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Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Urban Planning pp 69–102Cite as

The Environment-Culture-Technology Nexus Framework: An Approach for Assessing the Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions in Brazil

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Part of the Contemporary Urban Design Thinking book series (CUDT)

Abstract

This chapter presents a framework for the identification of challenges, and the planning and implementation of nature-based solutions taking into account the complexities of cities in the developing world, in particular Brazil. It focuses on the interactions between environmental, socio-cultural and technological aspects of the context, both in terms of its challenges and pathways for the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS). In its first part, the chapter presents the definition of the framework. The second part applies it to the case of the Federal District in Brazil. The chapter shows that (1) these aspects are strongly interlinked, supporting the need for the development and application of systemic and integrative planning frameworks; (2) the values of urban nature are contextually driven, hence local knowledge must be employed in order to maximise the benefits of ecosystem services (ES) implementation and minimise potential perceived and tangible disservices; (3) social equity need to frame the spatial distribution of ES arising from NBS and include environmental resilience; (4) revisiting both formal and informal urban morphology patterns can further potentialise the mainstreaming of NBS; (5) the application of NBS developed for formal urban spaces can fall short of applicability in informal contexts, yet informality can be a source of innovation for NBS if considered from within; and finally, (6) that expanding the use of digital technologies and tools for data acquisition, processing, and modeling can enhance local governments’ ability to build better scenarios and improve evidence-based planning. The results can help urban areas in similar contexts face the challenges of implementing NBS in city and regional planning.

Keywords

  • Nature-based solutions
  • Brazil
  • Framework
  • Water
  • Urban planning
  • GIS

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Belcher Report or The Technical Report on the new capital of the Republic was conducted by the Donald J. Belcher and Associates Firm, which was contracted in 1954 through an international bidding process to perform the necessary surveys to define the site of the new capital of Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture and Urban Studies – (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira

  2. Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University of Brasília, Brasilia, Brazil

    Maria do Carmo de Lima Bezerra

  3. Portsmouth School of Architecture, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

    Tarek Teba

  4. Architect and Urban Planner, Brazilian Federal District Secretariat of Territory and Housing Management, Brasilia, Brazil

    Aline da Nóbrega Oliveira

Authors
  1. Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira
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  2. Maria do Carmo de Lima Bezerra
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  3. Tarek Teba
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  4. Aline da Nóbrega Oliveira
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Correspondence to Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana Fausto Curti, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Dr. Israa H. Mahmoud

  2. Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana Fausto Curti, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Eugenio Morello

  3. Department of Architecture and Urban Studies – (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira

  4. Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Davide Geneletti

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Lemes de Oliveira, F., do Carmo de Lima Bezerra, M., Teba, T., Oliveira, A.d.N. (2022). The Environment-Culture-Technology Nexus Framework: An Approach for Assessing the Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions in Brazil. In: Mahmoud, I.H., Morello, E., Lemes de Oliveira, F., Geneletti, D. (eds) Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Urban Planning. Contemporary Urban Design Thinking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89525-9_4

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