Learn How the NSC Business Model Can Be Useful to Your Town

Many municipalities struggle with the arguments to invest in green infrastructure. The NSC Business Model shows the benefits of a greener town very clearly.

The use of Green Infrastructure (GI) solutions in urban environments, such as trees, green roof and walls, and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), can provide a wealth of benefits to towns and cities. Particularly important in Covid times, these range from providing a more attractive living environment and greater access to green space which improves health and wellbeing, as well as building climate resilience. However, smaller municipalities sometimes struggle to generate the business case needed for investment in GI projects. As a result, such projects can mistakenly be considered as less advantageous and more expensive than conventional solutions.

This free capacity building programme provided by the Nature Smart Cities (NSCiti2S) project will help officers in smaller Local Authorities overcome the challenges in seeking investment for GI projects.

Participants will have the opportunity to work with an innovative Business Model that enables users to compare different future GI project scenarios. The Business Model allows users to review the value urban greening provides across multiple ecosystem services, such as recreation, biodiversity, water storage, flood management, air quality, etc. The result is a business case that can help decision makers see the cost, benefits, and value of utilising GI approaches.

In 2022, the Nature Smart Cities project is running a free Capacity Building Programme which consists of two complementary workshops. In addition to working with the Business Model tool, the programme will build the capacity of its participants to identify opportunities for urban greening, help to formulate the evidence of its benefits, and provide the opportunity for sharing experiences and learning with officers from other Local Authorities. 

The workshops are open to officers in planning, design, environment, and any other service (housing, transport, highways, etc.) that either currently incorporate GI or are planning to incorporate GI in their work into the future. Councillors with portfolio responsibilities for environment/planning are also invited.

The Capacity Building Programme runs in Belgium, France, The Netherlands and the UK.