The National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), established and funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), is one of the five national centers dedicated to frontier research. With a funding of 320 million euros for three years, from 2023 to 2025, the Center plays a strategic role in contributing to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

The governance structure of the national centers follows a Hub & Spoke model, with the Hub responsible for management and coordination activities, and the Spokes focused on research.

The Politecnico di Milano hosts Spoke 5, dedicated to urban environment and health.
The aim of this Spoke is to map urban biodiversity, develop urban greenery plans, and create a catalog of nature-based solutions for the Mediterranean. The activities of this Spoke focus on developing supply chains for plant nurseries from an urban Restoration Ecology perspective, integrating a blockchain to trace materials used for afforestation. Additionally, Spoke 5 is involved in the development of phytotechnologies for the reclamation of urban soils.