Regenerative Urban Design: ‘Greening’ cities through nature-positive infrastructure

As cities expand, green-blue spaces tend to be sacrificed for grey infrastructure, thereby negatively impacting biodiversity. By paving over natural surfaces, removing trees, and channelling waterways, urban development has led to ecological “dead zones” and increased vulnerability to floods and heatwaves.

“One solution to Europe’s city biodiversity problem is applying the principles of regenerative design. By incorporating natural systems and semi-natural systems to achieve more green-blue areas, the cities can not only minimise environmental harm, but also start ‘giving back’ by contributing positively to ecosystems and boosting biodiversity. There is EU funding available to address this problem, as at least EUR 20 billion a year will be allocated from the 2021-2027 EU budget for spending on biodiversity,” says Tobias Nauwelaers, Sweco expert in nature restoration and urban ecology, and one of the authors of our recent Urban Insight report.

Natural x Social regeneration

Cities face environmental challenges due to exploitation of natural environments, high resource consumption and pollution. A regenerative design approach views cities not in isolation but as part of a larger ecological whole.

In a regenerative neighbourhood, natural and social systems are integrated as equal partners – it’s not a question of people or nature when it comes to decision-making, but choosing people AND nature in harmony. This concept encourages ‘net zero conscious’ cities to move beyond merely neutral impact towards actively regenerating natural systems and enhancing human wellbeing. By designing cities that give back more than they take, we can create harmonious communities where both people and nature thrive. How do we design those neighbourhoods together?

Cities also face environmental challenges due to their exploitation of natural environments, high consumption of resources like water, energy, and materials, and their significant contribution to environmental pollution, intensifying the societal challenges linked to equity, access to opportunities, affordability and social justice. Yet there are tremendous opportunities to transform cities into more resilient and regenerative urban environments.

The concept of a regenerative city envisions urban areas as integral parts of a greater ecological whole, rather than isolated entities. Cities and municipalities should aim not only for neutral impact but also for actively regenerating both ecological and social systems.

Adopting regenerative development principles will support cities to go beyond environmental challenges: regenerative development is about humans’ place in nature and the place that we give nature in our life. A regenerative  neighbourhood actively helps to enhance both the natural and social systems it interacts with. Existing neighbourhood’s have great opportunities to expand and enhance their green-blue spaces, supporting both ecosystems and social wellbeing.

Beyond their ecological value, urban green-blue spaces play a fundamental role in reinforcing neighbourhoods and communities, with positively impacting social inclusion, equity, health and climate justice among other social values.

In our Urban Insight report, Sweco explores the untapped potential of cities to create conditions for incorporating regenerative principles, with a particular focus on the potential of green-blue spaces within the existing urban fabric. We also advocate for a shift away from simply pursuing “doing no harm” towards actively restoring and regenerating ecosystems. This approach will not only benefit natural systems but also contribute to more resilient, healthy and socially inclusive living environments for future generations.

Every city has the potential to connect communities to nature. It is all too easy to forget about the natural world if we are not exposed to it as part of our daily lives; and we are learning the hard way that if we do not seek to protect and restore global biodiversity, then the quality of human life as we know it will dramatically reduce.

For this reason it is essential that urban spaces incorporate functional, nature-positive, green-blue infrastructure that can support the needs of people and the urban wildlife that relies on these habitats to survive, and thrive. By understanding the value of incorporating nature into our cities, we can transform them into resilient places that prioritise equity and sustainability, and pave the way for future generations to thrive alongside nature.

Dr Martin Brammah Sweco UK Ecology Lead

Why regenerative placemaking and nature-positive design is necessary for nature and health

The decline of biodiversity is progressing at an alarming rate and scale, triggering a chain reaction. The latest updates from the European Environment Agency show that in Europe, 81% of protected habitats are in poor condition, with 36% deteriorating and only 9% improving. Over the next decade, the interplay between biodiversity loss, pollution, depletion of natural resources, climate change, and socioeconomic forces will lead to a dangerous convergence of environmental and societal issues.

According to the WEF Global Risks Report for 2023 and 2024, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are among the most severe consequences of broader systemic failures and are emerging as one of the fastest deteriorating global risks of the coming decade.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations recognize the global ‘’triple crisis’ – biodiversity loss, environmental pollution, and the health crisis – as interconnected, threatening the well-being of both humans and our planet. The collapse of ecosystems will have far-reaching economic and societal consequences, affecting everything from rising food prices to public health and social inequality.

In fact, human health and the health of the planet are intrinsically interconnected. The WHO estimates that 24% of the global disease burden is attributable to environmental factors.

By 2030, 44% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) in cities will be at risk due to biodiversity loss. This includes impacts on industries that directly depend on healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, such as agriculture, fisheries, recreation and tourism. The degradation of ecosystem services like pollination, water purification, and climate regulation will severely disrupt the global economy.

The implementation of the EU´s Nature Restoration Law, which was formally adopted on 17 June 2024, makes this topic even more relevant. Under the new law, EU member states must submit national restoration plans to the Commission showing how they will deliver on the targets. They will also be required to monitor and report on their progress. At least €20 billion a year should be allocated from the 2021-2027 EU budget for spending on biodiversity. Additionally, the EU is set to spend at least 30% of its budget on climate-relevant objectives.

The regulation combines an overarching restoration objective for the long-term recovery of nature in the EU’s land and sea areas, and sets binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species. These measures should cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and ultimately all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. Regenerative design is important in the context of this new law because it emphasises creating systems that restore and enhance natural ecosystems, rather than just minimising harm.

Enhancing urban ecosystems

A city is a place where diverse interests must coexist, often in a small area. Today, many cities also have densification as a goal for urban development. This, in turn, creates new challenges, such as reduced access to various types of green infrastructure for both people and nature, and a noisier urban environment with its consequences for the environment and health.

As cities grow and densify, they tend to lose green-blue spaces and biodiversity. Paving over natural surfaces, removing trees, canalising waterways, and planting uniform vegetation can potentially turn spaces into ecological ‘dead zones’ with diminished ecosystems, leaving them even more exposed to flooding, heatwaves, and other effects of climate change. This harms the ecosystem services that all people rely on. However, instead of exerting more pressure on already limited natural resources, it is crucial to shift our focus towards upgrading our environment to become resource positive.

The challenge today goes beyond creating urban areas with neutral impact. As the next step in the journey of resilience, cities should not just become resource-efficient and low-carbon, but should positively enhance rather than undermine the ecosystem services they receive from beyond their boundaries.

With regenerative design, each development project has the potential to include nature as an equal partner in the design and planning process. By repairing damaged ecosystems or creating new natural systems, cities can enhance ecological connectivity and give back to nature. Enhancing biodiversity and ensuring that nature continues to provide essential services (such as clean water and air and pollinating crops).

Today, three quarters of all EU citizens live in cities, suburbs, and towns. Since this number is projected to increase, it is imperative for the EU to prioritise urban action as a key element in its nature restoration efforts. Healthy and resilient urban ecosystems and biodiversity are key to ensuring the resilience of European cities.

Although research is still going on to understand the exact connections and causative pathways, they seem to provide benefits in several areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation reducing the negative effects of noise and air pollution, food security, and human health and well-being.

Urban growth presents both opportunities and challenges for achieving the EU Nature Restoration Targets, particularly in enhancing urban ecosystems. Although the overall population in Europe is projected to fall slightly up to 2050, the number of inhabitants living in capital city metropolitan regions is projected to increase 6.8% overall from 2021 to 2050. Projections also suggest that the number of inhabitants living in metropolitan regions, other than the capitals, will increase slightly up to 2050. In some countries, like Sweden and

Ireland, the number of inhabitants in metropolitan regions is projected to increase by more than 20%. In a more urbanised Europe, how can cities help meet the EU Nature Restoration Targets related to urban ecosystems? Furthermore, can cities provide the conditions for regenerative practices?

Taking into account the importance of urban green-blue spaces as a fundamental support for ecosystems, the EU Nature Restoration Law sets a series of objectives that seek to secure no net loss of green urban space and tree cover by 2030, and a steady increase in their total area from 2030 onwards. Moreover, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) review, the degree of greening within cities varies across neighbourhoods, with less and lower quality green space typically found in communities of lower socio-economic status.

The EEA highlights that more action is needed to reduce inequalities in access to high-quality green space to maximise the health and well-being benefits of nature in cities. The United Nations concluded that through the creation of green-blue spaces, nature-based solutions can be used to address certain social challenges in urban areas as they pertain to climate change. This improves the cities’ resilience to climate change, enhances residents’ quality of life, and increases biodiversity in the city.