Beyond Anthropocentrism: Reorienting Urban Governance for Nature-Based Solutions in Post-Industrial Cities

The contemporary challenge of climate change adaptation highlights the pivotal role of local governance in steering socio-ecological transformation. Cities increasingly function as dynamic “experimental laboratories” (Urban Living Labs — ULLs), where Nature-Based Solutions (NbS)—integrated eco-social interventions inspired by natural processes—are deployed to strengthen environmental sustainability, social cohesion, and resilience. Ranging from urban gardening and green walls to aquaponics and pollinator-friendly initiatives, NbS depend on collaborative governance arrangements—often conceptualised as the “quadruple helix”—through which public administrations, research institutions, private organisations, and civil society engage in iterative dialogue and knowledge co-production. This collaborative process serves to refine interventions and adapt them to the community’s specific climate-related needs. Nevertheless, the transition of NbS from experimental ULL settings into effective, long-term urban policies remains a substantial challenge for municipal governments across Europe. Many initiatives stagnate or fail due to persistent administrative, political, and economic obstacles rooted in entrenched anthropocentric planning paradigms. As a result, the considerable environmental and social value potential of NbS is frequently lost within traditional urban policy frameworks. This paper addresses this issue through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates policy analysis with insights from vegetal geography to examine the challenges surrounding the implementation and institutionalisation of NbS. The analysis focuses on the empirical case of the proGIreg ULL in Turin, an emblematic post-industrial European city committed to climate action and urban regeneration. Drawing on desk research of official documents and deliverables, as well as semi-structured interviews and focus groups with the main actors of the ULL, the study reconstructs the implementation pathway of seven NbS in the peripheral district of Mirafiori Sud, illustrating the complexities associated with scaling up green interventions, ensuring long-term maintenance, and achieving community acceptance in a marginalised post-industrial context. The paper advances the argument that democratic renewal and policy reform in the face of socio-ecological crises require a radical reorientation of governance capable of overcoming its underlying anthropocentrism. Drawing on the empirical findings, it proposes a shift in which nature—specifically vegetal species—is elevated from the status of a passive policy object to that of an active subject or actor within co-decisional processes. This conceptual reframing, often articulated as the incorporation of a “fifth helix” (the non-human environment), enables local administrations to address chronic managerial shortcomings such as green-wasting and inadequate maintenance. By acknowledging the agency and interests of non-human entities, urban administrations can better secure a long-term perspective for NbS and enhance the ethical and managerial robustness of green policies. The paper concludes by offering specific policy recommendations for municipal authorities, outlining the operational pathways and institutional arrangements necessary to integrate the interests and “voices” of vegetal species into urban planning processes. In doing so, it advances current debates on deliberative democracy and collaborative governance from an eco-social perspective.