Urban Gardens as Multifunctional Nature-Based Solutions for Societal Goals in a Changing Climate
Cabral, Ines and Costa, Sandra and Weiland, Ulrike and Bonn, Aletta (2017) Urban Gardens as Multifunctional Nature-Based Solutions for Societal Goals in a Changing Climate. In: Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas. Springer, pp. 237-253. ISBN 978-3-319-53750-4
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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.
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