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Revaluing nature as urban infrastructure.

Revaluing nature as urban infrastructure.

Video: By our partners: Phil Wilkes and Mat Disney, UCL Geography and NERC National Centre for Earth Observation.

Trees can provide multiple benefits

Improving air quality

Removing pollutants from the air

Reducing heat island effects

Reducing summer temperatures by 5 degrees

Reducing flooding

Absorbing rainwater

Trees can support existing urban infrastructures

Health services

Alleviating acute and chronic respiratory issues

Energy services

Reducing the need for air conditioning in surrounding buildings

Waste water services

Providing carbon-positive alternatives to sewerage facilities

We’re creating the required infrastructure to help cities and local communities secure funding for urban trees and green spaces.

Supported by

EIT Climate-KIC
NatureScot
Morgan Stanley
World Economic Forum
Google.org
Stuttgart Innovations Fonds
The Nature Conservancy
Woodland Trust
EU Commission
Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
Glasgow City Council
Madrid City Council
Stuttgart City Council
VAIV
IBM
Lucidminds
Evergreen
Politics for Tomorrow

Our services

Data
Services

Management
Services

Citizen-centred
Design Services

Data Services

Using existing data to create actionable insights; allowing cities to prioritise and implement Nature-based Solutions (NbS)


Spatial Analysis

Understanding a location's potential for harnessing Nature-Based Solutions as a means of climate adaptation and mitigation.


Baseline and Scenario Valuation

Assessing the cost and benefits of green infrastructure projects; enabling informed decision-making about adaptation strategies.


Innovative Interfaces

Platforms or systems designed to facilitate interaction between stakeholders, increasing participation in urban forestry.


Impact Modelling 

Working with Lucidminds, we’re exploring implementing their Green Unified Scenarios (GUS) model to predict the impact of proposed changes.

Project example: Seoul, South Korea; Ongoing project: Stuttgart, Germany

Management Services

Supporting urban actors in crafting a portfolio of Nature-Based Solutions (NbS); exploring innovative and collective financing strategies, that help greener cities become a reality


Crafting a City-Wide NbS Database

Compiling a comprehensive list of projects, creating a one-stop database for all Nature-Based Solutions.


Evaluating and Scoring Projects 

Based on our spatial analysis methodology.


Developing fit-for-purpose financial instruments

With Dark Matter Capital Systems, we’re exploring tree canopy funds and whole-city transition portfolios that allow trees to become an investable asset class.


Connecting cities with Opportunities

With DmCS, we link cities to opportunities and funding for projects.

Project example: Glasgow, Scotland; Ongoing project: Nature-Demo

Citizen-centred Design Services

The success of a city’s Nature-based Solutions (NbS) depends on the people and communities making and implementing decisions


Metric and indicator design

Creating comprehensive measures that reflect both the city's overall health and the well-being of its inhabitants.


People-centred, data-enabled process design 

Prioritising the needs and input of individuals, leveraging data; aiming to improve the relationship between people and urban nature.


Recognising and rewarding civic stewardship

Promoting sustainable activities such as watering trees, or detecting diseases.

Right now, we are working on:

TreesAI Stuttgart

We’re implementing our Location-Based Scoring tool to support the municipality in the prioritisation of urban Nature-based Solutions.

Partners: City of Stuttgart, The Nature Conservancy and Lucidminds

TreesAI Seoul

We’re developing a data framework to assess the climate risks of heat island effect and running various canopy scenarios to assess the potential cooling effect of trees as a climate adaptation and mitigation strategy.

Partners: VAIV and Lucidminds

TreesAI Glasgow

We’re quantifying the capacity of Glasgow’s existing tree stocks to mitigate against flooding. We’re working with project developers and outcome buyers to justify and fund a portfolio of nature-based solutions.

Partners: Clyde Climate Forest, Glasgow City Council, FloodRe, Nationwide, Scottish Water, Scottish Flood Forum and SEPA

Nature Demo

As part of the Horizon 2020, we’re supporting the 20-partner consortium with expertise on green financing and innovative governance.

UR-Breath, Madrid

We’re developing design guideline and processes for the nature-positive regeneration of Villaverde, Madrid.

Partner: City of Madrid

Equitable Urban Forestry, UK

We’ve developed a framework and a database to assist local authorities and project developers in the long-term implementation of data-enabled urban forests, which prioritise often-marginalised communities.

Partner: Urban Forest Accelerator

Resources

Contact us

treesai@darkmatterlabs.org

Ready to turn over a new leaf in urban nature financing? Get in touch to grow a greener future together.

Want to understand how we develop co-investment strategies for Nature-based Solutions?