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CLEVER Cities

Hamburg, London and Milan are making nature-based interventions in key districts of their cities for urban regeneration. Through exchange between cities, inclusive collaboration and multi-disciplinary learning, the CLEVER Cities project aims to drive a new kind of nature-based urban transformation for sustainable and socially inclusive cities across Europe, Latin America and China.

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CLEVER Cities are community-driven

Local teams including citizens, businesses, knowledge partners and local authorities have been formed in Hamburg, London and Milan. This collaborative structure will ensure that the urban transformation process is open, inclusive and tailored to local needs.

CLEVER cities are global

Belgrade, Larissa, Madrid, Malmö, Sfântu Gheorghe and Quito share and learn with London, Hamburg and Milan on how to adapt nature-based interventions for the needs of towns and cities around the world.

Nature-based solutions

Nature-based solutions (NBS) means planning and designing natural features, such as trees, plants and green spaces, in a way that can help address urban challenges.

With three quarters of the European Union’s population living in cities, and deprived areas of those cities often lacking in quality green spaces, CLEVER Cities intends to position nature-based solutions as a means to improving public health, social cohesion, citizen security and increasing economic opportunities in those areas.

CLEVER cities are green

Urban nature improves the environment, creates economic opportunities and makes cities healthier places to live. Green spaces also bring people together, which makes our communities more resilient, as well as boosting urban resilience to climate change.

CLEVER cities are innovative

We build on local capacities, expertise and potential to generate innovation and to develop new future-proof governance, financing and business models for sustainable prosperity.

Project aims

CLEVER Cities aim to:

  • increase and improve local knowledge of nature-based solutions,
  • demonstrate that greener cities work better for people and communities,
  • contribute data and information to EU policy-making, and ultimately
  • promote and enable the uptake of nature-based solutions in urban planning world-wide.

Source: CLEVER Cities - About

Image credits

Icon image: Clever Cities logo

Media

CLEVER Cities Introduction Video | Smart. Green. Inclusive.