Nature-Based Climate Solutions in European Schools: A Pioneering Co-designed Strategy Towards Urban Resilience

As cities around the world are increasingly facing the impacts of climate change, a growing number of municipalities are leading collaborative projects to adapt schools to rising temperatures. The implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) is highlighted as an important component to be included in these initiatives given their multifunctional and cost-effective character. However, the challenges and upscaling opportunities of these pioneering projects are still not well understood nor systematically studied on a comparative basis. This study explores and compares three European pilot nature-based projects aiming to make schools more resilient to climate change impacts while creating other co-benefits for children and the wider local community. These projects are Oasis (Paris), Climate Shelters (Barcelona) and Care in School Environments (Madrid). Building on a framework for assessing the co-benefits of urban NBS, the comparative analysis explores the selection criteria of schools and their equity implications, the multifunctional role of NBS beyond climate adaptation, the main aspects and challenges related to the co-design process and the subsequent project implementation and the potential for upscaling at the city level. Based on this exploration, we contend that nature-based climate adaptation projects in schools can be a spearhead for a wider community-based strategy towards urban resilience.