Seattle Leads as US Role Model City in UN's Generation Restoration Program

🌿🌎 Seattle: “Role Model City” Congrats to Mayor Bruce Harrell and the City of Seattle on completing its two-year engagement as the United States’ sole “Role Model City” in the United Nations' #GenerationRestoration Program. As global leaders gathered to advance urban ecosystem restoration, Seattle demonstrated how cities can harness #NatureBasedSolutions (NbS) to drive #climateresilience, social wellbeing, and ecological health. Penn IUR is proud that our collaborative research with United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the report "From Grey to Green: Integrating Nature-Based Solutions into Urban Planning and Finance," contributed to this international effort. H/t to our Global Program Director Amanda Lloyd, who led this research. Seattle Parks and Recreation’s participation strengthened the global cohort in powerful and measurable ways, including: 🔹 A comprehensive study with UNEP and Penn IUR to embed nature-based solutions into municipal decision-making, financial frameworks, and long-term urban planning. 🔹 The expansion of a Green Seattle Partnership–inspired urban forest regeneration model with the City of Paris. 🔹 An emerging Global Canopy Tree Pact and new collaborations to create a North American Community of Practice for restoration-focused cities. 🔹 Contributions to UNEP’s flagship Beat the Heat initiative, advancing heat assessments, vulnerability mapping, and project pipelines to expand shade and canopy coverage. Seattle’s leadership shows what is possible when cities commit to ecological restoration at scale--essential infrastructure for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable cities. Penn IUR commends Seattle, Mayor Harrell, Superintendent Anthony-Paul (AP) Diaz, Esq., Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the global Generation Restoration network for advancing transformative models of urban sustainability. We look forward to continued collaboration as cities worldwide shift from grey to green. 🔗 Read From Grey to Green: Better Data to Finance Nature in Cities: https://lnkd.in/ga-VCFpP ▶️ Watch the From Grey to Green video: https://lnkd.in/g3-BDbdv 📰 Seattle's Office of the Mayor reports: https://lnkd.in/gGmsunf2 #PennIUR #UNEP #SustainableCities #UrbanInnovation