A Catalogue of Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Resilience

This catalogue of NbS from the World Bank aims to support policy makers, project developers, development professionals, urban planners, and engineers to identify potential NbS investments, and to start a policy dialogue on NbS in cities. It aims to address benefits from NbS and the suitability of NbS in different locations. It focuses mainly on nature-based solutions for flood and heat risk management in urban areas, but also mentions social and environmental benefits.

As the manual is intended to be applicable globally, it offers fairly generic and high-level information, and is probably most useful to give an overview of the possibilities of urban NbS to those who are not familiar with them. After an introductory section, it presents a catalogue of 12 types (‘families’) of NbS: Urban Forests, Terraces and Slopes, River and Stream Renaturation, Building Solutions (green walls and roofs), Open Green Spaces, Green Corridors, Urban Farming, Bioretention Areas, Natural Inland Wetlands, Constructed Inland Wetlands, River Floodplains, Mangrove Forests, Salt Marshes, and Sandy Shores. For each of these, it provides: (i) technical descriptions, visualizations, and examples; (ii) estimates of unit costs and benefits to help assess the economic viability; and (iii) guidance on the suitability of possible locations for NbS.