1. The Natural Capital City – a blueprint for the future? Ecobuild 2014 The Natural Capital City Tool (NCCT) Oliver Hölzinger Consultancy for Environmental Economics & Policy/ School for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham

2. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background  The UK has the fastest population growth in Europe and is projected to grow by almost 10 million within the next 20 years.

3. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background  The UK has the fastest population growth in Europe and is projected to grow by almost 10 million within the next 20 years.  Birmingham’s population is projected to grow by about 20% until 2030.

4. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background  The UK has the fastest population growth in Europe and is projected to grow by almost 10 million within the next 20 years.  Birmingham’s population is projected to grow by about 20% until 2030.  This puts significant additional pressure on green infrastructure and the ecosystem services it performs. At the same time the demand for ecosystem services increases because more people ‘use’ and benefit from them.

5. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background “The Government expects the planning system to deliver the homes, business, infrastructure and thriving local places that the country needs, while protecting and enhancing the natural and historic environment. Planning has a key role in securing a sustainable future. However, the current system […] is failing to achieve the kind of integrated and informed decision-making that is needed to support sustainable land use.” Natural Environment White Paper, 2011

6. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background “The Government expects the planning system to deliver the homes, business, infrastructure and thriving local places that the country needs, while protecting and enhancing the natural and historic environment. Planning has a key role in securing a sustainable future. However, the current system […] is failing to achieve the kind of integrated and informed decision-making that is needed to support sustainable land use.” Natural Environment White Paper, 2011 “The planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by […] recognising the wider benefits of ecosystem services.” National Planning Policy Framework, 2012

7. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background The NCCT is part of a series of assessments… City level: Ecosystem Services Evaluation for Birmingham's Green Infrastructure

8. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background The NCCT is part of a series of assessments… City level: Ecosystem Services Evaluation for Birmingham's Green Infrastructure Constituency level:Multiple Challenge Map for Birmingham - Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand Maps

9. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Background The NCCT is part of a series of assessments… City level: Ecosystem Services Evaluation for Birmingham's Green Infrastructure Constituency level:Multiple Challenge Map for Birmingham - Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand Maps Site/project level:Natural Capital City Cool (NCCT)

10. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Main Aims of the NCCT  To assess the long-term impacts of new/proposed developments and plans on ecosystem services and human wellbeing,

11. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Main Aims of the NCCT  To assess the long-term impacts of new/proposed developments and plans on ecosystem services and human wellbeing,  To identify negative impacts on ecosystem services and options (design- strategies) that can mitigate/compensate for such undesired impacts, and

12. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Main Aims of the NCCT  To assess the long-term impacts of new/proposed developments and plans on ecosystem services and human wellbeing,  To identify negative impacts on ecosystem services and options (design- strategies) that can mitigate/compensate for such undesired impacts, and  To aggregate the impact across all assessed ecosystem services with a final (positive or negative) score.

13. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Main Aims of the NCCT  To assess the long-term impacts of new/proposed developments and plans on ecosystem services and human wellbeing,  To identify negative impacts on ecosystem services and options (design- strategies) that can mitigate/compensate for such undesired impacts, and  To aggregate the impact across all assessed ecosystem services with a final (positive or negative) score.  Moving away from a tick-box exercise to integrated and informed decision-making with the main aim to ensure that new developments have a net positive impact on the provision of ecosystem services.

14. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Assessed ecosystem services The tool assesses the impact of new developments on 10 ecosystem services: Food, timber and other harvested products Biodiversity Aesthetic values & sense of place Recreation Water Flood risk Air quality Local climate (climate change adaptation) Global climate (climate change mitigation) Soil quality

15. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services

16. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service

17. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service Defining a ‘relative weighting score’ to compare the impact across ecosystem services

18. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service Defining a ‘relative weighting score’ to compare the impact across ecosystem services Calculation of an ‘impact value’ for the development

19. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service Defining a ‘relative weighting score’ to compare the impact across ecosystem services Calculation of an ‘impact value’ for the development Proceed with development

20. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service Defining a ‘relative weighting score’ to compare the impact across ecosystem services Calculation of an ‘impact value’ for the development Identification and assessment of ‘design-strategies’ to improve the impact on ecosystem services

21. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service Defining a ‘relative weighting score’ to compare the impact across ecosystem services Calculation of an ‘impact value’ for the development Identification and assessment of ‘design-strategies’ to improve the impact on ecosystem services Re-design and re-assessment

22. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 How the NCCT works Identification and assessment of feasible indicators for each ecosystem services Defining an ‘impact magnitude score’ for each ecosystem service Defining a ‘relative weighting score’ to compare the impact across ecosystem services Calculation of an ‘impact value’ for the development Identification and assessment of ‘design-strategies’ to improve the impact on ecosystem services Re-design and re-assessment Proceed with development

23. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Progress and the way ahead…  The NCCT is in a ready-to-use BETA version including a step-by-step guidance  The NCCT has been endorsed by the Birmingham & Black Country LNP

24. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Progress and the way ahead…  The NCCT is in a ready-to-use BETA version including a step-by-step guidance  The NCCT has been endorsed by the Birmingham & Black Country LNP  We identified a range of opportunities to further improve the tool. We’re searching for funding to develop a NCCT+ which automatically calculates scores and values based on pre-defined indicators

25. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Progress and the way ahead…  The NCCT is in a ready-to-use BETA version including a step-by-step guidance  The NCCT has been endorsed by the Birmingham & Black Country LNP  We identified a range of opportunities to further improve the tool. We’re searching for funding to develop a NCCT+ which automatically calculates scores and values based on pre-defined indicators  Skanska is testing the NCCT at Bentley Works' Deep Green Development (see next presentation)  We’re also testing the NCCT at a Sustainable Urban Extension on Birmingham’s Green Belt

26. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Case Study: Langley Sustainable Urban Extension Population growth and limited space necessaries the development of 6,000 new homes on Birmingham’s Green Belt. Birmingham City Council is testing the NCCT at the Master Plan scale.

27. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Case Study: Langley Sustainable Urban Extension The actual land-use is mainly agriculture It is planned to create for example a green corridor and sustainable travel routes as part of the development.

28. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Case Study: Langley Sustainable Urban Extension The actual land-use is mainly agriculture It is planned to create for example a green corridor and sustainable travel routes as part of the development. The application of the NCCT along the planning process will assess the impacts on ecosystem services It is aimed to adjust the design based on the tool outcomes

29. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Case Study: Langley Sustainable Urban Extension The actual land-use is mainly agriculture It is planned to create a green corridor, a country park and sustainable travel routes as part of the development. The application of the NCCT along the planning process will assess the impacts on ecosystem services It is aimed to adjust the design based on the tool outcomes The case study outcomes will also inform a NCCT+

30. The Natural Capital City Tool Ecobuild 2014 Many thanks for your attention! Oliver Hölzinger oliver.h@ceep-online.co.uk