A Planning Support Tool for Layout Integral Optimization of Urban Blue–Green Infrastructure

Abstract

Urban blue infrastructure (UBI) and urban green infrastructure (UGI) can be seen as an integrated system in which services and spatial layouts complement each other. However, given its complexity, it is difficult to integrate and optimize the layout of urban blue and green infrastructure (UBGI) in the built environment. This study develops a planning support tool for the layout integral optimization (PSTLIO) of UBGI. Using Hekou City in China as a case study, service demands and the supply of suitable land for UBGI development are assessed and mapped on geographic information system (GIS). The potential areas for UBGI development are delineated after mapping assessments of service demand and land supply and suitability. Following discussions on the exact means for PSTLIO to support the layout optimization of UBGI, a PSTLIO-based solution is developed to structure the UBGI link network and hub system, define the functions and service patterns of single UBGI components, and provide guidance for determining the scale of UBGI components. The results show that PSTLIO is able to provide a quantifiable base for decision-making in UBGI layout optimization.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1613 2 of 22 solution, UBGI could also provide an abundant base for urban ecosystems, in which diverse ecologies and networks could be conserved [12,13]. Moreover, the effects of UBGI in regulating the urban microclimate were also explored in recent studies [14]. It was proven that UBGI could cool urban areas through evapotranspiration, shadowing, adjusting emissivity, and affecting air movement and heat exchange [3,15], indicating UBGI's huge potential in relieving the urban heat island effect (UHIE) [16].UBGI offers opportunities to significantly improve urban public services [17][18][19][20], facilitate social connections, and enhance the quality of public spaces [21,22]. UBGI can boost vitality and increase surrounding land values. It can, thus, be employed as a catalyst for redevelopment [23][24][25]. Furthermore, the potential benefits of UBGI in terms of aesthetics and spatial definition could also be effectively deployed to preserve and reshape the identity of a site or even a city, especially in the case of key locations such as municipal centers or historic areas [26,27].Due to UBGI's various benefits, investigations into the integral planning and management of UBGI are currently being carried out all over the world. As a result, a series of interchangeable terms have emerged, including water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) in the UK and Australia, as well as low-impact development (LID) [28] and stormwater best management practices (SBMP) [29] in the United States.However, in practice, formulating an integral plan for UBGI can be difficult. Integrating blue and green systems, whose different features would probably have been organized in isolation in the past, is challenging. Adapting UBGI to the built environment is itself a task full of complexity and uncertainty [8,30]. For example, in t...

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