The CLEVER Cities project uses nature-based solutions to address urban challenges and promote social inclusion in cities across Europe, South America and China. Together, local governments, civil society, universities and businesses design, test and implement CLEVER Cities packages for urban planning processes in the cities of Hamburg (Germany), London (United Kingdom) and Milan (Italy).

The cities of Sfantu Gheorghe (Romania), Quito (Ecuador), Madrid (Spain), Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece) and Malmo (Sweden) replicate and tailor the nature-based solutions to their local needs with the help of roadmaps, guidance on governance, business and financial models, co-created by the CLEVER Cities team.

With three quarters of the European Union’s population living in cities, and deprived areas of those cities often lacking in quality green spaces, CLEVER Cities intends to position nature-based solutions as a means to improving public health, social cohesion, citizen security and increasing economic opportunities in those areas. Nature-based solutions (NBS) means planning and designing natural features, such as trees, plants and green spaces, in a way that can help address urban challenges.

The CLEVER Action Labs are the specific areas of these cities where the nature-based solutions will be implemented. Their citizens are key since they are the experts of their areas; project partners will work together with the local citizens, using both digital means and face-to-face settings, from the design phase through to implementation and monitoring, in a process of co-creation.

CLEVER Cities learning platforms and training opportunities enable cities and project partners to share best practice, discuss challenges and gain in-depth knowledge from thematic experts.

CLEVER Cities aim to:

• increase and improve local knowledge of nature-based solutions,
• demonstrate that greener cities work better for people and communities,
• contribute data and information to EU policy-making, and ultimately
• promote and enable the uptake of nature-based solutions in urban planning world-wide.