. Urban gardens create opportunities for leisure and recreation and thereby promote health and well-being, as well as a sense of place, cultural identity, and social cohesion ? important factors for societies to adapt to change. Exploring case studies across Europe, we discuss differences between garden types and their contribution to achieving sustainability goals for city communities.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationNature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas
    PublisherSpringer
    Pages237-253
    Number of pages17
    ISBN (Print)2199-5508
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished (VoR) - 3 Sept 2017

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