Urban Planning, Nature-Based Solutions and Local Sustainability

The 11th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) summons cities to strive for sustainable development. Cities’ resilience to the damaging effects of climate change must be enhanced. Urban sustainability is primarily the responsibility of local government. Nevertheless, it requires the participation of citizens, be they economic agents, workers, urban planners, or local leaders. Portuguese urban planning law already has legal instruments, namely municipal ecological structures (MES). As in other subjects, the law cannot and should not rule society without involving other areas of knowledge. Naturebased solutions (NBS) are already incorporated into legal planning instruments. Through natural processes, they contribute to counteracting the rise of urban temperatures, preserving public spaces and biodiversity, and promoting energy sustainability, thus, safeguarding public health, fighting harmful social effects such as energetic and social poverty, unemployment, and the breakdown of community ties. However, urban resilience requires networking with other urban centres. The paper will be a description of the state of the art involving three axes: urban planning, NBS, and the contribution of legal instruments to urban sustainability. To achieve this goal, the article will essentially be based on a survey of the literature and examples of NBS implementation.