Green Infrastructure as an Effective Tool for Urban Adaptation—Solutions from a Big City in a Postindustrial Region

Abstract

Adaptation to climate change is becoming one of the main paradigms for how cities function and develop. The significant role of green infrastructure (GI) as a tool for cities to adapt to climate change is increasingly emphasized among practitioners of spatial planning and in the research literature. Thus, despite the local impact, green infrastructure planning necessitates the creation of a holistic and integrated city management system. The aim of the article is to identify the effects generated by projects implemented in the field of green infrastructure in big cities of post-industrial regions and to formulate determinants and barriers limiting the strengthening of cities’ adaptive capacity to climate change. In the methodological dimension, the article is based on the desk-research method (analysis of project documentation and specialist literature), logical reasoning and the case study method, enriched with a series of interviews and observation of the study area to present the selected projects implemented as part of green infrastructure. Solutions based on nature, green infrastructure and the adaptation of ecosystems are of strategic importance for the challenges of reducing the negative effects of urban heat islands and the risk of flooding, rational space management, regeneration of degraded urban spaces, the coexistence of urban and green space and, consequently, increasing housing, as well as cultural and recreation areas. This is especially true of post-industrial regions, such as the Katowice Conurbation in Poland, to which the examples presented here refer.

Evaluation of the Use of Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement in Chile: Urban Infrastructure Solution for Adaptation and Mitigation against Climate Change

“…Faced with the above, a permeable interlocking concrete paving system with the capacity to collect and store rainwater could be used to irrigate green areas, thus allowing the formation of ecosystems that contribute to the production of photosynthesis, thereby resulting in mitigation actions against climate change and, consequently, contributing to a reduction in the generation of greenhouse gases [46,47]. It is also possible to mention that it is an engineering solution that prevents the formation of waterlogging and drainage problems [4,48,49]. The information above is denoted in the balance for a water-sensitive urban design presented in Figure 8.…”

“…Both in Chile and many countries around the world, there is increasing urban growth, where the urbanization of natural basins causes an alteration of their corresponding hydrological processes [1][2][3]. These basins, which are subject to constant urbanization, present more rapid flooding, making the consequences of flooding increasingly severe; presenting a lack of sustainable urban rainwater management systems in which extreme hydrometeorological events test the performance of urban drainage systems; and causing countries to demand new solutions to adapt to climate change [4][5][6].…”

The Usage and Constraints of Urban River Corridor from a Socio-ecological Perspective: a Systematic Review

“…Research has demonstrated that urban river corridors, as blue-green infrastructure, perform a dual role as natural and social corridors, thereby contributing significantly to urban stability, comfort, and sustainability (Janiszek & Krzysztofik, 2023;Ji et al, 2012). On the one hand, urban river corridors act as ecological corridors, facilitating the migration of organisms, enhancing biodiversity, and providing habitats and migration routes for wildlife (Baschak & Brown, 1995;Bennett & Mulongoy, 2006).…”

Exploring Factors Influencing Recreational Experiences of Urban River Corridors Based on Social Media Data

“…River corridors, known as "blue-green infrastructure", are vital to the stability, comfort, and sustainability of urban areas [4,5]. Firstly, functioning as natural systems within cities, they regulate the urban microclimate, mitigate the urban heat island effect, maintain water and soil, purify water bodies, and enhance biodiversity by creating buffer zones of riverbank vegetation [6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”