The online conference "Shaping urban nature – now!" took place on 7 March 2024 and discussed opportunities around increasing and improving urban nature. In addition to the opportunities offered by urban development funding, the focus was on Urban Greening Plans as ambitious strategies for greener cities. The event took place as part of the research project "BioVibeS – Considering Biodiversity in Urban Development" and welcomed over 140 participants. The symposium was organized by the Hochschule Geisenheim and Ecologic Institute Berlin and funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). McKenna Davis, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute and Coordinator for Nature-Based Solutions, and Prof. Dr. Rieke Hansen, Professor of Open Space Planning and Ecological Urban Development at Hochschule Geisenheim, jointly moderated the event.

The consequences of climate change and the loss of biodiversity require rapid action - including from cities and municipalities. Suitable measures are known, but they must be implemented more widely and adequately maintained. The event consisted of three blocks, in which the speakers provided insights from a municipal perspective, from a research perspective and from the perspective of professional associations. The topic areas included:

• Strategic approaches on how biodiversity can be actively promoted as part of urban development funding and which fields of action are open to municipalities
• Planning strategies to promote urban nature, in particular the concept of Urban Greening Plans to implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030
• Current perspectives from research and the question of how transdisciplinary cooperation can support the development of urban nature

Finally, McKenna Davis moderated a panel discussion on barriers to and leverage points for creating and maintaining more urban nature. The panel concluded with a joint appeal for more courage to break new ground in municipal practices and to create win-win situations together with stakeholders.

The guideline "Stadtnaturplan- Lebensqualität, Klima und biologische Vielfalt zusammendenken" and further results of the "BioVibeS" project will be published later this year.