SUPERVISOR: Günter LANGERGRABER

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Sandra NICOLICS

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly promoted as a means to enhance urban resilience and address climate change by integrating ecological, social, and economic benefits (Davies et al. 2021; Kabisch 2017). Despite their growing uptake in Europe, Latin America, and China, NbS remain far from being systematically embedded in urban development. A major barrier lies in the siloed structures of municipal administrations, where fragmented responsibilities, rigid bureaucratic routines, and sectoral budgets inhibit the collaboration and governance arrangements required for successful NbS implementation (Sarabi et al. 2019). While experimentation with collaborative approaches such as urban living labs has provided valuable insights, little is known about how formal planning and administrative processes can adapt to enable collaboration in practice (Kauark-Fontes et al. 2023; Wickenberg et al. 2021).

This dissertation addresses this gap by examining the role of municipal actors in reshaping bureaucratic routines and procedures to foster collaboration in NbS implementation. It investigates how everyday practices within municipal administrations can challenge entrenched structures, negotiate procedural flexibility, and contribute to the institutionalization of collaborative governance arrangements. The study is guided by the overarching question: How do municipal actors adapt their routines to form and institutionalize collaborative governance arrangements for NbS in urban development? By focusing on the agency of municipal staff, the research aims to generate new insights into how urban governance can evolve to better support sustainable and climate-resilient cities.

The theoretical framework builds on two complementary but distinct concepts: multi-actor collaboration (Frantzeskaki 2019; Pineda-Martos et al. 2024) and collaborative governance (Kiss et al. 2022; van Dorsselaer et al. 2025; McNaught 2024). Collaboration refers to the practical, often short-term interactions between diverse actors—such as municipal departments, planners, NGOs, citizens, and private developers—during the design, financing, implementation, and maintenance of NbS. It is highly operational, requiring knowledge exchange and coordinated action across sectors and organizational boundaries to make projects feasible on the ground.

Collaborative governance, in contrast, shifts the focus from project delivery to the long-term institutional arrangements that sustain NbS over time. It involves shared decision-making, power redistribution, and the creation of enduring governance structures that embed NbS within broader urban policy and planning frameworks. Whereas collaboration can be project-specific and temporary, collaborative governance ensures stability, legitimacy, and continuity by formalizing collective responsibility across public, private, and community actors.

By combining these perspectives, the dissertation investigates how municipal bureaucracies can adapt routines not only to enable collaboration in individual projects but also to institutionalize collaborative governance arrangements. In doing so, it seeks to illuminate how cities can move beyond experimental approaches to achieve lasting integration of NbS into urban development.

 

References

Davies, Clive; Chen, Wendy Y.; Sanesi, Giovanni; Lafortezza, Raffaele (2021): The European Union roadmap for implementing nature-based solutions: A review. In: Environmental Science & Policy 121, S. 49–67. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.03.018.

Frantzeskaki, Niki (2019): Seven lessons for planning nature-based solutions in cities. In: Environmental Science & Policy 93, S. 101–111. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2018.12.033.

Kabisch, N. (Hg.) (2017): Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas. Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice. Unter Mitarbeit von Korn, H., Stadler, J., Bonn, A.: Springer International Publishing.

Kauark-Fontes, Beatriz; Marchetti, Livia; Salbitano, Fabio (2023): Integration of nature-based solutions (NBS) in local policy and planning toward transformative change. Evidence from Barcelona, Lisbon, and Turin. In: Ecology and Society 28 (2). DOI: 10.5751/ES-14182-280225.

Kiss, Bernadett; Sekulova, Filka; Hörschelmann, Kathrin; Salk, Carl F.; Takahashi, Wakana; Wamsler, Christine (2022): Citizen participation in the governance of nature-based solutions. In: Env Pol Gov 32 (3), S. 247–272. DOI: 10.1002/eet.1987.

McNaught, Rebecca (2024): The application of collaborative governance in local level climate and disaster resilient development – A global review. In: Environmental Science & Policy 151, S. 103627. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103627.

Pineda-Martos, R.; Atanasova, N.; Calheiros, C.S.C.; Junge, R.; Nickayin, S. S.; Paço, T. A. et al. (2024): Implementing Nature-Based Solutions for a Circular Urban Built Environment. In: Springer Tracts in Civil Engineering, Part F1844, S. 345–355. Online verfügbar unter www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri.

Sarabi, Shahryar; Han, Qi; L. Romme, A. Georges; Vries, Bauke de; Wendling, Laura (2019): Key Enablers of and Barriers to the Uptake and Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Settings: A Review. In: Resources 8 (3), S. 121. DOI: 10.3390/resources8030121.

van Dorsselaer, Evi; Voets, Joris; Dupont, Claire (2025): Implementing Nature-Based Solutions in Cities: Testing and Refining the Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance. In: Env Pol Gov 35 (4), S. 761–774. DOI: 10.1002/eet.70000.

Wickenberg, Björn; McCormick, Kes; Olsson, Johanna Alkan (2021): Advancing the implementation of nature-based solutions in cities: A review of frameworks. In: Environmental Science & Policy 125, S. 44–53. DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.08.016.