Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions

In the last five years, European research and innovation programmes have prioritised the development of online catalogues and tools (handbooks, models, etc.) to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). However, only a few catalogues and toolkits within European p...

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Main Authors: Eric Mino, Josep Pueyo-Ros, Mateja Škerjanec, Joana A. C. Castellar, André Viljoen, Darja Istenič, Nataša Atanasova, Katrin Bohn, Joaquim Comas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2366
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spelling doaj-abd8cf82a7c748b9a737b567fad491312021-09-09T13:59:40ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-08-01132366236610.3390/w13172366Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based SolutionsEric Mino0Josep Pueyo-Ros1Mateja Škerjanec2Joana A. C. Castellar3André Viljoen4Darja Istenič5Nataša Atanasova6Katrin Bohn7Joaquim Comas8SEMIDE/EMWIS, Technical Unit of the Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System, BP23- Place Sophie Laffitte, Sophia Antipolis, 06560 Valbonne, FranceCatalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, SpainFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaCatalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, SpainSchool of Architecture, Technology and Engineering, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Mithras House, Brighton BN2 4AT, UKFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaSchool of Architecture, Technology and Engineering, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Mithras House, Brighton BN2 4AT, UKCatalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, SpainIn the last five years, European research and innovation programmes have prioritised the development of online catalogues and tools (handbooks, models, etc.) to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). However, only a few catalogues and toolkits within European programmes are directly related to mainstreaming of NBS for food production (i.e., edible NBS). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to present existing NBS tools through the eyes of productive urban landscapes. We reviewed 32 projects related to NBS and 50 tools were identified and characterised. Then, the six tools already available and provided indicators were further analysed in terms of their format and knowledge domains. Our main conclusion demonstrates that there is a lack of tools capable of supporting users for planning and implementing edible NBS; calculating the food potential of a city and/or of individual edible NBS, including the needed resources for implementation and operation (water, nutrients, energy); and assessing their urban design value, environmental and socio-economic impacts. Moreover, when they do exist, there is a resistance to share the models and equations behind the tools to allow other projects to reuse or validate them, a fact which is contrary to the open science principles upheld by many public research agencies.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2366nature-based solutionsproductive urban landscapesdecision support systemsedible citiesurban agriculturecircular economy
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Eric Mino
Josep Pueyo-Ros
Mateja Škerjanec
Joana A. C. Castellar
André Viljoen
Darja Istenič
Nataša Atanasova
Katrin Bohn
Joaquim Comas
spellingShingle Eric Mino
Josep Pueyo-Ros
Mateja Škerjanec
Joana A. C. Castellar
André Viljoen
Darja Istenič
Nataša Atanasova
Katrin Bohn
Joaquim Comas
Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions
Water
nature-based solutions
productive urban landscapes
decision support systems
edible cities
urban agriculture
circular economy
author_facet Eric Mino
Josep Pueyo-Ros
Mateja Škerjanec
Joana A. C. Castellar
André Viljoen
Darja Istenič
Nataša Atanasova
Katrin Bohn
Joaquim Comas
author_sort Eric Mino
title Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions
title_short Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions
title_full Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions
title_fullStr Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions
title_full_unstemmed Tools for Edible Cities: A Review of Tools for Planning and Assessing Edible Nature-Based Solutions
title_sort tools for edible cities: a review of tools for planning and assessing edible nature-based solutions
publisher MDPI AG
series Water
issn 2073-4441
publishDate 2021-08-01
description In the last five years, European research and innovation programmes have prioritised the development of online catalogues and tools (handbooks, models, etc.) to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). However, only a few catalogues and toolkits within European programmes are directly related to mainstreaming of NBS for food production (i.e., edible NBS). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to present existing NBS tools through the eyes of productive urban landscapes. We reviewed 32 projects related to NBS and 50 tools were identified and characterised. Then, the six tools already available and provided indicators were further analysed in terms of their format and knowledge domains. Our main conclusion demonstrates that there is a lack of tools capable of supporting users for planning and implementing edible NBS; calculating the food potential of a city and/or of individual edible NBS, including the needed resources for implementation and operation (water, nutrients, energy); and assessing their urban design value, environmental and socio-economic impacts. Moreover, when they do exist, there is a resistance to share the models and equations behind the tools to allow other projects to reuse or validate them, a fact which is contrary to the open science principles upheld by many public research agencies.
topic nature-based solutions
productive urban landscapes
decision support systems
edible cities
urban agriculture
circular economy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2366
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