Cities to Nature, an initiative of the ASI Innovation Programme, is an Interdisciplinary collaboration between social scientists at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and engineering scientists at the University of Twente. We collaborate on research, outreach, and education, to co-create and disseminate knowledge on how to green the city. We take a systems perspective, focusing on the regenerative business models, citizen participation, blue-green designs, environmental performance assessment, and their interrelations.
The problem
Cities are affected by hazards such as heat island, floods and droughts, which leads to increased illness and mortality. As three-quarters of the European population lives in cities, this is as much a social as an environmental problem. On the upside, buildings and especially the built-up areas typical of cities, have enormous potential to green the city because they can be transformed into blue-green buildings – buildings that integrate water and vegetation in their roofs, walls and other surfaces.
The solution
Cities to Nature looks at the entanglement of social, technical, and environmental aspects of greening cities. Currently we investigate affordable, modular, effective blue-green panels for both flat and sloped roof types. This requires insights in regenerative business models and practices from prototyping to performance testing and user feedback.
The outcomes
To gain actionable insights, we are acquiring European funding for transforming urban buildings, supported by ASI Research Innovation. We are also supervising PhD research on regenerative business models and on April 12 we organize the second Cities to Nature symposium in Amsterdam.
Interested?
You can join our symposium on April 12 where we aim to connect participants in blue-green construction projects, from municipalities, commercial organizations (e.g. real estate), civil society (e.g. home owner associations), and science. You can register here: https://forms.gle/LH3aPFGUg4QEjhFy7
If you want to collaborate on research, education, or outreach on greening the city, contact Katinka Quintelier: k.j.p.quintelier@vu.nl
Click here to view the project poster (presented at the ASI Innovation Meetup)