Urban Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Development: A Review

Impact of green space on residents' wellbeing: A case study of the Grand Canal (Hangzhou section)

Introduction

In this study aimed to discuss the importance of the combination of cultural heritage management and green development for urban development by analyzing the upgrading and renovation of the Grand Canal (Hangzhou section) as a successful case. In recent years, green development has risen to prominence as a paradigm shift. Additionally, culture, as an engine to drive urban development, has received more attention.

Methods

This research used a hybrid approach to examine the importance of combining green development with cultural heritage management. The qualitative method was an interview analysis of 13 residents living in the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal. Based on the analysis of multiple water quality variables in Hangzhou from 1998 and 2014 to 2021, the empirical results proved that it is feasible to integrate green development (environment and economy) into the cultural heritage management of the case study area.

Results and discussion

The results further prove that only through an understanding of the relationship between cultural heritage and green development can a virtuous cycle of development be created, thereby promoting the continuous development of a unique and historically significant urban area. The results of this study suggest that, in the development of mega-cities, although the preservation and inheritance of historical and cultural heritage conflicts with the green development of modern cities, a successful example has been explored in Hangzhou, including grassroots governance efforts like Gongshu District. There, the two factors can be mutually compatible and promote each other, enhancing the well-being and happiness of local residents.

Namares—A Surface Inventory and Intervention Assessment Model for Urban Resource Management

Densely built-up areas are challenged by reduced biodiversity, high volumes of runoff water, reduced evaporation, and heat accumulation. Such phenomena are associated with imperviousness and low, unsustainable utilisation of land and exterior building surfaces. Local authorities have multiple objectives when (re-)developing future-proof districts. Hence, exploiting local potentials to mitigate adverse anthropogenic effects and managing the resource of urban land/surfaces have become key priorities. Accordingly, a five-level hierarchy for a land-sensitive urban development strategy was derived. To support the operationalisation of the hierarchy, we present the model Namares, a highly resolved GIS-based approach to enable spatially explicit identification and techno-economic and environmental assessment of intervention measures for advantageous utilisation of available surfaces per land parcel. It uses existing data and covers the management of economic, natural, and technical resources. Nine intervention measures are implemented to identify potentials, estimate investments and annual costs, and assess the appeal of existing subsidies. The approach was applied to a case study redevelopment area in a large city in Germany. The results provide spatially explicit information on greening potentials, estimated investments, subsidy demand, and other quantified benefits. The case study results show the limited potential for additional unsealing of impervious surfaces by transforming ca. 10% of sealed ground surface area into new urban gardens. At the same time, up to 47% of roof and 30% of facade surfaces could be utilised for greening and energy harvesting. The approach enables a comprehensive localisation and quantitative assessment of intervention potentials to enhance decision support in land-sensitive urban development strategies.

Sustainable Strategies for Urban and Landscape Regeneration Related to Agri-Cultural Heritage in the Urban-Periphery of South Milan

Urban Sprawl, and the fragmentation of the territory associated with it, are factors degrading the peri-urban areas in many European cities. The aim of this research is to investigate the role that Green Infrastructure (GI) and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can have in redefining peri-urban areas, relating urban and rural landscapes. The case study focuses on the Southern Milan periphery, at the rural-urban transition fringe; the transformation pressures, tendencies, and local activities are approached, and the main problems are juxtaposed to the potentialities, defining simultaneously the site’s vulnerability and latent resilience. The elaboration of a research-by-design approach focuses on the refurbishment and interconnection of disused open spaces and abandoned buildings: converting them in favor of a GI and NBS network, through a perspective of Ecosystem Services (ES) enhancement, but also encompassing cultural heritage and multicultural aspects. The overall design demonstrates the possibility of deploying an infiltration strategy, of the rural landscape into the urban fringe. The objective is to articulate a multiscalar methodology and give insights on how a GI network can rebalance urban-rural transitioning spaces and enhance ES, improving the quality of marginal spaces both in environmental and socio-cultural terms.