Nature-rich Towns and Cities

Our ambition is for towns and cities to be places where:

• Everyone regularly experiences, enjoys and derives multiple benefits from everyday contact with nature where they live, play, work or go to school.
• A diverse range of habitats and species are highly connected and integrated into the urban fabric at a range of scales. Green networks provide functional and visible links through and between town and country, enabling people and nature to move easily between the two.
• Multi-functional urban nature-based solutions are the basis of healthy and resilient communities. They enable people and nature to adapt to our changing climate by cooling the urban environment and managing extreme rainfall events. They also support behaviours that enhance nature and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Non-living components of our urban realm such as roads, paths, utilities and buildings are designed in a way that complements and maximises the benefits from the living components.

This online workshop, held jointly with the University of the Highlands and Islands in August 2024, provides advice on how greenspace on public and private estates can be managed in a more nature-positive way. 

 

Find out more:

NatureScot ambition for nature-rich towns and cities board paper