Abstract
Abstract
The role of nature-based solutions (NBS) in improving access to resources is growing across research, particularly within the urban metabolism literature. However, research on NBS towards material flow stock in the informal settlements (IS) of the Global South is limited, despite an increasing focus across social and environmental sciences on the capacity of NBS to address the needs of vulnerable communities. This study uses the social-ecological analytical framework to analyse the role of NBS in the contribution of material flow stocks in the IS. A Boolean search methodology was adopted to obtain relevant literature from the Scopus preview database. The results show that NBS play multiple roles in providing basic needs in the IS. Additionally, the IS dependence on NBS is due to the exclusion from the municipal provisioning services. However, residents of the IS contribute immensely to the sustainable development of most cities. This study recommends a bottom-up social-ecological system approach to understand human and nature interaction at the intra-urban scale, particularly in the IS to achieve sustainable and inclusive cities.