Nature Smart Cities Business Model
The Nature Smart City Project is an EU Interreg 2 Seas project. Southend has played a key role as lead partner in the project.
Over the last three years, Southend City Council has worked with partners to develop a tool. The tool helps local authorities (LA) make informed decisions about green infrastructure (GI) projects.
The Nature Smart Cities Business Model has now been launched. It stands out from other tools that LA’s currently use as it has the ability to compare different GI options.
Climate resilience is maximised in through the tool as many different factors are included, such as:
- Biodiversity
- Flood management
- Air quality
- Recreation
LA staff from the partner regions and beyond have been involved. They assisted development of this tool from conception to validation. In total, over 130 LA’s have been involved in the model. Southend’s Launchpad Innovation Centre at the Airport Business Park was one of seven GI pilot projects.
All partners have committed to use the Business Model on future projects. This adds value to the business case for increased climate resilience through GI.