A SETS approach to urban nature-based solutions

McPhearson, Timon

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Timon McPhearson, Urban Systems Lab, The New School, New York, NY, Elizabeth Cook, Barnard College, New York, NY, Nancy Grimm, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ and Chingwen Cheng, The Design School, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

We highlight how a social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) approach to ecosystem services (ES) explicitly improves the integration of ES in decision making through concepts of 1) multi-functional ES and the resulting synergies and tradeoffs, 2) substitutability and valuation of diverse services, 3) the importance of scale in the delivery and management of ES, and 4) normative dimensions. We discuss how cities can leverage the interaction of social, ecological and technological components to maximize ES benefits and advance social equity, urban resilience and sustainability goals.

INS 7 Abstract - A SETS approach to urban nature-based solutions