Over a twenty-year period, green infrastructure has become established as a go-to approach to urban and landscape planning. Its core principles of connectivity, multifunctionality, access to nature, and the integration of socio-cultural, economic, political and ecological factors into praxis have been central to this process. However, there is an ongoing fluidity as to how and what green infrastructure is proposed to be and do in the research literature. This is visible in academic and practitioner debates globally and illustrates the complexity of transposing ideas from one geographical or disciplinary area to another. This paper provides an overview of how green infrastructure has been articulated in different geographical regions to highlight the positive malleability of the concept to adapt to specific contexts. Following the presentation of a summary of international green infrastructure the paper outlines a series of thematic framings that have or could be used to shape debates in the future. These framings are reflective of the prominence of speci fic areas of green infrastructure currently visible and offers new pathways for their use.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is facing major threats from climate change and rapid urbanization, particularly increasing hydro-meteorological risks, environmental degradation, and the proliferation of informal settlements. Medium and small cities, which are urbanizing the fastest and make up over two-thirds of SSA cities, remain under researched despite facing mounting vulnerabilities. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) hold a promise as a sustainable solution to these socio-ecological challenges and can deliver co-benefits for climate adaptation, risk mitigation, and urban liveability. This paper synthesizes findings on NbS planning and implementation in SSA, drawing on literature and empirical insights from a doctoral study in Ghana's Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area. It identifies barriers at multiple scales includimg macro/meso (e.g.policy and governance, institutional coordination) and micro (e.g.community participation and financing) that hinder implementation. Using TELEMAC-2D hydrological modelling, the study assesses the flood mitigation potential of different NbS scenarios, which demonstrate that integrated interventions combining river restoration and wetland creation significantly reduce peak flows in both short and long duration storms. Additionally, stakeholder surveys and workshops highlight governance fragmentation, financial constraints, and limited public awareness as key impediments to scaling NbS. Building on these findings, the paper proposes strategic, multi-scalar pathways to overcome these barriers, including policy mainstreaming, participatory governance, innovative financing mechanisms, and integrated monitoring frameworks. By combining localized insights with global best practices, the paper provides insights for scaling NbS across diff erent urban contexts in SSA, closing the gap between concept and implementation. The paper concludes with a call for policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize NbS as a transformative approach to urban resilience, climate adaptation, and inclusive sustainable development in the region.

As cities grapple with climate risks and biodiversity decline, international policy frameworks increasingly position urban nature as a critical ally in building resilient and sustainable urban areas. The European Union's Biodiversity Strategy 2030, for example, calls on European cities to develop and implement ambitious 'Urban Nature Plans' (formerly 'Urban Greening Plans'). In this paper, we introduce Urban Nature Plans as a strategic planning tool and discuss potential pathways to their implementation, using Germany as an example. With more than 650 cities of diff erent sizes and with diff erent administrative capacities – many of which already have planning instruments sharing features with Urban Nature Plans – Germany provides a useful case to discuss the implications of introducing this new strategic approach. To contribute to the international discourse on Urban Nature Plans and wider discussions around integrated biodiversity and climate planning, we summarize findings from a German research and development project. The project included, among other aspects, a dialogue process with government organizations, professional associations, non-governmental environmental organizations, municipal representatives and other actors. During this process, it became evident that Urban Nature Plans should be understood as ambitious, integrated, and flexible strategies which are adaptable to local needs and capacities. A clear commitment from local politicians is seen to play a critical role in increasing the amount and quality of urban nature, promoting the participation of diff erent stakeholder groups and accelerating the implementation of related measures. While existing planning instruments such as open space plans and landscape plans can ful fil many of the Urban Nature Plan requirements, a new and targeted strategy could address gaps and shortcomings of existing approaches, such as a lack of integrated working methods, co-design approaches or monitoring mechanisms. However, the findings also highlight that cities have diff erent capacities for strategic planning and the implementation of measures, and that Urban Nature Plans need to correspond to these diff erences if they are to be more than a tool for larger cities and existing champions in sustainability across Europe.

Urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, with rising temperatures, extreme precipitation, and flooding posing significant risks to human health and infrastructure. Urban green infrastructure (UGI) has been identi fied as a key strategy for mitigating these effects. Despite research demonstrating the bene fits of UGI, its implementation faces challenges, particularly in densifying cities where land is scarce and urban development pressures are high. In response, the Centre for Urban Ecology and Climate Adaptation at TU Munich has investigated, in various research projects, how UGI can enhance climate resilience in urban environments. This paper presents the findings from two projects exploring how evidence of UGI's role in climate adaptation can be contextualized for neighbourhood-scale applications. Using Munich as a case study, the research applied scenario-based microclimatic simulations and hydrological modelling to assess the effectiveness of UGI in mitigating urban heat and stormwater risks. Results demonstrate that urban tree planting signi ficantly enhances outdoor thermal comfort. However, tree loss due to densi fication-related underground car parks can worsen heat stress and diminish cooling benefits. Therefore, strategies that reduce cars in cities are a key prerequisite for transforming cities via UGI. Implementation challenges include conflicting land-use priorities, restrictive building regulations, and limited financial incentives for private greening investments. The research underscores the value of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, particularly through urban labs. Lessons from these projects emphasize the need for early integration of UGI in urban planning, regulatory reforms, economic incentives, and citizen engagement in UGI. Ultimately, transitioning to climate-resilient cities requires systemic governance transformations, sustained research, and integrated urban planning strategies that prioritize multifunctional green infrastructure.

Globally, researchers have been advocating urban green infrastructure as an infrastructure-related approach to mitigate the impacts of climate change while bene fi ing socio-ecological health amidst rapid urbanization. Yet, socio-economic urgencies and political agendas dwarf green infrastructure opportunities in SubSaharan Africa. This paper considers the uptake of green infrastructure in the City of Tshwane, South Africa, as a case study of the challenges and opportunities metro offi cials face in the subcontinent. We considered potential green infrastructure solutions and their uptake. First, we reviewed twenty-eight selected spatial planning policy documents. Then, a collaborative process of eighteen semistructured interviews of metro offi cials, a cross-sectoral workshop with twenty-three participants, and five feedback and clari fication discussions followed. The findings illustrate that limited local planning policies promote green infrastructure uptake. Complex challenges include poor intergovernmental collaboration, con flicting policies, scarce resources, land invasions, and a lack of appreciation of green infrastructure services. Opportunities reside in improving the land development process, incentivizing green infrastructure inclusion in development, enabling cross-sectoral partnerships to raise funding, and promoting green infrastructure value. We illustrate how the uptake of green infrastructure manifests with contextual diff erences on the subcontinent. Understanding the enabling circumstances and potential pitfalls can assist other cities in increasing sustainability, protection and local bene fits of green infrastructure. The study advocates that despite contextspeci fic barriers, inclusive and adaptive approaches could open-up much-needed funding and co-management alternatives that provide residents access to green infrastructure as a civic resource.

Latin American cities face significant challenges arising from high social and environmental inequity, the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and elevated pollution levels. In response to these challenges, strategies have emerged emphasizing the conservation, restoration, and integration of nature in urban and peri-urban areas to fulfil multiple functions that enhance long-term resilience. Recent research highlights diverse trends of urban vegetation in Latin America, showcasing gains, losses, and persisting inequalities. Despite recognizing the importance of planning and public policies, a notable gap exists in understanding how they in fluence urban vegetation distribution and changes. This research examines the most relevant public policies, programmes, and plans related to urban nature in Santiago (Chile), Bogotá (Colombia), and Lima (Peru), and explores how public policies influence urban vegetation dynamics. We identified a positive impact of urban greening instruments in Latin America, although there is still room for improvement. Public policies should outline concrete implementation actions, detailing budget allocation, required personnel, and robust evaluation mechanisms while reinforcing a strong commitment to equity. This ensures that greening efforts are not only tailored to local socio-ecological conditions but also remain sustainable in the long term. The insights gained from this research offer valuable lessons for urban planners and policymakers to develop more effective strategies promoting equitable and sustainable distribution of urban vegetation, ultimately enhancing urban resilience and quality of life globally.

Recent scholarship has outlined the mechanisms, impacts, and limitations of street experiments. This paper applies those insights to a citizen-led street experiment aimed at enhancing the resilience of a school environment in Ede, the Netherlands. The project successfully improved physical resilience with greenery, improved microclimates, fostered neighbourhood cohesion, created playspaces, and reduced car traffic. While citizens in fluenced radical, feasible, and communicative aspects, they had limited control over strategic and challenge-driven elements. As a result, the experiment's broader transitional impact depended heavily on support from key stakeholders like school management and municipal authorities. Despite notable behavioural and material transformations, institutional and organizational, shifts were minimal. The absence of sustained ownership puts the physical successes achieved under continuous pressure. Future action-oriented research should investigate how to consolidate resilient street initiatives by addressing the complexities of individual learning and creating supportive environments for citizen-led experimentation.

One of the main characteristics of modern Brazilian architecture is the centrality of the structure in defining the shapes and volumes of buildings. From an early stage, this prominence of the structure was linked to a search for lightness, in which buildings sought to break free from the ground, either by rising on pilotis or by means of large spans and cantilevers, reducing the number of pillars. This is what happens in the case of the MASP (São Paulo Museum of Art), designed by Lina Bo Bardi, in which the suspension of the volume creates a large, shaded plaza, which is defi ned as one of the liveliest public spaces in São Paulo. This is why the desire to suspend buildings using large structures responds not only to a formal intention, but also to the goal of creating plazas and squares in cities that lack them, where public spaces have historically tended to be privatized. Comparing the case of Brazilian and Portuguese architecture, we can also see a suggestive inversion. While in Brazil we see the predominance of large spans in favour of a light and airy architecture, in Portugal the local tradition is that of ‘plain architecture’, less focused on utopia than on realistic pragmatism.

Shootings typically occur in neighbourhoods marked by high crime rates and broader socioeconomic challenges, but little is known about the characteristics of the places where they occur. Using the concept of the rez de ville, a fieldwork protocol was created to evaluate seventy shooting locations in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. In this article, we identify when and where most shootings occur and assess whether the inspection of the rez de ville as a unit of analysis helps explain the nature of places of violence. The records are from the official Swedish Police database containing information on the date of the shooting, time of day, type of injury, and geographical coordinates for cases from November 2016 to March 2020. Combining insights from environmental criminology theory and the idea of shootings as acts of public performance, we search for clues as to why and how these settings become places of aggressive behaviour. Shootings can be seen as acts of public performance because they are intentional, dramatic actions intended to convey a specific message to an audience. These incidents mostly feature young men deliberately harming or killing others in conflicts stemming from personal differences and/or criminal disputes. Our findings both support and challenge widely accepted principles in environmental criminology. Shootings happen in the evening, often during the weekend. They occur in visible core areas of poorer but well-maintained deprived peripheral neighbourhoods. These settings may play a role in the stage setting for the shootings, which become acts of public performance used to reinforce their status within criminal groups. We conclude by reflecting on these findings and establishing an agenda for future research.