# Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Areas: A European Analysis
## 5 Discussion
Different approaches to urban planning, particularly the use and guarantee of effective NbS, shape the design of cities that are more resilient to the effects of climate change in terms of increasing the density of green areas and ensuring permeability, influencing cooling capacity [88], and the impact of floods during extreme weather events [97]. Therefore, it is of great importance to integrate ecological components into a real dynamic green infrastructure [86] throughout the design process when implementing NbS [92, 102]. NbS represent an effective tool to improve ecosystem services, value environmental and sociocultural issues [84], and offer integrated benefits with environmental and water management practices [71]. Actions such as \"blue infrastructure\" and \"green areas for water management\" have been implemented in the urban environment. The highlighted benefits include \"improve connectivity and functionality of green and blue infrastructures\", \"reduce run-off\", and \"increasing infiltration\". With respect to the provided ecosystem services, the highlights are \"water flow regulation and runoff mitigation\", \"flood control\", and \"natural water retention measures\". Many studies emphasize the potential and effectiveness of NbS adoption in urban water management [66, 74, 75, 76, 98, 77]. The activities proposed for Hamburg, among others, focus on the management of rainwater, which will be used in irrigation systems for plantation areas, increasing the efficiency of rainwater reuse [66]. Similarly, the Leidsche Rijn water system in Utrecht is a sustainable, nature-based, closed-loop surface water system providing clean, clear surface water and supporting biodiversity and climate adaptation. The system includes NbS components in urban infrastructure regimes such as bioswales, ecological water banks, a network of canals, buffer lakes, dams with water gates, water pump stations, and permeable paving [98]. Ljubljana stands out in terms of land use planning and urban water management in the city, with retention areas that are attractive for leisure activities and have a positive impact on the microclimate [76]. Efficient waste management in Ljubljana is an example of the promotion of circularity through the processing of biological waste and mixed waste. Ljubljana Regional Center for Waste Management (RCERO) facilities are capable of producing green electricity from renewable sources of biogas composed of biological waste and electricity and heat [74, 75]. Another potential for the implementation of NbS in an urban environment is the possibility of transforming abandoned land into strategic areas promoting green infrastructure and urban regeneration [79]. Many projects, such as post-industrial districts that host living laboratories [62, 87], enable the development, testing, and implementation of NbS. This potential is readily identified in the Results. \"Renaturing abandoned areas and opportunity plots\" is prominent among interventions in urban environments and has a great influence on ecosystem services of \"ecosystem-based adaptation\" and the benefits of \"greater ecological connectivity across urban regenerated sites\" and \"changing image of the urban environment\". Large green spaces with NbS have the potential to increase the volume of business, increasing revenues, in addition to creating a pleasant feeling of usability of the space for the population [81]. Vegetation contributes to real estate appreciation in the built environment, for example, in housing projects, reflecting economic benefits for the community [90]. It is worth noting that NbS actions in the social body, such as gardens in subdivisions or community gardens, are important and multifunctional areas in cities [91] that promote social cohesion and equity in the neighbourhood [99].