Dear Readers,

Hello and welcome to the second issue of the Nature Smart Cities (NSCiti2S) newsletter. It’s an exciting time for the project, which through the hard work of our 11 partners, is really starting to accelerate and gain momentum. Two of our investment pilots nearing completion have already received prestigious awards due to their innovative approaches in climate change adaptation and the multiple benefits they provide to their communities. Find out more in the latest news section.

In this issue we shine the light on the pilots of Cambridge and the City of Lille. Both are working to increase the number of trees in their cities, not only to build climate resilience, but also to deliver a wide range of social and environmental benefits to city residents.

We are also working hard to ensure that our Business Model is fit for purpose for Local Authorities and Municipalities. In order to ground the Model in the real needs of our users, a series of 53 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with councils across the 2 Seas region. The results of this study, which were both surprising and reassuring, can be downloaded from the library section of our website.

'Over the next few months an open call will be launched for local authorities to participate in testing our Business Model'

In recent months we have welcomed a number of Masters Students who will help with the testing and validation of the Business Model through its application to our seven pilot projects. You can find out more about their interesting work here.

Building a network and community is essential in supporting in cities and towns across Europe to deliver urban greening as part of their climate adaptation strategies. We are pleased to have seen the numbers engaged in our network grow as we have started to communicate our project and its results through external events; there will be many more opportunities for Local Authorities and Municipalities to participate in the NSCiti2S project.

Over the next few months an open call will be launched for local authorities to participate in testing our Business Model. This free ‘demonstrator testing’ will be mutually beneficial for the NSCiti2S project and participating councils who will be supported to generate an evidenced business case for the realisation of a new GI project. And in 2022, our NSCiti2S Capacity Building programme, again completely free of charge, will be rolled out across the four project countries, building the capacity of over 75 councils to use the Business Model. To stay updated on these opportunities and help our network grow, please subscribe to our LinkedIn page and also encourage your colleagues to subscribe to this newsletter via our website. Together we can achieve more!

We hope you enjoy reading this issue,

Anna Oxenham, Project Lead Nature Smart Cities

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02/18/2021 10:59:21