Nature-Based Solutions in Cities - Promise, Politics, and the Challenge of Scale and Equity
Dr. Kalpana Venkatasubramanian, UofL professor of Geographic and Environmental Sciences, will be sharing how Nature-based solutions (NbS) have emerged as a prominent approach to addressing urban climate risks, ecological degradation, and social well-being.
Framed as multi-functional, cost-effective, and participatory, NbS promise to integrate environmental, social, and economic goals within urban planning.
However, the concept remains contested.
In this talk Kalpana will focus on three key tensions: conceptual ambiguity, the challenge of scaling localized interventions to address systemic urban problems, and persistent inequities in participation and benefit distribution.
Kalpana will ground these debates in a case study of Alberta O. Jones Park in Louisville, arguing that equity must remain central as NbS efforts expand.
Sponsored by UofL's Department of Geographic and Environmental Sciences.
