Project / Initiative
European Union Projects
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Inactive
CLEARINGHOUSE
Collaborative Learning in Research, Information-sharing and Governance on How Urban forest-based solutions support Sino-European urban futures
Institutions
humboldt
Funding
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of CLEARING HOUSE is to analyse and develop – across China and Europe – the potential of the so-called urban forest-based solutions for enhancing the resilience of cities facing major ecological, socio-economic, and human wellbeing challenges.
Cities are the backbone of cultural, economic and social development. In 2050 about 70% of the global population will live in urban areas. Rapid urban growth combined with economic and industrial development may lead to unfavourable conditions that negatively affect human wellbeing. These impacts are amplified in cities that are affected by specific socio-economic and demographic challenges, for instance ageing populations, immigration, and social and economic segregation (see SDG 11).
CLEARING HOUSE addresses a global challenge arising from these impacts, one that unites European and Chinese cities in their quest to develop more resilient cities and liveable societies: finding pathways for the (cost-)effective restoration of degraded (peri-)urban environments, and the enhancement of ecological connectivity, in order to improve human wellbeing, also referring to public health and social inclusion. CLEARING HOUSE focusses on tree-based green infrastructure, including (peri-)urban forests and forested parks, and trees in public and private spaces. Tree-based green infrastructure is the basis for urban forest-based solutions.
Conclusions
Specifically, CLEARING HOUSE:
• compiles, reviews and connects the existing knowledge on developing, managing and monitoring UFBS, and specifically analyses governance, institutional and economic frameworks, as well as public perceptions and demands, towards UFBS in China and Europe (WP1);
• analyses case studies of UFBS in China and Europe in view of their impacts on urban societies (including aspects of socio-environmental justice and gender), their cost-effectiveness and their replicability in diverse contexts (WP2);
• facilitates a collaborative learning process on UFBS connecting practitioners, businesses, policymakers and scientists from China and Europe to generate and apply new knowledge on UFBS and their implementation, including co-design of research questions (WP3);
• develops – in a transdisciplinary way – decision support tools and guidelines for cost-effectively developing, governing and managing UFBS for enhancing urban resilience and human wellbeing, and derives UFBS-related business and investment cases (WP4);
• increases awareness on the benefits of UFBS and disseminates the developed decision support tools, guideline and business and investment cases within governments, businesses, civil society and academia (WP5).
