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IMECOGIP 3 – Implementing the ecosystem services concept in green infrastructure planning to strengthen the resilience of the Ruhr metropolitan area and Chinese megacities
Client:Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) (funding measure ‘Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Land Use’)
Partner(s):Ruhr University Bochum/Department of Geography; Tongji University (Shanghai); Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing) (CN)
Time frame:07/2025 – 07/2027

The promotion of green infrastructure is a key instrument for sustainable urban development. As a provider of diverse ecosystem services – such as cooling and air purification through street trees, recreation in parks, habitats for biodiversity in forests and water bodies, or climate benefits through green roofs and façades – it makes a decisive contribution to quality of life in cities. Beyond its direct impact on the urban climate, it strengthens biodiversity, fosters social interaction, and has positive effects on public health.

Green infrastructure can be closely linked to nature-based solutions for climate adaptation – both in Germany and in China. This is where our work with the “EnhancES” toolbox comes in: within the IMECOGIP project, methodological gaps in the assessment and evaluation of ecosystem services have been systematically addressed. EnhancES now provides a practical set of tools that enables municipal and regional actors to transform strategic capacities into concrete action-oriented knowledge.
The implementation phase focuses on transferring knowledge into planning practice – always taking into account the specific governance arrangements in both Germany and China. While initial pilot applications have already been carried out successfully in Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, and Shanghai, the methodology will also be transferred to additional cities such as Qingdao.

A crucial success factor for this transfer is close collaboration with local administrations, consulting institutions, and practice-oriented stakeholders. This involves questioning traditional routines, fostering new ways of thinking, and actively supporting practitioners. In parallel, we are building a Community of Practice to encourage knowledge exchange and establish long-term structures for integrating EnhancES into local planning.

Thanks to our strong network of dedicated partners from research, administration, and practice – who contribute their own resources such as staff and infrastructure – we are able to tailor EnhancES to the most relevant application domains and sustainably integrate it into planning workflows.

This project is carried out by ILS Research gGmbH.

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