One of the greatest assets of (urban) green infrastructure is its multi-benefits. However, it might be very complicated to estimate what these benefits are and how they can be valued, especially in early project stages. To fill this gap for practitioners, providing an evidence base to support informed decision making the Nature Smart Cities Business Model was developed. The Nature Smart Cities business model has been designed specifically to be used in municipalities to assess the value of green infrastructure in urbanized environments. It does this by exploring the impact on ecosystem services of different spatial scenarios. That way, users get an intuitive overview of how a project influences the generation of these ecosystem services. The use of the Nature Smart Cities Business Model is especially relevant in early project stages to get a rough overview of estimated impacts. You may also gain inspiration on how your project can be optimized even further!
Using the automated Excel tool, users walk through a series of steps that explore these multiple benefits of a green infrastructure project, and model and test alternative approaches.
Although the Business Model is specifically targeted at local authorities, the tool can help any interested in demonstrating the benefits of green infrastructure.
The end product of the business model is a factsheet, that summarises the results of the process, compares alternatives, and serves as a communication tool providing key information to those making the final decision. The factsheets we produced for our pilot projects can be found here.
The model is supported in detail by step-by-step guidance, which takes you through every step of the business model. It can be downloaded here in your preferred language: