Nature-based solutions for smarter cities. Bringing cities to life, bringing life into cities

Résumé

Ten years ago, after the global economic and financial crisis the European Commission defined a new strategy for overcoming that stagnant situation and achieving a sustainable future: The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The strategy consists of five headline targets to be achieved by all E.U. member states, targets that were quantified through a number of indicators and that were translated into national targets. In comparison to 1990 levels, today’s figures show that significant progresses have been made. On the other hand, especially for what concerns the objectives related to climate change and not merely to statistical level of greenhouse gas emissions, the path ahead seems significantly long. We assume that these unsatisfactory results depend on a not sufficient effort in the implementations of the following priorities: 1. Smart growth for developing an economy model based on knowledge and innovation; 2. Sustainable growth for promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy; 3. Inclusive growth for fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion.