Application of Geodesign Techniques for Ecological Engineered Landscaping of Urban River Wetlands: A Case Study of Yuhangtang River

Abstract

Although geodesign techniques have been studied and developed worldwide, there is still a lack of in-depth application of geodesign workflows for redesigning urban river wetlands with characteristics of ecologically engineered landscaping (EEL). The study mainly aims at putting forward a proper approach in the methodological foundation for EEL practices in river wetlands. A typical EEL-oriented project of river restoration in Hangzhou, China, was conducted in this study. Based on in-situ geodata and tools within QGIS, individual geological factors analysis, with the hierarchical analysis method (AHP) and ecological vulnerability evaluation (EVE), was conducted by experts’ voting and the weighted linear combination (WLC) method. Analysis of hydrological-related factors proceeded. This GIS-based analysis with expert knowledge provided comprehensive redesign solutions for the redesign project, i.e., restoration of the riverbed, spatial restoration in the horizontal and vertical dimensions, and integration with the multifunctional design. Detailed three-dimensional models for design practices were developed to present redesigned topology and space accordingly. Terrain, inundation, and visibility analysis proceeded with parametric mapping programs within Grasshopper to check the feasibility. The adapted geodesign-based workflow in the study also applies to the site analysis, sustainable assessment and landscape planning for urban wetlands EEL projects.

Design Efficacy Evaluation of a LIM-SD-based Approach for Ecological Engineered Landscaping Design: A Case Study of An Urban River Wetland

“…Each expert was asked to assess the design quality of the participants' work in four aspects: 'site appropriateness', 'aesthetics', 'spatial layout', and 'eco-engineering techniques'. These evaluation aspects were established based on the characteristics of some typical successful urban wetland EEL projects in Hangzhou City (Li et al, 2022b). The question to the professional evaluators was 'how well did participant X do with regard to aspect Y in his/her design task'.…”

“…5. These VPCs have been indicated to be effective in checking the design feasibility in a practical river wetland EEL projects in Hangzhou (Li et al 2022b). All of valid LIM models are inputted and calculated by the VPC successfully.…”

“…In the traditional conceptual landscape design work ow, most landscape designers use 2D plans and physical models for morphological exploration of landscape elements, which has not allowed the speci c 3D visualisation of micro-topologies and realistic virtual plants to be realistically visualised during the design process (Chen & Xu 2016). Meanwhile, the design of many urban constructed wetlands and riverine wetlands has resulted in poor riparian habitat conditions and often failure to achieve their WQT bene ts due to the lack of consideration of wetland ecological principles (Luo et al 2021;Li et al 2022b).…”

“…However, there is currently a lack of approaches to assist landscape architects in the detailed design of urban river wetland EEL projects (Mariarinaldi 2007;Li et al 2022b), and only a few practical digital landscape methods and technologies for river wetland EEL have been put forward. Digital landscape design tools, e.g., design work ows with LIM-based approach, Geodesign tools, SD-based tools, are rarely included in compulsory undergraduate courses (Steinitz 2020;Na 2021), while only some digital modelling and image processing software has been widely taught in current undergraduate landscape architecture education and training (Calleja-Perucho et al 2015).…”

“…Ecological engineered landscaping (EEL) is a type of landscape design that incorporates ecological principles and aims to provide aesthetic and ecological characteristics to semi-natural environments (Ghosh 2007;Li et al 2022b). EEL design has an important impact at application level, as it depends on various factors including site suitability, aesthetical and spatial design, ecological engineering, etc.…”