Urban Green Infrastructure

A special issue of Urban Science (ISSN 2413-8851).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 20127

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
SMART Infrastructure Facility, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Interests: planning policy; urban design; future cities; transit oriented development; polycentric cities; walkability; public transit; smart technology; city dwelling; lifestyle; urban amenity; place-making

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Co-Guest Editor
Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney, 15 Broadway, Ultimo NSW 2007, Australia
Interests: the nexus between landscape architecture, ecological planning and urban design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

People appreciate comfort and care. People make cities. Cities must use the stratum they rest on—the soil and the water—to facilitate improved comfort and care between people and the ecology of their place.

The cities of today are full of promise. There are many examples of actively designed green infrastructure that are already in place. These are measurably benefiting the residents, providing ecosystem services, and aiding in re-establishing pre-industrial-era ecologies.

There are also many fragmented or remnant ecologies which show us the ability of novel landscapes or unique public spaces to emerge.

The cities of tomorrow will be better. They have to be. Cities will accommodate the additional population pressures better than we responded, in general, during the 20th century. They will be better in part due to our active research of the positive impacts of green infrastructure, announcing the findings, noting the limitations, and suggesting pathways forward for the relevant climate and topography.

In this context, the objective of this Special Issue is to expand the field of knowledge of Urban Green Infrastructure. The issue will zoom through the scales from the city region to the abandoned city lot, day lit streams to oyster bed flood barriers, from the stormwater catchment basin to the watershed of a continent, from bioswales to fish pond nutrient cycling, and beyond.

Dr. Cole Hendrigan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • green infrastructure
  • water sensitive
  • stormwater management
  • soil and minerals
  • nutrient cycling
  • biota
  • parks
  • public space design
  • private space
  • landscape architecture
  • remnant ecosystems

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 253 KiB  
Article
Green and Blue Infrastructure in Darwin; Carbon Economies and the Social and Cultural Dimensions of Valuing Urban Mangroves in Australia
by Jennifer Atchison
Urban Sci. 2019, 3(3), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3030086 - 31 Jul 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4386
Abstract
Darwin’s mangrove ecosystems, some of the most extensive and biodiverse in the world, are part of the urban fabric in the tropical north of Australia but they are also clearly at risk from the current scale and pace of development. Climate motivated market-based [...] Read more.
Darwin’s mangrove ecosystems, some of the most extensive and biodiverse in the world, are part of the urban fabric in the tropical north of Australia but they are also clearly at risk from the current scale and pace of development. Climate motivated market-based responses, the so-called ‘new-carbon economies’, are one prominent approach to thinking differently about the value of living infrastructure and how it might provide for and improve liveability. In the Australian context, there are recent efforts to promote mangrove ecosystems as blue infrastructure, specifically as blue carbon, but also little recognition or valuation of them as green or urban infrastructure. Drawing on observational and qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews, this study examines how key stakeholders in Darwin frame and understand mangroves in relation to the urban, and how they are anticipating and responding to governance efforts to frame mangroves and pay for their carbon sequestration and storage services as blue carbon. The push for large infrastructure development and an expanding urban footprint, present serious challenges for mangrove protection, and the study evidences both denial and complacency in this regard. However, although the concept of blue carbon is already taking effect in some circles, it was not viewed as straightforward or as appropriate by all study participants and may very well work in practice to exclude groups within the community. Both clear governance problems, as well as unrecognized and vernacular community connections to mangroves in Darwin, indicate that there are ongoing conceptual and empirical challenges to be considered in recognizing and valuing mangroves as part of urban life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Green Infrastructure)

Review

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15 pages, 1453 KiB  
Review
A Framework for Integrating Agriculture in Urban Sustainability in Australia
by Arif H. Sarker, Janet F. Bornman and Dora Marinova
Urban Sci. 2019, 3(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3020050 - 3 May 2019
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 10529
Abstract
Rapid urbanisation all over the world poses a serious question about urban sustainability in relation to food. Urban agriculture can contribute to feeding city dwellers as well as improving metropolitan environments by providing more green space. Australia is recognised as one of the [...] Read more.
Rapid urbanisation all over the world poses a serious question about urban sustainability in relation to food. Urban agriculture can contribute to feeding city dwellers as well as improving metropolitan environments by providing more green space. Australia is recognised as one of the most urbanised countries in the world, and achieving urban sustainability should be high on the policy and planning agenda. A strong consensus exists among policymakers and academics that urban agriculture could be a tenable way of enhancing urban sustainability, and therefore, it should be a vital part of planning processes and urban design as administered by local and state governments. However, in recent decades, planning has overlooked and failed to realise this opportunity. The most significant constraints to urban agriculture are its regulatory and legal frameworks, including access to suitable land. Without direct public policy support and institutional recognition, it would be difficult to make urban agriculture an integral part of the development and planning goals of Australian cities. Developing and implementing clear planning policies, laws and programs that support urban agriculture can assist in decreasing competing land demands. This study analyses the policy and planning practices that can support integrating urban agriculture into city land-use planning. It examines current practices and identifies existing opportunities and constraints. An integration framework for urban agriculture for Australian cities is presented. If implemented, such a conceptual framework would allow improved sustainability of cities by bringing together the advantages of growing food within a greener urban environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Green Infrastructure)
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22 pages, 1808 KiB  
Review
Status and Future Directions for Residential Street Infrastructure Retrofit Research
by Ksenia I. Aleksandrova, Wendy J. McWilliam and Andreas Wesener
Urban Sci. 2019, 3(2), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3020049 - 3 May 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4412
Abstract
Residential streets, particularly in automobile-dependent suburban locations, have frequently been perceived as ecologically unsustainable, antisocial, unhealthy, and aesthetically dull from an urban design perspective. However, residential streets can be improved through infrastructure retrofits, particularly by combining green and grey infrastructures and integrating various [...] Read more.
Residential streets, particularly in automobile-dependent suburban locations, have frequently been perceived as ecologically unsustainable, antisocial, unhealthy, and aesthetically dull from an urban design perspective. However, residential streets can be improved through infrastructure retrofits, particularly by combining green and grey infrastructures and integrating various functions and services. Using a systematic literature review and an adapted landscape services framework, the paper analyses the status of retrofit research and discusses existing composition and spatial integration of green, grey, and green-grey street infrastructure. Findings suggest changing infrastructure compositions in residential streets and a trend toward increased grey and green-grey infrastructure integration. However, functional connectivity is often lacking, and while barriers to implementation have been suggested, few have been tested. While retrofits are potentially able to increase the number and quality of landscape services that support human well-being, more—and possibly longitudinal—research is required to advance and analyze their implementation and provide evidence for their success. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Green Infrastructure)
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