The Role of Multipurpose NbS Interventions in Increasing the Circularity of Cities

Climate change affects all nations and requires increasing awareness about sustainability and circularity. A vast percentage of the population lives in urban areas, about 75% in Europe. There are plenty of aspects in cities toward sustainability, including environmental, social, human, economic, and ecological. In addition, there are numerous kinds of nature-based solutions (NbS), such as green infrastructures, natural treatment and recovery, rainwater management, and increases in green spaces. However, using several NbS, such as green roofs, renewable energy, or urban farming in one building is not possible simply due to the limit of the roof area. Therefore, to consider as many aspects as possible simultaneously, one way could be multidisciplinary NbS interventions. In this regard, this study aims to analyze multipurpose NbS interventions to maximize sustainable systems and increase the circularity of cities. Therefore, the possibility of mixing green roofs and solar panels, urban farming using gray water and atmosphere water harvesting, multipurpose plants for green spaces for landscape and animal food and biofuel, and similar techniques and innovative methods have been investigated. Moreover, the advantages of the selected multipurpose NbS interventions are presented. The outcomes show the role of the purpose techniques in increasing the efficiency, sustainability, acceptance rate by customers, and circularity level of the city.