Making small cities less dependent of subsidies: an integrated assessment of urban green infrastructure to support the development of functional business models.

We live in a world where the impacts of climate change become more recognizable every year. Cities are the most vulnerable areas to these impacts while harboring 80% of all people in Europe. Through the high rate of urbanization, cities get denser and wider, which has the opposite effect on green space and nature. Nevertheless, humans depend for their survival on the services nature provides us. Paradoxically, the areas where 80% of us live, produce close to zero of these ecosystem services. In a response to climate change, human health needs and diminishing biodiversity, the concept of urban green infrastructure was introduced. Investing in permeable surfaces, green roofs, public parks, green walls, urban forests, green alleys and streets, community gardens, urban wetlands, etc. cities will lead to the necessary resilience, improved human wellbeing and at the same time enhanced biodiversity. Nevertheless, we see that cities (small cities in particular) are not inclined to invest in such projects, unless provided subsidies. Since the actual economic value and precise environmental benefit of green infrastructure is not measured, 'grey' infrastructure projects with a clear return-on-investment are still preferred. To overcome this barrier to green infrastructure implementation, we will generate an integrated framework that supports cities to city-fund such investments, without subsidies. Comprising clear multidisciplinary valuation methods, financing schemes and policy advice.

Keywords:CLIMATE ADAPTATION, URBAN SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE CHANGE

Disciplines:Ecosystem services, Environmental management, Landscape ecology