“It won’t work here”: Lessons for just nature-based stream restoration in the context of urban informality

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have been advocated for their potential to contribute to the making of sustainable and just cities. However, a growing body of research shows that NBS cannot inherently provide just outcomes and might instead (re)produce environmental injustices. This research explores NBS for stream/river restoration in ‘informal’ areas, showing how riparian margins have become spaces of conflict. It draws lessons from two linear parks integrated into neighbourhood regeneration strategies in São Paulo. Data were collected from household surveys and focus group discussions to examine local populations’ values towards stream restoration. They provide understandings of residents’ perceptions towards multiple health and safety risks and concerns over contested responsibilities, notably revealing that local preferences for stream burial have been shaped by persisting waste dumping issues. An environmental justice lens helps highlight the limited integration of plural social and cultural values into project plans. This further helps draw lessons on ways to address local conflicts and integrate multiple socio-environmental values into NBS planning, with support from policy tools that allow stronger community engagement. Findings also support the identification of justice pathways for NBS in informal settings. The analysis of material and interpretative human-environment relationships provides evidence of opportunities for NBS to be integrated into everyday uses of local space and pre-existing environmental caring practices. For this, communities need to have stronger influence over decisions affecting them. The research thereby demonstrates that NBS will only become a mechanism for ecological recovery with city-wide benefits if marginalised groups are better included in their planning.