Systemic Action Network for Improving Blue–Green Infrastructure Based on the Natural Capital Investigation: The Strategic Plan in Vlorë, Albania

The natural capital (ecosystem services, good quality of ecological metabolic functionalities) is crucial in maintaining human well-being, as well as guaranteeing urban resilience for facing climate and Anthropocene challenges. The chapter reframes the Nature-based Solutions (NbS), assumed as an umbrella concept, contributing to activating the urban sustainable transformation processes integrating the NbS principles in the urban adaptive systems design approaches framework. This chapter takes the city Vlorë (Albania) as a representative study case of the Mediterranean context to explore the practicality of NbS by addressing the pivotal role of natural capital in long-term sustainable development through a holistic approach named Integrated Modification Methodology (IMM). By considering the city to be a complex adaptive system, the internal urban structure is pictured as a series of functioning patterns (permeability, effectiveness, proximity, and so on), among which urban diversity and continuity show great potential as the priority for driving Vlorë to transform towards a more resilient and sustainable status. The case study is built through a systematic network of interlinked actions for the improvement of blue–green infrastructure, synergizing the goals of UN SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities with the regional guidelines of Vlorë, providing a comprehensive planning strategy. The project “Eco-breathing in Vlorë 2030” will be presented, highlighting the aspects of innovation of the urban model for the sustainable development of Vlorë for the next 10 years and beyond, where natural capital is assumed as a crucial Blue–Green infrastructure through NbS to address and overcome the challenges of the Anthropocene developing an attractive, sustainable, and resilient city, meanwhile highlighting the potential advancement in connecting NbS and IMM to foster the innovation of transformative urban models toward more sustainable urban systems in developing countries. This Chapter explores the possibility of integrating Blue–Green Infrastructure as a promising solution when dealing with climate and urban challenges in the process of sustainable development and discusses the transferability of the IMM research model by the Vlorë case through a scientific process: Diagnosis-Synthesis-Strategies. The outcome demonstrates the significance of a systematic organization of design strategies and underscores the necessity for multidisciplinary interventions to propel sustainable urban transformation.