Check out the episode:

You can find the shownotes through this link.

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Are you interested in transitioning cities to be nature positive?

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Our summary today works with the report titled Nature Positive: Guidelines for the transition in cities from 2024, by Javier García Olivares, Cristina Gómez Garcia-Reyes and Nicole Merlo as lead authors, published on the World Economic Forum website.

This is a great preparation to our next interview with Gilbert Rochecouste in episode 312 talking about the need for nature positive approaches and financing.

Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see the urban economic risks from biodiversity loss. This report introduces guidelines for cities to become nature positive and taking definitive and positive actions while carefully monitoring progress.

[intro music]

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Welcome to today’s What is The Future For Cities podcast and its Research episode; my name is Fanni, and today we will introduce a research by summarising it. The episode really is just a short summary of the original investigation, and, in case it is interesting enough, I would encourage everyone to check out the whole documentation. This conversation was produced and generated with Notebook LM as two hosts dissecting the whole research.

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Speaker 1: It’s all about what it means for cities to become nature positive. We’re going to be looking at this 2024 World Economic Forum report. It’s called Nature Positive Guidelines for the Transition in Cities.

Speaker 2: Catchy title.

Speaker 1: It’s a really interesting report about how cities are rapidly growing, impacting nature in the process, but there’s a movement to change all that.

Speaker 2: So

Speaker 1: that’s what we’re here to explore.

Speaker 2: What’s really cool about this whole thing is that it goes beyond just reducing harm. Like, it’s not enough to just say, okay, we’ll do a little less damage. It’s really about actively restoring and regenerating those ecosystems.

Speaker 1: Uh, so it’s not just like sticking a couple trees in the sidewalks.

Speaker 2: Exactly. This report is all about bringing back those ecosystems, like the whole system. And they’re not messing around. It needs to be really concrete. It has to be like science based targets, not just, oh yeah, we promised to do better, kind of thing.

Speaker 1: Now, one thing that really stuck out to me in this report, it was kind of alarming, but they said 44 percent of global GDP in cities, which is, get this, a ridiculous 31

Speaker 2: trillion

Speaker 1: is at risk because of biodiversity loss.

Speaker 2: That’s a lot of money.

Speaker 1: What does that even mean for regular people? Like, what’s the actual impact?

Speaker 2: Okay, so imagine your morning coffee. It suddenly becomes super expensive, because all the pollinators are disappearing.

Speaker 1: Oh, no. Or,

Speaker 2: like, coastal cities are constantly flooding, because the wetlands are just gone.

Speaker 1: It’s not just a far off problem. Exactly. This is going to impact our daily lives. Yeah,

Speaker 2: it’s going to mess with supply chains, everything’s going to get more expensive because of natural disasters, and anything that relies on nature, like tourism.

Speaker 1: Yeah, forget going to the beach.

Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. So it’s

Speaker 1: not just about saving the butterflies and the bees, it’s about us, our own well being.

Speaker 2: Your wallets.

Speaker 1: Exactly. So the report, it visually shows the impact of cities on four nature realms, they call them.

Speaker 2: Okay, on this.

Speaker 1: Atmosphere, land, freshwater, and oceans. Makes sense. And they’re all connected. For example, the report says that air pollution in cities. Yeah. Is seven times higher than what the World Health Organization recommends?

Speaker 2: Seven times. That’s nuts. I

Speaker 1: know. It’s insane. Crazy. And on top of that, they say that urban spraw has led to 80 percent of

Speaker 2: natural

Speaker 1: habitats just disappearing in some areas.

Speaker 2: That’s a lot of lost habitat. Yeah, it is. Think about a river or a lake near you. How has it changed over time? This report really gets into how those freshwater ecosystems They’re so vulnerable to all the stuff that comes with urbanization, all the pollution, the habitat loss, it all affects water quality, all the things we can do in the water, even the local businesses around those areas.

Speaker 1: Yeah, so it’s a real problem.

Speaker 2: Real problem.

Speaker 1: And it’s affecting all of us. But the report, it doesn’t just like dwell on the negative, right?

Speaker 2: No, not at all.

Speaker 1: It actually offers solutions for cities to become nature positive.

Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely. They have a whole approach laid out, like a clear step by step thing. Okay. Three main steps. Commit, strategize, and implement.

Speaker 1: Okay, so they need to like, commit to the idea.

Speaker 2: Yes. It’s not just talk, it’s action time.

Speaker 1: So let’s talk about those actions.

Speaker 2: Yeah, let’s get into it.

Speaker 1: What are some cities already doing

Speaker 2: this? Oh yeah, there’s some really cool examples in the report.

Speaker 1: Okay, I’m ready.

Speaker 2: Have you heard about what they’re doing in Milan?

Speaker 1: No, tell me.

Speaker 2: They’re creating these Forestmi. Forestmi.

Speaker 1: Yeah,

Speaker 2: they’re like these little mini forests all throughout the city.

Speaker 1: Oh wow.

Speaker 2: So cool.

Speaker 1: Little pockets of nature.

Speaker 2: Exactly, imagine that, right in the city.

Speaker 1: Yeah, that sounds amazing.

Speaker 2: And they’re not just pretty to look at. These green spaces are helping to clean the air. They cut down on the noise pollution.

Speaker 1: That’s amazing.

Speaker 2: And they manage all that stormwater runoff, which is huge with climate change.

Speaker 1: Yeah,

Speaker 2: true. All that crazy rain.

Speaker 1: Cities aren’t really built for that.

Speaker 2: Nope, not at all. So it’s a win. No win. Nature

Speaker 1: gets a boost and the people get a better city.

Speaker 2: Exactly. Oh, and speaking of cool things. Yeah. You got to hear about what Singapore is doing. They’re using all this high tech stuff to become nature positive. Like sensors and data analytics. They’re monitoring the health of the ecosystem.

Speaker 1: Oh, wow.

Speaker 2: And then they can make changes in real time.

Speaker 1: So it’s like a smart ecosystem.

Speaker 2: Totally. It’s like they’re giving the city a brain boost for nature.

Speaker 1: Okay, so they can adjust watering and things like that?

Speaker 2: Yeah, things like irrigation and even pest control.

Speaker 1: Oh, cool. Very efficient.

Speaker 2: It’s all about efficiency, right? Using resources wisely, making sure they’re having the smallest impact possible.

Speaker 1: That’s really cool.

Speaker 2: Technology and nature working together. I

Speaker 1: like it.

Speaker 2: All right, you ready for one more?

Speaker 1: Yeah, let’s do it.

Speaker 2: This one is out of Medellin, Colombia.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Speaker 2: And they’re taking on the urban heat island effect.

Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. You know

Speaker 2: how cities get so much hotter than the areas around them?

Speaker 1: Yeah, all that concrete.

Speaker 2: Exactly. Like

Speaker 1: a heat trap.

Speaker 2: Yeah, it’s like a giant oven. Sometimes,

Speaker 1: yeah, especially in the summer.

Speaker 2: Oh, for sure.

Speaker 1: It can be brutal.

Speaker 2: So what they’re doing is creating these green corridors,

Speaker 1: green corridors. Okay.

Speaker 2: Yeah. They’re like these ribbons of parks and green spaces all woven through the city.

Speaker 1: So they’re breaking up the concrete.

Speaker 2: Exactly.

Speaker 1: Bringing in some nature.

Speaker 2: Yeah. It’s like a natural air conditioner for the city.

Speaker 1: I love that. And as temperatures rise, we’re going to need that more and more

Speaker 2: big time. And

Speaker 1: it’s not just about the temperature either. Right? No,

Speaker 2: not at all. It

Speaker 1: makes the city. More walkable.

Speaker 2: Totally. More bikeable, too.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And it’s just nicer to be in

Speaker 2: Way more enjoyable.

Speaker 1: All those examples. Yeah. Feels like things are really starting to shift.

Speaker 2: Definitely.

Speaker 1: Like cities are starting to understand that they can be good for nature.

Speaker 2: Yeah. It’s not just about damage control anymore.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Exactly. The report

Speaker 2: really shows how cities can actually help nature thrive.

Speaker 1: Yeah. It’s a really cool change in thinking.

Speaker 2: It’s not just on the city governments, either. Everyone needs to get involved.

Speaker 1: Businesses.

Speaker 2: Businesses, residents. People

Speaker 1: just walking down the street.

Speaker 2: We all have a role to play.

Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. We

Speaker 2: can’t just sit back and wait for someone else to fix it.

Speaker 1: So what can we do?

Speaker 2: That’s the question, right? What can regular people do?

Speaker 1: The report mentions something called an enabling environment, right?

Speaker 2: Yeah, they talk about that. What

Speaker 1: does that even mean?

Speaker 2: It sounds technical. Yeah. But it’s really just the foundation for all these nature positive things to actually happen. So imagine a city where every new building has to have a green roof, or businesses get tax breaks for using recycled materials.

Speaker 1: Oh, that’s smart.

Speaker 2: It’s about creating those policies that actually make sustainability make sense.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Make

Speaker 2: it easier to invest in these. Nature based solutions, and then share all the data so we can see what’s working and what’s not.

Speaker 1: So everyone’s on the same page, and we can learn from each other.

Speaker 2: Yeah, and that’s where everyday people come in. You can push for better environmental policies, support businesses that are doing the right thing, even just volunteer at a park. All those things add up.

Speaker 1: It’s like we’re all part of building that enabling environment.

Speaker 2: Exactly. It’s not just on the experts. It’s all of us.

Speaker 1: I’m really liking this whole idea. It’s empowering.

Speaker 2: It is.

Speaker 1: It’s like we’re not just stuck with these problems.

Speaker 2: Nope. We can actually do something.

Speaker 1: We can actually shape the future of our cities. We can

Speaker 2: make them better for everyone.

Speaker 1: Love that.

Speaker 2: And the report, it’s not just theory. Yeah. They show all these real examples of cities making it happen.

Speaker 1: That’s so inspiring.

Speaker 2: It really is.

Speaker 1: Yeah, I

Speaker 2: want to leave you with a question. Okay. Imagine your city had unlimited resources.

Speaker 1: Okay, money’s no object.

Speaker 2: And they were all dedicated to making your city nature positive.

Speaker 1: Okay, I like where this is going.

Speaker 2: What would you do?

Speaker 1: Oh, that’s a good question.

Speaker 2: What would your dream nature positive city look like?

Speaker 1: Wow, that’s something to think about.

Speaker 2: Yeah, it’s about dreaming big. It is. And realizing that it all starts with us.

Speaker 1: That’s a great point.

Speaker 2: We’re not powerless in this, we can make a difference. I love that.

Speaker 1: And even small actions add up.

[music]

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