In their search for sustainability and resilience, cities have increasingly returned to nature, and integrating forms and concepts associated with nature in the urban planning process is an increasingly frequent process, especially at European level. Urban protected areas are such a form of integration, bearing different names and covering various levels of conservation across different geographical and planning systems. The common connection is that they can provide simultaneous benefits to biodiversity (habitats for wild species), residents (improved human welfare and happiness through interaction with nature), economies (increased land value, fostering various economic activities) and public administration (decreased expenses for public space management, alternatives for urban regeneration). In our paper we present a framework for using urban protected areas in Romanian cities, based on the multiple levels of: (a) rationale of designation and the conservation status of protected elements; (b) integration in the national legislation and in the general framework of urban planning and management systems; (c) connection with local and regional economies; (d) features of human use and preferences for specific forms of urban nature; (e) efficiency of urbanization control and (f) ecological networking with other categories of natural protected areas. Such efforts for the design and management of urban protected areas are important in the context of the national legislative proposal for urban protected areas and urban biodiversity, especially as numerous local initiatives exist in Romania from NGOs and civil society.