Designing Nature as an Infrastructure—A Multi-Level Spatial Strategy for Designing Nature-Based Solutions in Copenhagen to Enhance Urban Climate Governance

Copenhagen is often regarded as a pioneer city in climate change adaptation and green–blue infrastructure deployment. However, when addressing extreme environmental problems such as heavy rainfall flooding and urban heat island effects, many interventions remain site-specific and insufficiently connected across spatial scales. This article investigates how Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can be structured as an integrated spatial infrastructure system to enhance climate resilience and urban livability in Copenhagen. The research combines theoretical analysis, comparative project studies, GIS-based spatial analysis, and a multi-criteria evaluation matrix. Building on this method, a multi-scalar framework for NBS interventions is developed, which consists of site prioritization at the Meso scale, development strategies at the Micro scale, and NBS spatial design at the Nano scale. With the assessment criteria adapted from the UNalab project Nature-Based Solutions Technical Handbook Factsheets, the results demonstrate that Nano-scale design strategy can enhance green connectivity, create new inclusive urban public spaces, transform existing industrial areas, and improve new streets and parks for climate resilience. The Meso-scale distributed measures deliver localized benefits such as infiltration and flood buffering, while the most effective strategies integrate cross-scalar NBS interventions within a connected network. The case of Nordhavn is analyzed through multi-criteria selection and multifunctionality assessment as a qualitative process for a better demonstration of the practical application of NBS prioritization and spatial design analysis.