Ecosystem Services in urban regeneration projects by NBS key

The objective of this project is to assess and quantify the ecosystem services (ES) provided by urban regeneration interventions through the application of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) framework. This research will contribute to important issues such as sustainability, economic support, biodiversity protection and informed policy-making. The project started with an extensive review of contemporary literature to identify the optimal indicators for ES quantification in urban area like squares. However, the literature review revealed a very heterogeneous perspective on both the type and methodology of these indicators, thus making a selection based merely on literature unworkable. Subsequently, we adopted a structured procedure designed for the monitoring of NBS. This procedure permit to visually representing the project context and the related Theory of change. This methodology maps and traces the observed and presumed causal relationships supposed to influence one or more project objectives, providing a solid basis for accurate planning, management, and monitoring of NBS effectiveness. By documenting the direct threats affecting the objectives and the factors that influence those direct threats, practitioners can identify key intervention points and how to quantify their variations over time. The project is currently applying this methodology to the analysis of the NBS projects of Piazza della Scienza and the renovation of Piazzale Loreto (Milan) where to monitor some target such as: the concentration of CO2 and PM10, the abundance of invasive species, the thermal comfort, the percentage of impermeable surfaces and the economic budget required for maintenance. To enhance comparability with other case studies and achieve the uptake of current knowledge, the indicators will be based on the EU evaluation framework. Eventually we aim to conduct a multiscale and transdisciplinary qualitative-quantitative analysis, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of ecosystem services in their entirety-encompassing ecological, social, and economic dimensions—within diverse territorial and cultural contexts.