Designing Healthier Cities. An Empirical Study of the Ecosystem Functioning and Mortality in the Districts of Turin (Italy)

Salata, Stefano

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-86304-3_13

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…University campuses often cover wide areas and therefore have potentially large environmental impacts. Recent studies indicate that habitat decay is a driver of general environmental conditions because it has a direct relation with the well-being of citizens [12][13][14]. This study uses spatial evaluation of a habitat quality model [15] as a Decision-Making Support System to guide preliminary design during the development of a Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) masterplan for a university campus located in a semi-arid rural area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

De-Sealing Reverses Habitat Decay More Than Increasing Groundcover Vegetation

Couch

Salata

Saygin

et al. 2023

Climate

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Modeling ecosystem services is a growing trend in scientific research, and Nature-based Solutions (NbSs) are increasingly used by land-use planners and environmental designers to achieve improved adaptation to climate change and mitigation of the negative effects of climate change. Predictions of ecological benefits of NbSs are needed early in design to support decision making. In this study, we used ecological analysis to predict the benefits of two NbSs applied to a university masterplan and adjusted our preliminary design strategy according to the first modeling results. Our Area of Interest was the IZTECH campus, which is located in a rural area of the eastern Mediterranean region (Izmir/Turkey). A primary design goal was to improve habitat quality by revitalizing soil. Customized analysis of the Baseline Condition and two NbSs scenarios was achieved by using local values obtained from a high-resolution photogrammetric scan of the catchment to produce flow accumulation and habitat quality indexes. Results indicate that anthropogenic features are the primary cause of habitat decay and that decreasing imperviousness reduces habitat decay significantly more than adding vegetation. This study creates a method of supporting sustainability goals by quickly testing alternative NbSs. The main innovation is demonstrating that early approximation of the ecological benefits of NbSs can inform preliminary design strategy. The proposed model may be calibrated to address specific environmental challenges of a given location and test other forms of NbSs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%