Christopher M. Raymond, Alex M. Lechner, Minttu Havu, Joel Jalkanen, Jussi Lampinen, Oriol García Antúnez, Anton Stahl Olafsson, Natalie Gulsrud, Antti Kinnunen, Leif Backman, Liisa Kulmala, Leena Järvi
{"title":"Identifying where nature-based solutions can offer win-wins for carbon mitigation and biodiversity across knowledge systems","authors":"Christopher M. Raymond, Alex M. Lechner, Minttu Havu, Joel Jalkanen, Jussi Lampinen, Oriol García Antúnez, Anton Stahl Olafsson, Natalie Gulsrud, Antti Kinnunen, Leif Backman, Liisa Kulmala, Leena Järvi","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00103-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00103-2","url":null,"abstract":"Managing nature-based solutions (NBS) in urban areas for carbon mitigation and biodiversity outcomes is a global policy challenge, yet little is known about how to both assess and weave diverse knowledge systems and values into carbon-biodiversity trade-off assessments. This paper examines the spatial relationships between biophysical and social values for carbon sequestration potential (measured as carbon dioxide, CO2, flux) and biodiversity in Helsinki, Finland, using integrated valuation. The approach combines methods from carbon sequestration modelling, expert scoring approaches to biodiversity assessment and public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS). Results indicate strong spatial associations between biophysical assessment of CO2 flux and biodiversity priorities, and weaker associations between biophysical and social values. Integration of social and biophysical values leads to multiple pathways for protection of NBS to achieve carbon mitigation and biodiversity outcomes, as well as options for the spatial targeting of education and capacity building programs to areas of local concern.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00103-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45290321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christopher T. Clavin, Jennifer Helgeson, Matthew Malecha, Shubha Shrivastava
{"title":"Publisher Correction: A Call for a National Community Resilience Extension Partnership to Bridge Resilience Research to Communities","authors":"Christopher T. Clavin, Jennifer Helgeson, Matthew Malecha, Shubha Shrivastava","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00106-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00106-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00106-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134950358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Role of urban vegetation in air phytoremediation: differences between scientific research and environmental management perspectives","authors":"Cheng Gong, Chaofan Xian, Tong Wu, Jingru Liu, Zhiyun Ouyang","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00105-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00105-0","url":null,"abstract":"Air pollutant removal by urban vegetation is perceived to be a key ecosystem service for mitigating air pollution. However, the effectiveness of air phytoremediation in cities requires more synthesis to inform environmental management. A Bayesian meta-analysis approach was used to quantify the effectiveness of the removal of typical air pollutants—particle matter (PM), nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3)—by synthesizing global field measurement studies. The results revealed that urban vegetation can mitigate the growth of air pollutant concentrations, with reduction rates of 16.5~26.7% for PM, 13.9~36.2% for NOx, and 20.5~47.8% for SO2. However, they failed to significantly mitigate ground-level O3, corresponding to an increase of 5.1~25.9%. The variability in effect sizes was mainly influenced by the distance to nearest highway, ambient concentration, relative humidity, and green coverage. A questionnaire survey conducted in Shenzhen city (China) showed that most environmental managers supposed positive impacts of urban vegetation on all four air pollutants, which was at odds with our findings with respect to O3. This study can inform the lessening of discrepancies between scientific research and environmental managers’ perceptions on how to improve air phytoremediation for urban air pollution mitigation in China and elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00105-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46470991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Economic inequalities and discontent in European cities","authors":"Camilla Lenzi, Giovanni Perucca","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00104-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00104-1","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reconsiders a stylized fact of the literature on the relationship between urbanization and subjective well-being, the urban well-being paradox, i.e., the densest settings typically show the highest level of individual discontent. By drawing on an original sample based on more 50,000 individuals in 83 cities of the 27 member states of the European Union plus the UK, the paper highlights three main results. First, bigger cities are characterized by intrinsically higher inequalities than smaller ones, suggesting a scaling of disparities: interpersonal inequalities represent an often-overlooked cause of urbanization diseconomies. Second, compositional effects on discontent are particularly detrimental in cities, suggesting a scaling of discontent. Moreover, compositional and contextual characteristics mix in cities, amplifying the negative effect of inequalities especially for the most fragile social groups. Third, discontent with life and discontent with specific domains of city life do not always go in tandem. Nevertheless, the advantages of largest cities seem especially a benefit for élite individuals.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00104-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43705254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Doran, J. Golden, K. Matus, L. Lebel, V. Timmer, M. van ‘t Zelfde, A. de Koning
{"title":"The emerging role of mega-urban regions in the sustainability of global production-consumption systems","authors":"E. Doran, J. Golden, K. Matus, L. Lebel, V. Timmer, M. van ‘t Zelfde, A. de Koning","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00098-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00098-w","url":null,"abstract":"Mega-urban regions (MURs) are important consumers or traders of resources from, or producers of wastes destined for, the global hinterlands. These roles, coupled with their concentration, clustering and centrality effects, mean MURs have a disproportionately large effect on the sustainability of global production-consumption systems (PCSs). Actions taken within MURs influence the sustainability of global PCSs, and vice versa; but that influence is complicated by complex governance intersections. Three cases are used to illustrate governance innovation in MUR-PCS interactions: industrial symbiosis in Tianjin, China; electricity production in London, UK; and the adoption of standards and labels for seafood in Bangkok, Thailand. In London and Tianjin, waste capture reduced consumption of hinterland resources, whereas in Bangkok, the aim was to improve the sustainability of resource use in coastal and marine hinterlands. We suggest an agenda for research to evaluate the potential for transferrable MUR governance innovation to enable sustainable and equitable PCSs.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00098-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48202534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contributions of the voluntary local review process to policy integration: evidence from frontrunner cities","authors":"Fernando Ortiz-Moya, Marco Reggiani","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00101-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00101-4","url":null,"abstract":"The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relies on effective policy integration at all levels of government. However, integration across policy domains remains challenging for local authorities, particularly when it comes to articulating policies that recognise trade-offs and interactions between different SDGs. This study explores how the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) process—a tool to localise the 2030 Agenda—contributes to policy integration by thematically analysing interviews with city officials in 12 frontrunner cities that conducted a VLR between 2019 and 2020. Our results suggest three main ways in which the VLR process affects policy integration: (1) by facilitating cooperation and interdependencies between different policy sectors; (2) by creating new instruments to mainstream SDGs; and (3) by enhancing sustainability competencies. Hence, our study suggests that conducting a VLR has the transformative potential to achieve greater policy integration and further the 2030 Agenda.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10078030/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9282907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christopher T. Clavin, Jennifer Helgeson, Matthew Malecha, Shubha Shrivastava
{"title":"A Call for a National Community Resilience Extension Partnership to Bridge Resilience Research to Communities","authors":"Christopher T. Clavin, Jennifer Helgeson, Matthew Malecha, Shubha Shrivastava","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00102-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00102-3","url":null,"abstract":"Resilience planning and action is limited to communities with significant technical and administrative capabilities. Engaging communities to co-produce research enables a more equitable distribution of needed tools. A national Community Resilience Extension Partnership linking scientists with place-based planners and emergency managers provides the research-to-practice infrastructure for equitable development of community resilience science and technology.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00102-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135821938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enabling connections between a multi-country urban research programme and the practices of an African urban research centre","authors":"Andrew Tucker","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00099-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00099-9","url":null,"abstract":"Significant interest exists within urban scholarship regarding both the need to explore diverse urban situated knowledge while enabling effective forms of global comparison, and the place and utility of new urban science approaches. This article considers such interests in relation to the implementation of a multi-country urban research programme and its interface with the pre-existing interests and methodological practices of an African urban research centre. It suggests, when partners engage dialectically, large-scale research programmes may speak to and help offer new perspectives on local realities as much as local realities may help enrich the frameworks of international large-scale research programmes.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-023-00099-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42339980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Japanese urban household carbon footprints during early-stage COVID-19 pandemic were consistent with those over the past decade","authors":"Yin Long, Yoshikuni Yoshida, Yida Jiang, Liqiao Huang, Wentao Wang, Zhifu Mi, Yosuke Shigetomi, Keiichiro Kanemoto","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00095-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00095-z","url":null,"abstract":"As urbanization accelerates worldwide, substantial energy and services are required to meet the demand from cities, making cities major contributors to adverse environmental consequences. To bridge the knowledge gap in the absence of fine-grained city-level climate protection measures due to data availability and accuracy, this study provides a detailed carbon emission inventory for analyzing the monthly fluctuations based on citizens’ daily consumption behaviors. Here, carbon emissions embodied in approximately 500 household consumption items were calculated in 47 prefectural-level cities in Japan from 2011 to June 2021. We analyzed the results considering the regional, seasonal, demand, and emission way-specific aspects, and compared the emission before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the carbon footprints during the pandemic were consistent with the previous level despite downtrends in specific categories. This study provides an example of utilizing city-level emission data to improve household green consumption behavior as references for enriching city-level decarbonization paths.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052282/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9243278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cities can benefit from complex supply chains","authors":"Nazlı B. Doğan, Alfonso Mejia, Michael Gomez","doi":"10.1038/s42949-023-00100-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s42949-023-00100-5","url":null,"abstract":"Supply chain complexity is perceived to exacerbate the supply disruptions or shocks experienced by a city. Here, we calculate two network measures of supply chain complexity based on the relative number—horizontal complexity—and relative strength—vertical complexity—of a city’s suppliers. Using a large dataset of more than 1 million annual supply flows to 69 major cities in the United States for 2012–2015, we show that a trade-off pattern between horizontal and vertical complexity tends to characterize the architecture of urban supply networks. This architecture shapes the resistance of cities to supply chain shocks. We find that a city experiences less intense shocks, on average, as supplier relative diversity (horizontal complexity) increases for more technologically sophisticated products, which may serve as a mechanism for buffering cities against supply chain shocks. These results could help cities anticipate and manage their supply chain risks.","PeriodicalId":74322,"journal":{"name":"npj urban sustainability","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052311/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9243276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}