Assessing the benefits of nature-based solutions in the Barcelona metropolitan area based on citizen perceptions

Abstract

Nature-based solutions (NBS) address societal challenges, such as risk vulnerability and climate resilience, and provide a potential for local adaptation. Other green conceptualizations besides NBS, such as green infrastructures (GI) and ecosystem services (ES), seem to be useful for indicating the potential of nature in urban climate resilience through the provision of a multifunctional landscape, simultaneous services and benefits and stakeholder participation. The extent to which user insight into usual experiences and practices can contribute to NBS management to improve locally adapted solutions could be further explored as part of the NBS concept. Here, we aim to provide empirical evidence about the usual experiences and practices of citizens with respect to NBS. Further, we will address how this insight contributes to NBS management. This study investigated user perceptions based on a public perception survey, to gain information that can be used for (among other things) locally adapted NBS management. To collect evidence, 114 surveys were conducted with users of the Besòs riverside park, an NBS in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The results show that the NBS users are the citizens living near the area who visit the area frequently, mainly for social, cultural, recreational benefits and for health-related purposes. These findings suggest that conducting surveys at the local level is beneficial for gathering evidence on user experiences, perceptions, and practices with respect to NBS, and that this insight could contribute both to NBS monitoring as well as to increasing user awareness and knowledge about an NBS. Stakeholder participation complements the aim of officially recognizing the Besòs area as a key GI for the water cycle in the upcoming Barcelona metropolitan master plan. User insight and NBS management could thus interact to promote a more localized, decentralized, and bottom-up management strategy.