Nature-based solutions (NBS) offer multiple solutions to urban challenges simultaneously, but realising funding for NBS remains a challenge. When the concept of NBS for societal challenges was first defined by the EC in 2017, financing was recognised as one of the major challenges to its mainstreaming. The complexity of NBS finance has its origin in the multiple benefits/stakeholders involved, which obscures the argument for both public and private sector investment. Since 2017, subsequent waves of EU research- and innovation-funded projects have substantially contributed to the knowledge base of funding and business models for NBS, particularly in the urban context. Collaborating and sharing knowledge through an EU Task Force, this first set of EU projects laid important knowledge foundations, reviewing existing literature, and compiling empirical evidence of different financing approaches and the business models that underpinned them. The second set of EU innovation actions advanced this knowledge base, developing and testing new implementation models, business model tools, and approaches. This paper presents the findings of these projects from a business model perspective to improve our understanding of the value propositions of NBS to support their mainstreaming.

The paper exposes the experience of València in applying climate-resilient thinking to the current revision of the city’s General Urban Development Plan. A semi-quantitative, indicator-based risk assessment of heat stress was carried out on the 23 functional areas of the city sectorized by the Plan, including modeling and spatial analysis exercises. A data model of 18 indicators was built to characterize vulnerability. A thermal stress map was developed using the URbCLim model and a heat index was then calculated using Copernicus hourly data (air temperature, humidity, and wind speed) for the period of January 2008–December 2017 at a spatial resolution of 100 m × 100 m. General recommendations at the city level as well as guidelines for development planning in the functional areas at risk are provided, with specifications for the deployment of nature-based solutions as adaptation measures. From a planning perspective, the study positively informs the General Urban Development Plan, the City Green and Biodiversity Plan, and contributes to City Urban Strategy 2030 and City Missions 2030 for climate adaptation and neutrality. Applying the same approach to other climate change-related hazards (i.e., water scarcity, pluvial flooding, sea level rise) will allow better informed decisions towards resilient urban planning.

Measuring the resilience of historic areas is challenging due to their heterogeneity in scale, heritage type, multi-hazard exposure, and socio-cultural context, creating the need for a flexible framework aligned with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approaches. This study introduces the SHELTER framework, which takes the historic area as its primary unit of analysis while enabling a cross-scalar assessment, from artefact/building scale to urban and transregional contexts. Developed through a co-creation strategy and an extensive literature review, the framework integrates indicators for multidimensional, cross-scale, and systemic resilience assessment and monitoring. The indicators span hazards such as heatwaves, earthquakes, floods, subsidence, and wildfires and capture exposure and vulnerability, the latter being understood as the sensitivity and coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities of communities. Refinement using the RACER methodology yielded a concise yet comprehensive shortlist of indicators, providing both general overviews and specific insights tailored to historic environments. The framework’s efficacy was tested across five case studies, demonstrating adaptability and suitability in diverse historic areas. Overall, SHELTER moves beyond a traditional focus on physical vulnerability and risk management, offering a replicable, holistic set of resilience indicators that supports consistent assessment and monitoring while respecting the singularities of historic settings.

El contexto global de la ordenación del territorio y el planeamiento urbanístico ante el cambio climático

As the climate crisis intensifies, the urgency of climate adaptation is becoming increasingly evident, if not imperative. Adaptation efforts often fall short in implementation, revealing a critical gap in climate-responsive planning. This study investigates the potential of statutory urban planning instruments to enable climate adaptation and bridge the adaptation implementation gap. To tackle this challenge, we introduce the BRIDGE framework, operationalized using an indicator-based screening tool that integrates three dimensions of the planning practice—substantive, procedural, and contextual—with three foundational pillars—agility, robustness, and legal certainty—complemented by three adaptive planning factors—complexity, uncertainty, and flexibility. The tool was pilot-tested in six European cities to screen the capacity of recently approved land use plans to enable climate adaptation implementation. The findings confirm that the consideration of uncertainty is overlooked, as well as the ongoing assessment and tracking of risks and adaptive measures. These setbacks potentially hamper institutions’ ability to respond to evolving climate conditions and undermines the legal embedding of adaptation measures. Ultimately, this study reinforces the need to strengthen context-specific and scientifically grounded planning decisions, enable procedural and legal flexibility, and balance the tensions between strategic vision and regulatory enforcement of adaptation.