Planning sustainable cities through nature-based solutions : perspectives from the Global South

Abstract

This research considers nature-based solutions as part of the broader sustainability agenda, as perceived from a Global South perspective. Such considerations emanate from a global phenomenon of urban areas experiencing rapid amounts of socioeconomic and environmental decay, calling for an urgent search towards sustainable city planning practices. A literature study was conducted to explore the broader concepts of sustainable city planning and nature-based solutions and, the Global South, as an underrepresented part within academic literature, was explored in terms of the broader sustainability agenda with specific reference to nature-based solutions. Ten purposefully selected cities from around the globe was then analysed to gain an understanding of sustainable city planning practices and perspectives on the sustainability agenda, nature-based solutions and the Global South. It was found that nature-based solutions may prove valuable in the quest towards urban sustainability and that it is important for such approaches to be context-based and included in broader spatial planning approaches