Facade-integrated habitat systems for insects in urban areas can complement natural habitats. They offer both protection and nesting opportunities and have the potential to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity to a certain extent. The measure is also efficient with regard to existing buildings, as these are already present in cities. It may also raise awareness of the importance of insects and their equal existence in urban areas. When using such systems, ecological effectiveness, structural effects, and social aspects must be taken into account.
As part of the project, an article has now been written on the social aspects of the perception and evaluation of such habitat systems. It develops and describes a model that integrates several approaches from sociology and social psychology, thus providing as comprehensive a view as possible of this complex topic. Specifically, these are the Norm Activation Model (NAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Value Belief Norm Theory (VBN), and the typology of social relationships with nature developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). In particular, the use of the latter types (namely “living from nature,” “living with nature,” “living in nature,” and “living as nature”) allows for an expansion of the otherwise often narrow economic perspective when it comes to the value of nature and the relationship between humans and nature. The model entitled “Theory-driven model of public acceptance of NbS” (TMA) can serve as a basis for future research in this area and support stakeholders from politics, administration, business, science, and civil society in the implementation of NbS.
The article has been published under an open access license and can be accessed at the following online address:
Ruddat, M. / Sonnberger, M. / Kropp, C. (2026): Modelling public acceptance of nature-based solutions – The example of façade-integrated habitats for insects. Nature-Based Solutions, 9, 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2026.100303.
Background Information
The UrbanInsects project (full title: UrbanInsects: Facade-integrated habitat systems for insects) is funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) as part of the Federal Biological Diversity Program with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). The BfN and the BMUKN are currently funding many other projects in the Federal Biological Diversity Program that implement measures for ecological urban nature.
The funding priority of urban nature in the Federal Biological Diversity Program implements a central measure of the Urban Nature Master Plan, which the German government adopted in 2019 as a program of measures for vibrant and attractive cities. The aim is to increase the proportion of near-natural, species-rich and structurally diverse green and open spaces in urban areas through ecological green space management and to improve the biodiversity-promoting greening of cities and municipalities.
Further information on UrbanInsects can be found on the official project website: https://www.iabp.uni-stuttgart.de/urbi.
| Contact | UrbanInsects Coordination: Daniela Schätzel |
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