Chapter 16
Integrating Ecosystem Services, Green
Infrastructure and Nature-Based
Solutions—New Perspectives
in Sustainable Urban Land Management
Combining Knowledge About Urban Nature for Action
Dagmar Haase
Abstract Global urbanisation comprises both urban sprawl and increasing densification of existing cities. Along with the heat waves, floods and droughts associated
with climate change, urbanisation challenges our cities, and thus the places where
soon 60% of the world’s population will live. In addition to human beings and their
health, nature and biodiversity are under extreme pressure to function and to survive
in these growing urban systems. More and more key biodiversity areas (KBAs) are
becoming urbanised, and wetlands are being sealed. However, ecosystems are crucial
for a healthy and safe life in cities. So how should we save urban nature as a habitat for
humans, flora and fauna? This chapter presents three concepts that provide different
perspectives for sustainable urban land management. They represent complementary
paths to increased urban sustainability. Nonetheless, implementation is still a long
way off, and moreover, unsolved issues still exist, such as the social inclusiveness of
the three approaches.
Keywords Ecosystem services · Green infrastructure · Nature-based solutions ·
Complementary approaches for sustainable land use
16.1 Challenges in Urban Land Management: The Case
of European Cities
Urbanisation and urban growth are two overarching phenomena in land use development affecting areas around the planet. Worldwide, more than 55% of the population
lives and works in cities, and this trend does not seem to be subsiding (Haase et al.
D. Haase (B)
Department of Geography, Humboldt Universität Zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin,
Germany
e-mail: dagmar.haase@geo.hu-berlin.de; dagmar.haase@ufz.de
Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental
Research—UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
© The Author(s) 2021
T. Weith et al. (eds.), Sustainable Land Management in a European Context,
Human-Environment Interactions 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_16
305
Integrating Ecosystem Services, Green
Infrastructure and Nature-Based
Solutions—New Perspectives
in Sustainable Urban Land Management
Combining Knowledge About Urban Nature for Action
Dagmar Haase
Abstract Global urbanisation comprises both urban sprawl and increasing densification of existing cities. Along with the heat waves, floods and droughts associated
with climate change, urbanisation challenges our cities, and thus the places where
soon 60% of the world’s population will live. In addition to human beings and their
health, nature and biodiversity are under extreme pressure to function and to survive
in these growing urban systems. More and more key biodiversity areas (KBAs) are
becoming urbanised, and wetlands are being sealed. However, ecosystems are crucial
for a healthy and safe life in cities. So how should we save urban nature as a habitat for
humans, flora and fauna? This chapter presents three concepts that provide different
perspectives for sustainable urban land management. They represent complementary
paths to increased urban sustainability. Nonetheless, implementation is still a long
way off, and moreover, unsolved issues still exist, such as the social inclusiveness of
the three approaches.
Keywords Ecosystem services · Green infrastructure · Nature-based solutions ·
Complementary approaches for sustainable land use
16.1 Challenges in Urban Land Management: The Case
of European Cities
Urbanisation and urban growth are two overarching phenomena in land use development affecting areas around the planet. Worldwide, more than 55% of the population
lives and works in cities, and this trend does not seem to be subsiding (Haase et al.
D. Haase (B)
Department of Geography, Humboldt Universität Zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin,
Germany
e-mail: dagmar.haase@geo.hu-berlin.de; dagmar.haase@ufz.de
Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental
Research—UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
© The Author(s) 2021
T. Weith et al. (eds.), Sustainable Land Management in a European Context,
Human-Environment Interactions 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_16
305