The Implementation of Green Infrastructure: Relating a General Concept to Context and Site

Abstract

Abstract:In the quest for more sustainable urban landscape development, the concept of "green infrastructure" (GI) has become central in policy documents and as a multifunctional general planning tool. GI is not, however, a simple and unambiguous solution. While in policy documents there are claims for more and connected GI, actual urban development takes another direction. The densifying imperative is hard to combine with an increased and more connected GI. This paper argues for a critical and diversified approach to the concept of GI, in order to facilitate its implementation in urban planning and management. Any kind of GI will not deliver all ecosystems services in any place, not without land use conflicts, investments and long term operating costs. This calls for a GI concept linked to actors and mediating conflicting values. Linguistic as well as spatial definitions of the two relevant dichotomies of "green-grey" and "public-private" are crucial in GI location, design, construction and management, it is argued. Overarching representations of GI will be needed, but not only pictured as a separate system, but also displayed with necessary integration to the whole urban landscape. Development over time will need an intersectorial implementation and management program. Some of the GI intentions may be implemented in planning processes, some through re-organization and redesign of public space, and some by agreements with landowners. To reach out to implementation in ordinary urban development, GI needs to be described in a way that establishes points of connection to a variety of relevant actors and organizations taking part in implementation of GI.

An Evaluation of Local Comprehensive Plans Toward Sustainable Green Infrastructure in US

“…More importantly, green infrastructure also plays a crucial role in saving energy, reducing urban heat island effect, protecting wildlife habitat, and mitigating air pollution, among other sustainable benefits [13][14][15][16][17][18].Until recently, the benefits of green infrastructure have been studied mostly in relation to siteand local-level environmental, social, and economic impacts [19][20][21][22], while its potential value has not been fully examined at the planning level. Although some studies [23][24][25][26] have assessed the framework of green infrastructure and theoretically highlighted the role of green infrastructure in the planning field, limited studies have examined whether local plans have adequately integrated key green infrastructure principles. A comprehensive plan is often employed as the major guideline for city/community development.…”

Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review

“…The green infrastructure (GI) concept was first put forward in 2006 and has since grown in popularity and even been integrated into urban planning policy, for example, the New York City Green Infrastructure Plan [57,59,70,71]. The GI concept differs from the provision of greenways for aesthetic and recreational purposes by focusing on ecology and on the provision of ecosystem services in cities [12,31].…”

“…The description of GI has been broad in the reviewed literature. Some articles described GI as interconnected networks of green spaces that conserve natural ecosystem values and functions that are planned and managed as an integrated system [55,71]. Others included blue spaces such as rivers, wetlands and lakes [56,71].…”

“…Some articles described GI as interconnected networks of green spaces that conserve natural ecosystem values and functions that are planned and managed as an integrated system [55,71]. Others included blue spaces such as rivers, wetlands and lakes [56,71]. Still, others take an even a broader perspective, including hybrid and artificial built infrastructure, such as green roofs and walls, and even grey infrastructure such as roads and utilities [12,16,48,64].…”

Evaluating Spatial Priority of Urban Green Infrastructure for Urban Sustainability in Areas of Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Pukou in China

“…Green infrastructure (GI) can be considered to involve all natural, semi-natural, and artificial ecosystems within and between urban areas at all spatial scales. The concept of GI emphasizes the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces, as well as their multiple functions and the importance of interconnections between them [5]. Urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides supporting services such as biodiversity conservation, and cultural services such as recreational use of the GI network by local residents.…”