scholarly journals Characterization of an area susceptible to floods and inundations in a medium size city in Southern Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 222-229
Author(s):  
Sidnei Matana Júnior ◽  
Yohan Casiraghi ◽  
Gabriela Weimer Berres ◽  
Marcos Antonio Leite Frandoloso ◽  
Francisco Dalla Rosa

The change in precipitation patterns that has occurred over the past decades establishes the discussion about the risks arising from rainfall in urban areas. These risks include floods, inundations and overflow, which are influenced by different conditions. The purpose of this work is to characterize a risk area, susceptible to inundations and floods, in the city of Passo Fundo, in the south of Brazil. In order to propose solutions aimed at mitigating risks for the area, a GIS (Geographic Information System) characterization was applied to prepare thematic maps to identify conditions of infrastructure networks, as well as other constraints of the built environment. The analysis showed that the area, predominantly residential, is currently susceptible to environmental risks, given the proximity to streams, the topography with slopes and impermeable surfaces, despite the existence of rain network infrastructure. Furthermore, the mitigation strategies were proposed, based on the concept of green infrastructure such as the implementation of draining surfaces, rain gardens and a linear park. The data collected in this study will provide subsidies to elaborate the risk maps of the area, deepening the analysis in future studies, assisting the decision making of the public power to prevent and mitigate risks such as floods, according to the identified vulnerability, as well as contribute to Goal 11 - Sustainable cities and communities on the United Nations Agenda 2030.

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Najeel Kamal AbdulRazzaq ◽  
Mayasa Farkad Abdul Raheem

The public green spaces in Baghdad city have an obvious shortage and doesn’t fulfill and meet the needs of the population and the required open space criteria, moreover these green spaces are disjointed, disconnected and does not function as a unified system, that is why it suffers from neglect which contributes to deterioration of the city’s environment and increasing air pollution.     Human beings depended on nature into providing clean air and good health, with the growth of the population and the urban areas, there has been negative influence on the natural environmental system. A new term lately appeared “Green Infrastructure”especially in the developed countries (USA, UK and other countries in Europe), as one form of solutions to conserve the natural environmental system of green and open spaces. Consequently this thesis depended on this new green space approach to solve the green spaces problem in Baghdad city and suggested new sites in different locations in the city to be a new green spaces connected to the existing green spaces in Baghdad. This will increase the public green space areas, accessibility to these areas and social cohesion, it will also contribute to the improvement of the city’s environment by reducing air pollution and reducing air temperature especially during the long summer season. Other economic benefits could be achieved by planning for a connected network of green spaces in Baghdad city as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Ewelina Pochodyła ◽  
Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk ◽  
Agnieszka Jaszczak

Blue-green infrastructures (BGI) integrate solutions implemented to enhance water management and landscape values for more climateresilient and livable cities. BGI have created an opportunity to renew the natural structure of water balance in cities through the increase in rainwater retention and enlargement of permeable areas. The review of the literature on BGI development and solutions showed that the most popular BGI elements in terms of urban water quantity and quality were rain gardens, green roofs, vertical greening systems, and permeable pavements. Their structure and effectiveness were presented and reviewed. Despite the consensus between researchers that BGI benefit urban hydrology, differences in runoff decreased (2%-100%) lowering the peak flows (7%-70%) and infiltration (to 60%) or evapotranspiration (19%-84%) were reported. Due to an individual technical structure, each BGI element plays a specific role and there is no universal BGI solution against water-related problems. We inferred that the most effective ones were individually adapted solutions, which prevent from a stressor. The greater variety of solutions in a given area, the more benefits for the urban environment. Our analyses showed that a holistic and co-creative approach to create blue-green networks should be considered in modern water management plans.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina-Gabriela Mitincu ◽  
Ioan-Cristian iojă ◽  
Constantina-Alina Hossu ◽  
Mihai-Răzvan Niță ◽  
Andreea Niță

<p>The integrated approach of sustainable development refers to addressing complex challenges by combining knowledge from various environmental and planning fields. Thus, nature-based solutions (NbS) are a category of new tools that can help cities increase their resilience and sustainability. They represent those actions inspired, supported or copied from nature, which have a high potential to be energy efficient and to use natural resources, as well as promote multi-functionality and connectivity between green infrastructure and built-up areas. To achieve their purpose NbS have to be developed and managed in collaborative ways. The strategies, plans, programs, policies and projects developed at European and international level have led to the consolidation, at least from a theoretical perspective, of the significance and role of NbS in urban areas. Thus, this study aims to identify the way these documents are directed towards sustainability and innovative solutions (such as NbS), with emphasis on the collaborative approaches for NbS. Our preliminary results indicate that most of the international and European documents specify that the economic development needs to be achieved in close connection with increasing urban sustainability, based on sustainable investments such as green infrastructures or NbS. Furthermore, under the guidance of these documents, the international institutions, research experts and decision makers seek collaboration with city representatives in order to integrate the benefits generated by such sustainable investments. Among the analyzed documents, the new 2030 Urban Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, reveal the need for participatory approaches to reach consensus about sustainable development. Other important international and European documents directed towards sustainability and NbS are Urban Water Agenda 2030, New Urban Agenda – Habitat III or 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. So, NbS represent a support in the efficient use of resources in order to promote urban development in concordance with the economic growth, participatory planning and guvernance, environmental policy, social cohesion and justice, public health and quality of life, environment protection.</p>


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 2694
Author(s):  
Chen Shen ◽  
Haishan Xia ◽  
Xin Fu ◽  
Xinhao Wang ◽  
Weiping Wang

Flooding has presented a significant risk for urban areas around the world. Road inundation is one of the severe consequences leading to traffic issues and congestion. Green infrastructure (GI) offers further potential for stormwater management as an environmentally friendly and sustainable solution. However, sewer system behaviour has been overlooked in GI implementation. This study investigates sewer performance by measuring topological connectivity and hydraulic characteristics, and critical components are identified under different design storms. Three retrofit scenarios, including enlarged pipes (grey infrastructure, Grey I), rain gardens (GI), and the combination of enlarged pipes and increased rain gardens (GI + Grey I), are proposed according to the distribution of critical components. The results show that it is feasible to locate the vulnerable parts of the sewer system and GI site allocations based on the critical components that significantly impact the performance of the entire system. While all three scenarios can mitigate inundation, GI and GI + Grey I perform better than pipe enlargement, especially for runoff reduction during long-duration rainfall. Furthermore, the sewer behaviour and retrofit effect are dynamic under different rainfall patterns, leading to diverse combined effects. The discoveries reveal that the adaptation measures should combine with sewer behaviour and local rainfall characteristics to enhance stormwater management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Najeel Kamal AbdulRazzaq ◽  
Mayasa Farkad Abdul Raheem

The public green spaces in Baghdad city have an obvious shortage and doesn’t fulfill and meet the needs of the population and the required open space criteria, moreover these green spaces are disjointed, disconnected and does not function as a unified system, that is why it suffers from neglect which contributes to deterioration of the city’s environment and increasing air pollution.     Human beings depended on nature into providing clean air and good health, with the growth of the population and the urban areas, there has been negative influence on the natural environmental system. A new term lately appeared “Green Infrastructure”especially in the developed countries (USA, UK and other countries in Europe), as one form of solutions to conserve the natural environmental system of green and open spaces. Consequently this thesis depended on this new green space approach to solve the green spaces problem in Baghdad city and suggested new sites in different locations in the city to be a new green spaces connected to the existing green spaces in Baghdad. This will increase the public green space areas, accessibility to these areas and social cohesion, it will also contribute to the improvement of the city’s environment by reducing air pollution and reducing air temperature especially during the long summer season. Other economic benefits could be achieved by planning for a connected network of green spaces in Baghdad city as well.


Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Xueqin Li ◽  
Lindsay C. Stringer ◽  
Martin Dallimer

Due to the combination of climate change and the rapid growth in urban populations in Africa, many urban areas are encountering exacerbated urban heat island (UHI) effects. It is important to understand UHI effects in order to develop suitable adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, little work has been done in this regard in Africa. In this study, we compared surface UHI (SUHI) effects between cities located in different climate zones in East Africa, investigating how they change, both spatially and temporally. We quantified the annual daytime and night-time SUHI intensities in the five most populated cities in East Africa in 2003 and 2017, and investigated the links to urban area size. We consider the possible drivers of SUHI change and consider the implication for future development, highlighting the role of factors such as topography and building/construction materials. We suggest that UHI mitigation strategies targeting East African cities may benefit from more comprehensive analyses of blue and green infrastructure as this offers potential opportunities to enhance human comfort in areas where UHI effects are highest. However, this needs careful planning to avoid increasing associated issues such as disease risks linked to a changing climate.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Siwiec ◽  
Anne Maren Erlandsen ◽  
Haakon Vennemo

Abstract In urban areas, the most pressing adaptation challenges are associated with the problem of poor retention of rainstorm water. Hence, recommended actions focus on improving rainwater retention in the landscape. One of the strategic direction of adaptation to climate change is including green infrastructure solutions like green roofs, green walls, water reservoirs along streets - supplying high vegetation, permeable ground cover and rain gardens. Due to a variety of proposals, the costs and benefits resulting from the implementation of a chosen solution should be regarded when selecting an appropriate action. Considering the above, the article attempts to show the costs and benefits of one of the solutions - a green garden. When analysing the cost of green garden implementation, account should be taken of the cost of investment and upholding, as well as the alternative cost of land use. Then again, the benefits of the rain garden comprise the losses avoided by limiting the effects of rainstorm as well as improving the quality and quantity of water in the urban landscape. The cost and benefit monetization makes it possible to decide on the financial viability of implementing rain gardens in the city.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milena Moyzeová

AbstractNowadays, topics like natural capital assessment, ecosystem services and green infrastructure have become frequent subjects of a number of national and international projects accomplished on local, regional, national and cross-frontier levels. These projects respond to the deterioration of biotopes due to their fragmentation and degradation as a result of constructions and tourism/recreation. This situation requires an economic assessment of ecosystems from the view point of their capacities to satisfy human necessities with simultaneous conservation of the environmental quality, and the optimal status of landscape diversity both in rural and urban areas. The aim of the Green Infrastructure initiative is to stop the loss of land as an irreplaceable natural resource and to contribute to the inclusion of ecological and sustainability aspects into the spatial planning and regional development in rural and urban areas. Green Infrastructure is the tool that may reduce the loss of ecosystem services connected with future occupation of land and improve functions of land. It may support ecological measures aimed at conservation of agricultural landscape and adoption of measures in the sphere of forest and water economies. Important role in the assessment of ecosystems is played not only by the scientists but also by experts and the public at large. This is the reason why ever more stakeholders possessing knowledge of local territory and personal life experience participate in these projects. Their judgments and views, often bearing information important for the above-mentioned assessment, are applied to proposed measures aimed at the improvement of environmental quality and quality of life in terms of sustainability. This article brings the possible example of how to include a selected sample of stakeholders into the assessment of natural capital and ecosystem services on local level in the frame of Green Infrastructure. The aim of this paper is to analyse attitudes of the involved for the evaluation of natural capital and ecosystem services at a local level by means of structured interviews. Obtained views will be applied for the assessment of ecosystem services and proposals aimed at protection and conservation of natural capital and building of green infrastructure. The research was carried out in the model territory of the rural commune Liptovská Teplička.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Abd Rachim AF,

One of the environmental problems in urban areas is the pollution caused by garbage. The waste problem is caused by various factors such as population growth, living standards changes, lifestyles and behavior, as well as how the waste management system. This study aims to determine how the role of society to levy payments garbage in Samarinda. This research was descriptive; where the data is collected then compiled, described and analyzed used relative frequency analysis. The participation of the public to pay a "levy junk", which stated to pay 96.67%, for each month and the rates stated society cheap, moderate and fairly, respectively 46.08%, 21.21%, 21.04%. Base on the data , the role of the community to pay "levy junk" quite high.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hunold

City-scale urban greening is expanding wildlife habitat in previously less hospitable urban areas. Does this transformation also prompt a reckoning with the longstanding idea that cities are places intended to satisfy primarily human needs? I pose this question in the context of one of North America's most ambitious green infrastructure programmes to manage urban runoff: Philadelphia's Green City, Clean Waters. Given that the city's green infrastructure plans have little to say about wildlife, I investigate how wild animals fit into urban greening professionals' conceptions of the urban. I argue that practitioners relate to urban wildlife via three distinctive frames: 1) animal control, 2) public health and 3) biodiversity, and explore the implications of each for peaceful human-wildlife coexistence in 'greened' cities.


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