Systemic Decision Support Tool for Online Application to Aid NBS Co-creation

Abstract

The world is facing numerous environmental challenges due to global change. These come in the form of air and water pollution, heat islands, floods, sprawl and gentrification issues, which stand as threats to citizen health, predominantly in urbanized areas, where most of the population is concentrated. It is now more than ever necessary to provide relevant information and help decision makers adopt measures for a green transition, which can be achieved by implementing nature-based solutions (NBS). The systemic decision support tool (SDST) and associated NBS simulation visualization tool (NBS-SVT) is a two-part online application that stores and manages technical multi-disciplinary data models concerning urban heat, air quality, flooding, and sprawl, gentrification and real-estate valuation, displaying them in the form of interactive and easy to digest geographical information. The application aims to help co-creation processes and decision making by showing the results of urban simulations with no action compared to NBS implementation across different climate scenarios. The aim of this paper is to present the SDST/NBS-SVT, explain its functioning and structure, as well as its capabilities for use in informed co-creation processes. The SDST/NBS-SVT has already been used in a number of workshops and online sessions, proving its potential as a means to transmit technical information in an easily understandable manner that can reach audiences with any level of technical knowledge.