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Climate Proofing Cities by Navigating Nature-Based Solutions in a Multi-Scale, Social–Ecological Urban Planning Context: A Case Study of Flood Protection in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden
Egegård, C.H., M. Lindborg, Å, Gren, L. Marcus, M.B. Pont, and J. Colding. 2024. Climate Proofing Cities by Navigating Nature-Based Solutions in a Multi-Scale, Social–Ecological Urban Planning Context: A Case Study of Flood Protection in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden. Land 13(2), 143.
Due to unsustainable land management and climate change, floods have become more frequent and severe over the past few decades and the problem is exacerbated in urban environments. In the context of climate-proofing cities, the importance of nature-based solutions (NBSs), obtaining relevant outcomes in the form of ecosystem services, has been highlighted. Although the role of ecosystem services in building resilience against negative climate change...
Social-ecological urbanism: Developing discourse, institutions and urban form for the design of resilient social-ecological systems in cities
Berghauser Pont, M., S. Barthel, J. Colding, Å. Gren, A. Legeby, and L. Marcus. 2022. Social-ecological urbanism: Developing discourse, institutions and urban form for the design of resilient social-ecological systems in cities. Frontiers in Built Environment 8:982681.
Frontiers in social-ecological urbanism
Colding, J., K. Samuelsson, L. Marcus, Å. Gren, A. Legeby, M. Berghauser Pont. 2022. Frontiers in social-ecological urbanism. Land 11(6):929.
This paper describes a new approach in urban ecological design, referred to as social–ecological urbanism (SEU). It draws from research in resilience thinking and space syntax in the analysis of relationships between urban processes and urban form at the microlevel of cities, where social and ecological services are directly experienced by urban dwellers. The paper elaborates on three types of media for urban designers to...
Promoting resilient and healthy cities for everyone in an urban planning context by assessing green area accessibility
Rostang, O., A. Gren, A. Feinberg, and M. Berghauser Pont. 2021. Promoting resilient and healthy cities for everyone in an urban planning context by assessing green area accessibility. Frontiers in Built Environment 7:797179.
Rapid economic development and population growth has led to urban densification and massive land use changes, putting pressure on both ecosystems, and people. In this context, public health issues have become crucial for cities to address to ensure they remain livable and healthy for everyone. Since the health challenges of cities tend to manifest themselves differently among different population groups—e.g., groups of higher socioeconomic status...
Cities and the biosphere
Folke, C., Å. Gren, J. Larsson, and R. Costanza. 2021. Cities and the biosphere. Ambio 50(9):1634-1635.
Financing resilience efforts to confront future urban and sea-level rise flooding: Are coastal megacities in ASEAN doing enough?
Causevic, A., M. LoCastro, D. David, S. Selvakkumaran and Å. Gren. 2021. Financing resilience efforts to confront future urban and sea-level rise flooding: Are coastal megacities in ASEAN doing enough?. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science 48(5):989-1010.
Continued greenhouse gas emissions will lead to a rise in temperatures, accompanied by rising sea levels threatening low-lying coastal cities. This vulnerability is especially acute in developing countries’ cities. This study reviews whether Bangkok, Manila, and Jakarta, less prepared emerging urban centers of developing countries, are investing in adaptation projects for resilience against sea-level rise and urban flooding. Sea-level rise and urban flooding resilience projects...
Valuing biodiversity and resilience: An application to pollinator diversity in the Stockholm region
Engström, G., Å. Gren, C.Z. Li, and C. Kiran. 2020. Valuing biodiversity and resilience: An application to pollinator diversity in the Stockholm region. Spatial Economic Analysis 15(3):238-261.
This paper characterizes the value of biodiversity and ecosystem resilience by formalizing a stochastic dynamic bioeconomic model of pollinator diversity under climate changes, with an application to oil rapeseed production in the Stockholm region of Sweden. It studies the optimal provision of semi-natural habitat for two different pollinator bee species: bumble bees and solitary wild bees. It is found that, despite being less effective, solitary...
The Incremental Demise of Urban Green Spaces
Colding. J., Å. Gren and S. Barthel. 2020. The Incremental Demise of Urban Green Spaces. Land 9(162).
More precise explanations are needed to better understand why public green spaces are diminishing in cities, leading to the loss of ecosystem services that humans receive from natural systems. This paper is devoted to the incremental change of green spaces—a fate that is largely undetectable by urban residents. The paper elucidates a set of drivers resulting in the subtle loss of urban green spaces and...
How smart is smart growth? Examining the environmental validation behind city compaction
Gren, Å., J. Colding, M. Berghauser-Pont, and L. Marcus. 2019. How smart is smart growth? Examining the environmental validation behind city compaction. Ambio 48(6):580–589.
Smart growth (SG) is widely adopted by planners and policy makers as an environmentally friendly way of building cities. In this paper, we analyze the environmental validity of the SG-approach based on a review of the scientific literature. We found a lack of proof of environmental gains, in combination with a great inconsistency in the measurements of different SG attributes. We found that a surprisingly...
Integrating Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA) with connectivity analysis in landscape ecology
Berghauser-Pont, M., k. Ahrné, Å. Gren, A. Kaczorowska, and L. Marcus. 2018. Integrating Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA) with connectivity analysis in landscape ecology. Proceedings of the 11th Space Syntax Symposium, Lisbon, Portugal: 157, 2017.
