Analysis and Evaluation of the Application of NbS Concept in Ecological Restoration Projects in Healthy Cities —— Example of the Award-winning Projects of the 18th National Exhibition of Korean Landscape Architecture
Authors: Yuan Mingwei , Ke Fangni  
Published: February 2025

With the intensification of the global ecological crisis, how to effectively balance the contradiction between human development and nature conservation has become a common concern for academics and policy makers. In recent years, nature-based solutions (NbS) have been highly valued for their potential to integrate ecological, social and economic dimensions (Eggermont et al., 2015). In Europe, the European Union (EU) has promoted the practice of NbS through the Green Cities Programme, which has successfully combined biodiversity conservation and urban development to significantly improve the quality of life of residents (Maes & Jacobs, 2017). In contrast, the application of NbS in South Korea is still in its infancy, but has shown a positive trend (Myung, 2021). This study investigates the application of NbS concepts in the process of restoring ecological structure of a site from a single level to a complex level, using the winning project of 'Landscape for Healthy City' in the 18th National Exhibition of Korean Landscape Architecture as an example. Project 1 reduces pollution and enhances biodiversity by changing the topography of abandoned hilly areas, installing windbreaks, and installing wetlands for purification, and brings economic benefits to the site through waste utilization. Project 2 transforms an over-refined nature into a self-regulating and sustainable nature by restoring soil strength. At the same time, both projects were scored and examined for their compliance with the NbS concept according to the <IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions : first edition>. The results of the examination showed that both projects scored 'adequately matched'. Both projects identified current societal challenges that humanity is addressing, while improving biodiversity and ecosystem integrity to a certain extent, and some of the strategies involved matched the global criteria of the NbS concept. However, because both projects were student competitions rather than actual completed projects, they lacked up-front economic feasibility and evidence-based adaptive management, and were superficial in reaching joint decisions with governments or stakeholders based on cultural and social context. However, this study gives three implications. First, it validates the usefulness of <Global Criteria for Nature-Based Solutions> in scoring and examining project NbS concepts. Second, designers can continuously update and refine the content of their solutions through NbS self-assessment prior to project implementation. Third, this study provides a preliminary demonstration of the role of NbS in solving social challenges and bringing about urban health. It provides a development direction for future NbS research when responding to the biodiversity crisis, climate crisis, and inclusiveness crisis context in Korea. And the study promotes the concrete implementation of NbS in cities and nature in the future.