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.
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.
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.
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.
Calumet Stormwater Collaborative
Calumet Stormwater Collaborative (CSC) is a diverse group of stakeholders working to improve coordination of knowledge, technology and financial resources to minimize the negative impacts of stormwater in the Calumet region. Facilitated by Metropolitan Planning Council, CSC aims to build intergovernmental and cross-sector partnerships to increase the effectiveness of stormwater management initiatives for the communities and ecosystems of the Calumet region through knowledge-sharing, coordination and deployment of interventions at appropriate scales.
Using Green Infrastructure to Enhance Urban Biodiversity in the MMSD Planning Area PDF
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)
Recognizing that its activities to provide water reclamation and flood management services directly impact urban biodiversity, MMSD wrote this plan, with the support of local stakeholders, to help protect and restore native biodiversity within their planning area through the application of green infrastructure.
Healthy Chicago 2025: Closing Our Life Expectancy Gap PDF
City of Chicago Department of Public Health
Chicago’s five-year community health improvement plan focuses on racial and health equity, with an aim to meet the city’s goal of reducing the Black-white life expectancy gap.
Chicago and Calumet Rivers Watershed Council
In 2020, the Chicago-Calumet River Watershed Council (Watershed Council) established a forum to expand collaborative watershed-based stormwater management using multi-benefit nature-based solutions. The 16-member Watershed Council’s approach is to maximize multiple ecological, social, and climate resiliency objectives across jurisdictional boundaries.