Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County, IL
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods works collaboratively with community partners, artists, health care providers, and scientists to improve health equity and access to nature in Lake County, Illinois, and the Chicago region. This report outlines key findings and recommendations for improving well-being in Lake County, Illinois, by addressing systemic inequities at the intersection of environment and health.
RxN Collaboration Platform Feasibility Study
Resilient by Nature Project (RxN)
This feasibility study is grounded in RxN's broader effort to expand the role of nature in Chicago’s neighborhoods to improve health and quality of life through nature-based solutions (NBS). Green Infrastructure (GI) implementation is one of many potential NBS strategies. This research examines barriers to both the prioritization of GI, and to interagency collaboration. Prepared by Foresight Design.
Understanding and Acting on the Health Benefits of Nature
Resilient by Nature Project (RxN)
The positive physical and mental health benefits of regular exposure to trees, green spaces and the outdoors are indisputable–and today, they are better documented and understood than ever before by researchers from diverse fields. More and more, a growing body of data asserts the connection between nature and human health. With this quickly growing evidence in hand, how might we use this knowledge to more significantly improve the design and function of urban areas like Chicago?
Using NBS to Center Equity and Justice in Chicago
Resilient by Nature Project (RxN)
Environmental injustices have pervaded Chicago for decades, and continue to do so. While NBS can provide a multitude of benefits to neighborhoods, the way that they're allocated, planned, implemented and maintained is critical. Careful stewardship is required to ensure that NBS are pursued with respect to the agency of residents, and avoid potential unintended consequences.
Aligning and Scaling Green Infrastructure Efforts
Resilient by Nature Project (RxN)
Green infrastructure can provide many benefits in the Chicago region. Achieving these benefits at a meaningful scale, however, will only be accomplished through greater alignment, innovation and collaboration. This webinar explores topics relevant to creating a coherent and collaborative "Green Infrastructure Agenda" for scaling local efforts. Among other topics, the session explores finance, maintenance, data and research, drawing upon examples that are successfully scaling impact in other areas.
Chicago Region Trees Initiative
The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is a partnership for coordinated action on key issues facing trees. It is the largest such initiative in the country, with leading organizations and agencies from across the seven-county metropolitan region working together. CRTI leverages funding, knowledge, skills, and expertise to build a healthier, more diverse regional forest.
BiodiverCities by 2030: Transforming Cities’ Relationship with Nature
World Economic Forum
The BiodiverCities by 2030 initiative combines the latest research with practical solutions in the service of sustainable, inclusive and nature-positive urban development. The report, released in January 2022, provides a vision for cities of the future that place nature at the heart of decision-making and infrastructure investments.
BiodiverCities by 2030-Global Commission
World Economic Forum
The BiodiverCities by 2030 initiative combines the latest research with practical solutions in the service of sustainable, inclusive and nature-positive urban development.
Urban Nature-based Solutions Video Series
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
In this video series, the WWF explores a variety of urban nature-based solutions (UNbS) as they are implemented to protect and restore natural systems while benefiting citizens.
CitiesWithNature
CitiesWithNature is an initiative that recognizes and enhances the value of nature in and around cities across the world. It provides a shared platform for cities and their partners to engage and connect, working with a shared commitment toward a more sustainable urban world.
Nature4Cities: Project Implementation Handbook
Nature4Cities
This handbook contains case studies from the Nature4Cities Implementation Model Database on rainwater management, parks and green residential areas, and urban ecological networks. It also includes tools that can be used for the potential use of nature-based solutions (NBS) and the social acceptance of NBS.
Nature-based Solutions Initiative
University of Oxford
Based at the University of Oxford, the Nature-based Solutions Initiative is an interdisciplinary program of research, education, and policy recommendations. Its mission is to enhance understanding of the potential of nature-based solutions to address global challenges and increase their sustainable implementation worldwide.
Policy and Planning Tools for Urban Green Justice
BCNUEJ
This report presents a summary and analysis of tools and policies that fight displacement and gentrification, while also improving accessibility and inclusiveness of green amenities and green spaces in urban contexts. It contains a library of tools and policies used in many different contexts in the Global North (the United States, Canada, and Western Europe) to promote housing stability and affordability while increasing the presence and accessibility of green public space in the urban fabric.
Oppla Repository
Oppla
Oppla is the European Union’s repository of nature-based solutions. It provides an open-platform knowledge marketplace that brings together the latest thinking on natural capital, ecosystem services and nature-based solutions.
Naturvation
NATure-based URban innoVATION
NATure-based URban innoVATION is a project of 14 institutions across Europe that work in the fields of urban development, geography, innovation studies and economics. It seeks to develop an understanding of what nature-based solutions can achieve in cities, and how innovation and communities can be engaged to respond to urban sustainability challenges.
IUCN Global Standards for Nature-based Solutions PDF
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
The Global Standard is a user-friendly framework for the verification, design and scaling up of nature-based solutions (NBS), created by the IUCN. The Standard is intended to be a simple, yet a robust hands-on tool that enables the translation of NBS into targeted actions for implementation, reinforces best practice, addresses and corrects shortfalls, and enables interventions to align with internationally accepted NBS principles.
Network for Engineering with Nature
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
The Network for Engineering with Nature (N-EWN) is an active community of researchers, practitioners, and educators who are addressing the major infrastructure challenges facing our society while creating opportunities that align ecological, social, and engineering processes to achieve multiple societal benefits.
Climate Risks and Opportunities in the Great Lakes PDF
Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc.
This report examines several dimensions of how communities, municipalities, and states in the Great Lakes region can anticipate: the risks posed by climate-change-worsened stormwater events, the vulnerabilities among their populations, and their workforce capacity to execute Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) projects. It also presents ways to strategically finance projects for maximum value and efficiency.
Cook County Urban Greenprint Interactive Map
The Nature Conservancy in Illinois
This interactive map shows urban conservation, high heat, poor air quality, and high flood risk target areas based on EPA and CMAP indexes, the natural and built environment data, population data, and other relevant indicators. The map is useful in determining which areas in Cook County should be targeted for action based on environmental and social factors.
City of Chicago Climate Action Plan
Joining 96 cities around the world, the City of Chicago is updating its Climate Action Plan to reflect the bold action needed to protect and strengthen communities, both locally and globally. The updated climate goals aim to reduce carbon emissions while also increasing household savings, advancing environmental justice, and improving community health.