Nature-based solutions for urban climate resilience: implementation, contribution, and effectiveness

Abstract

Driven by the need to enhance urban climate resilience, there is a growing preference for nature-based solutions (NbS) over conventional architecture, mostly attributed to their ecological benefits and economic advantages. This systematic review analyzed global knowledge and research gaps regarding the implementation, contribution, and effectiveness (ICE) of NbS. Using Publish and Perish version 8 software, across Google Scholar and Elsevier Scopus, 749 publications were initially retrieved (2014 – 2025), with 84 (11.20 % of the initial search results) meeting inclusion criteria. Additionally, a qualitative analysis was conducted on a sample of 26 publications, selected from the initial 84 articles. The review demonstrates that though NbS hold substantial promise for optimizing urban climate resilience, their successful implementation is contingent upon addressing a complex relationship between factors like data-driven planning, stakeholder awareness and engagement, resource availability, institutional framework, and context-specific considerations. Moreover, it highlights the significance of integrating ecological, economic, and social dimensions, tailoring interventions to local needs, and utilizing rigorous evaluation methodologies to ensure the effectiveness and long-term contribution of NbS in fostering resilient urban environments to the climate change impacts. Though the scope of this review was constrained by various factors like language and database, it identified significant research gaps, including limited geographical case studies, reliance on secondary data and sources, methodological inconsistencies, lack of standardized approaches, and inadequate understanding of the complex functions of NbS in urban climate resilience. For instance, of the 26 qualitative sample publications selected for this systematic review, almost 54 % employed only secondary data sources, and eight publications lacked clear and specified data analysis techniques. Hence, future research should prioritize primary data, robust methodologies, transdisciplinary collaboration, and a broader geographical focus to promote the effectiveness and successful implementation of NbS.