UNDERSTANDING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT (FEBE)
Examples/Case Studies of Nature-based Solutions
Image Project
Location
Year of implementation
Developer(s)
Big Tree Plant
United Kingdom
2010 – 2015
By UK Department for the
Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra)
Copenhagen Strategic
Flood Masterplan
Copenhagen, Denmark
2011 - 2014
By Municipality of
Copenhagen (design:
Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl)
Landscape restoration
Rajasthan, India
By Tarun Bharat Sangh (NGO)
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF KENYA
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND SPATIAL PLANNING (SASP)
Department of Architecture and Building Science (DABS)
EAAQ 3196 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE 3A
Course Tutor: J. M. Mworia
Problems / Nature-based Grey Added value(s)
Challenges principle(s) infrastructure(s)
addressed & anthropogenic
activities replaced
Decline of urban trees, Green, one million trees Absence of trees Aesthetics, urban
Reduced expenditure, regeneration, carbon
Public apathy and sequestration,
antipathy increased
biodiversity
Flooding Green space, water Sewage Increased water
elements quality, public space,
higher quality of life
Drought, low Restoration local water Logging Safe freshwater,
groundwater table cycles and water groundwater
resources, reforestation recharge (+6m), re-
established fishery,
increased productive
farmland, return
wildlife
Mangrove reforestation Flood risk coastal Bioshield for wave Quays, dikes Water safety,
Coastline Philippines (also in communities reduction, less-rigid improved marine
other countries) Philippines, transition zone habitats, increased
2007 - ongoing decreasing habitat between land and biodiversity, carbon
By ZSL Philippines conditions marine water sequestration
species

Danube floodplain Flooding, draughts Floodplain restoration Hard river edges, Biodiversity
quays conservation
restoration
Danube catchment, Austria,
Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia
2018 - 2020
Protective Alpine forests Landslides, Afforestation of Absence of trees Landscape
Parsenn, Switzerland avalanches hillslopes enhancement,
Photo: Peter Bebi - Parsenn, increased biodiversity
Switzerland, 2007 / CC BY

Fresh Kills Soil contamination Green space Landfill Public space,

Staten Island, NY increased
2008 - ongoing biodiversity, carbon
By Department of City sequestration,
Planning, New York aesthetics, recreation,
Department of State’s Division flood risk
of Coastal Resources (design: management,
James Corner Field increased water
Operations) quality, natural gas
Photo: Aloucha - Fresh Kills Park, collection from
May 2016 via flickr.com / CC BY NC decomposing waste
SA
Wetland restoration
San Francisco Bay, CA
2000 - ongoing
By Safe the Bay
Photo: Oleg Alexandrov - Don
Edwards San Francisco Bay
National Wildlife Refuge via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC BY
SA
Rice intensification
Madagascar (also in other
countries)
By Henri de Laulanié
Photo: Lamg - SRI farming in
Chhattisgarh via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC BY
SA
Low biodiversity, flood Bioshield for wave
risk San Francisco reduction, less-rigid
Bay, polluted water transition zone
between land and
water
Excessive water System of Rice Original rice paddies
usage Intensification (SRI), re-
establishing ecological
and hydrological
functioning of soils
Salt ponds, dikes Water safety,
increased
biodiversity, clean
water, habitat for
sensitive species,
recreation
Saving water, saving
seed, cost reduction,
increased paddy
output, reduced
methane emissions,
reduced greenhouse
gas emissions
Groene Loper Noise and pollution Green space Roads (now in Public space,
Maastricht, The Netherlands from one of the tunnel) increased
2011 - 2018 busiest roads of the biodiversity, carbon
By Rijkswaterstaat (National city which also sequestration,
Department of Public Works) divided the city in two aesthetics, recreation
Photo: Kleon3 - Groene Loper via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC BY
SA

Madrid Rio Noise and pollution Green space Roads (now in Public space,
Madrid, Spain from one of the tunnel) increased
2006 - 2011 busiest roads of the biodiversity, carbon
By Municipality of Madrid city sequestration,
(architect: West 8, Burgos & aesthetics, recreation
Garrido Arquitectos
Asociados, Porras La Casta
Arquitectos, Rubio & Álvarez-
Sala)
Photo: La Cita Vita - Connections:
Madrid Rio via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC
BY SA
Bosco Verticale Urban heat island, Green Façade Aesthetics, urban
Milan, Italy Air pollution, regeneration, carbon
2009 - 2014 Low biodiversity sequestration
By Hines Italia and COIMA
(architect: Boeri Studio)

One Central Park Air pollution, low Green Façade Aesthetics, carbon
Sydney, Australia biodiversity sequestration
2012 - 2013
By Fraser Property Group
(architect: Jean Nouvel)
Photo: Junaidrao - Design One
Central Park via flickr.com / CC
BY NC ND
New York City, NY Urban decay, single- Green space, re-use Demolition of unused Recreation,
2004 - 2014 usage, urban heat railway aesthetics, urban
By Initially a local community island, air pollution, regeneration, carbon
(Friends of the High Line), later low biodiversity sequestration
the city council (architect:
James Corner Field
Operations, Diller Scofidio +
Renfro and Piet Oudolf)
Photo: Robin Stevens - High Line
Park via cynic.org.uk / CC BY NC
ND

Queen Elizabeth Soil contamination, Green regeneration Wasteland Aesthetics, recreation

poor water quality, (Olympic Games),
Olympic Park
low quality of life reduced flood risk,
London, England
increased
2009 - 2015
biodiversity, carbon
By London Legacy
sequestration, public
Development Corporation
space
(design: EDAW Consortium
(EDAW, Allies and Morrison,
Buro Happold, Arup, WS Atkins,
Piet Oudolf))
Photo: EG Focus - Construction of
Olympic Park, London via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC BY
Room for the River Low storage capacity A less-rigid transition Dikes Water safety,
Meuse, Rhine, Waal and IJssel of rivers, flood risk in zone between land and recreational space,
rivers and their branches, The the Dutch part of the water support natural
Netherlands Rhine delta environment
2006 - 2015
By Dutch government
Photo: DaMatriX - Waal en
Spiegelwaal ter hoogte van
Nijmegen via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC BY
SA

Sponge Cities
Wuhan, Chongqing, Xiamen,
Kunshan, China (also other
cities)
2015 - ongoing
By Chinese government
Photo: Joshua Wickerman -
Chongming Island, Shanghai,
China via
commons.wikipedia.org / CC BY
SA
Poor water Ponds, filtration pools, Sewage, Water safety,
management, water wetlands, permeable impermeable roads increased
scarcity, flood risk, roads, storm water and public space, biodiversity, clean
urban heat island, low infiltration paved surface water, recreation,
biodiversity increased
biodiversity, water
availability

Sustainable urban Social and economic Water channels, Sewage, Water safety,
decline, flooding retention ponds impermeable roads increased
drainage system
and public space, biodiversity,
Augustenborg paved surface increased biodiversity
Malmo, Sweden
1998 – 2001, By City of Malmo
Water storage Under-utilization of Sand dams (which Pumps Increased water
Sashane river, Zimbabwe alluvial aquifers in increase the thickness availability,
river beds in arid of the river’s sediment supplementary
lands for productive layer, increasing water irrigation
purposes like storage and
agriculture accessibility)