SPHERE (Service Platform to Host and sharE REsidential data) is a 4-year Horizon 2020 EU-funded project, carried out by 19 SMEs, RTOs and Large Enterprises across Europe. The platform aims to provide citizens, AEC stakeholders, as well as city administrations and urban developers, with an integrated ICT platform that will allow for a better assessment and development of the Design, Construction and Performance of residential buildings. SPHERE platform will facilitate improvements in the energy performance of buildings from the start of the construction process. In addition, it will also reduce time, costs, and the environmental impact of construction processes and improve the indoor environment due to a seamless integration of each meaning dimension and respective stakeholders within the platform.

Planning Nature Based Solutions (NBS) to address urban challenges requires an approach that embeds the multiple dimensions of NBS to effectively portray their use and impact. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a comprehensive assessment methodology in this regard. This paper discusses the environmental assessment of NBS via LCA using urban metabolism as an overarching approach to model the urban ecosystem. Performing a dynamic assessment with time series data is suggested as a way of identifying hotspots of the indicators studied within a determined time frame, allowing the assessor to observe and mitigate extremities and make informed decisions on desired temporal patterns. Dynamic assessment is supported by two simulation methodologies: Building Information Modelling for the built environment and Agent Based Modelling for social behavioural patterns.

In response to urban challenges created by global climate change, nature based solutions (NBS) are accepted as viable sustainability solutions that provide environmental, economic, and social benefits. In order to mainstream NBS projects and secure necessary funding, an evidence-based approach, supported by performance indicators, is necessary for planning and deployment stages. The main aim of this article is to establish an assessment framework, which fosters the urban planning and implementation periods of NBS projects and forms a linkage between adaptation actions with urban sustainability policies by making use of monitoring data that enables predictive estimation of future scenarios. This framework entails definition of relevant environmental indicators through a material flow analysis (MFA)-based urban metabolism (UM) approach and a proposal for the dynamic application of these indicators to be used for monitoring purposes. While the environmental assessment framework supports selection of most suitable NBS to tackle urban challenge of concern, the dynamic performance tracking provides critical, strategic and analytical insights to ensure the desired targets are met. Such an assessment methodology can also maximize the contribution of NBS to EU policies including European Green Deal (EGD), EU Biodiversity Strategy and EU Adaptation Strategy.

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