Environment & Urbanization

World leading environmental and urban studies journal

Cities Alive: Rethinking Green Infrastructure

Author(s): 
Arup

Publisher: 
Arup, London

Pages: 
160

Year: 
2014

This book makes the case for incorporating green infrastructure into existing and new cities and city districts through the presentation of successful city initiatives, with many colour photos to show what has been done. When brought together, these examples remind us of how much innovation is going on. At issue is whether we can make cities rise to the challenge of global warming and resource depletion while also making them life-enhancing communities of creativity and innovation that are safe and healthy.

Green infrastructure is defined as open spaces, natural areas, woodland and parks; green streets, squares and public realm; sustainable drainage systems and healthy waterways, cycle ways and pedestrian routes within city environments; and smaller-scale green roofs, walls and facades. The case for green infrastructure is presented in five sections:

1: The social benefits that include a large range of health and quality of life benefits. This section includes examples of new parks such as Greenworks in Philadelphia, which is adding 500 acres of accessible green space by 2015 as city government and neighbourhood residents transform empty or underused land into parks. Other examples are the New York High Line linear park (and its engagement of communities) and the government of London’s commitment to build 100 new small (pocket) parks. Also presented is the example of the Madrid Río project, a linear green space along the Manzanares River (most of it on top of a large road tunnel) with provision for sport, leisure and cultural facilities. Health benefits of green infrastructure include its capacity to increase walking and bicycling, reduce automobile use (with data from Copenhagen to back this up) and reduce temperatures during heat waves.

2: Environmental benefits include more effective and lower-cost storm water management – for instance as pavements are built of permeable materials (as in Chicago) or green roofs or water storage roofs developed. Examples are also given of city-region approaches to this. Environmental benefits also include support for biodiversity (illustrated by the measures taken in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London).

3: Economic benefits arise from energy and resource efficiency; examples are given of how much a combination of trees, sustainable drainage, green walls and roofs, and food growing can contribute. Also significant is the potential boost to the local economy – as in green infrastructure on New Road, Brighton that boosted local businesses, increased walking and cycling, and cut motor vehicle use.

4: There is a summary of benefits for green infrastructure and the tools that help achieve it, including details of the Biotope Area Factor used in Berlin to increase ecologically effective surface areas. Also, the iTree system is discussed to show the monetary value of trees for energy savings, atmospheric CO2 reduction, improved air quality, storm water runoff, and amenity and aesthetic considerations. An evaluation of trees in New York’s five boroughs using the iTree assessment determined that the 600,000 street trees provide an annual benefit of US$ 122 million, more than five times the cost of maintaining them.

5: Recommendations for achieving Cities Alive through delivering green infrastructure-led design is followed by a section on strategies for designers. Appendix 1 has a checklist for landscape architects and city designers and Appendix 2 gives selected facts and figures on green infrastructure.

This report can be downloaded at no charge from http://www.arup.com/Homepage_Cities_Alive.aspx

For those who cannot download this, a hard copy can be requested from Tom Armour, Landscape Architecture, Arup, 13 Fitzroy Street London W1T 4BQ, United Kingdom, e-mail:  Tom.Armour@arup.com

 

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