Nature-based solutions & planning
Green Infrastructure
A strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services while enhancing biodiversity.
Definition
Green infrastructure is a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas with other environmental features, designed and managed to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services — such as water purification, air quality, recreation, and climate mitigation and adaptation — while also enhancing biodiversity. The network of green (land) and blue (water) spaces, with the Natura 2000 network as its EU backbone, improves environmental quality, connectivity, and citizens' health.
References
definition and rationale
Overview
What it means
Green infrastructure treats ecosystems as infrastructure: floodplains as flood defences, wetlands as water treatment, urban trees as cooling systems — often at a fraction of the cost of engineered alternatives, and multifunctional where grey infrastructure is single-purpose. It is a planning discipline, not just a collection of green assets.
How it is used
Cities and regions map and invest in green infrastructure networks; planners combine it with grey infrastructure in stormwater and climate adaptation strategies; and the EU promotes it as a core biodiversity-strategy tool.
Why it matters
It is the planning frame that turns nature-based solutions from projects into systems, and the natural counterpart to the built networks societies already plan.
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