scholarly journals Urban Green Infrastructure as a Strategy to Address Urban Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. A Case Study of Milagrosa (Pamplona)

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Itxaro Latasa ◽  
Angela Laurenz ◽  
Juan Sádaba

Green Infrastructure (GI) has gained importance in recent years as it has been revealed as an essential piece to face the environmental problem generated by the incessant growth of urbanization, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. In this vein, the results of a research aimed at investigating the challenges posed by the implementation of the GI in the usual compact urban spaces in the cities of the Mediterranean area are presented, based on the analysis of indicators on green spaces in the Spanish city of Pamplona. A comparative analysis of the indicators (green spaces and trees) in the city’s neighbourhoods using GIS tools reveals the high intra-urban inequalities as well as the existence of, particularly, underfunded areas. The morphological analysis of one of the underfunded spaces (La Milagrosa neighbourhood) also shows that the narrowness of the road and the shortage of green spaces constitute obstacles that must be addressed from the planning tools of the GI. The results allow us to reflect on the importance of the scale of analysis in the planning processes of the UGI (Urban Green Infrastructure) and on neighbourhood the suitability of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as an alternative for the design and implementation of the UGI.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4699
Author(s):  
Kinga Szilágyi ◽  
Chaima Lahmar ◽  
Camila Andressa Pereira Rosa ◽  
Krisztina Szabó

Historic allées and urban avenues reflect a far-sighted and forward-thinking design attitude. These compositions are the living witnesses of olden times, suggesting permanence. However, the 20th century’s urban development severely damaged the environment, therefore hundred-year-old mature trees are relatively rare among city avenues’ stands. Due to the deteriorated habitat conditions, replantation may be necessary from time to time. However, there are a large number of replanted allées and urban avenues considered historical monuments, according to the relevant international literature in urban and living heritage’s preservation. The renewal often results in planting a different, urban tolerant taxon, as seen in several examples reviewed. Nevertheless, the allée remains an essential urban structural element, though often with a changed character. The Budapest Andrássy Avenue, a city and nature connection defined in the late 19th century’s urban landscape planning, aimed to offer a splendid link between city core and nature in Városliget Public Park. The 19–20th century’s history and urban development are well documented in Hungarian and several English publications, though current tree stock stand and linear urban green infrastructure as part of the urban landscape need a detailed survey. The site analyses ran in 2020–early 2021 created a basis for assessing the allées and the whole avenue as an urban ecosystem and a valuable case study of contemporary heritage protection problems. Andrassy Avenue, the unique urban fabric, architecture, and promenades have been a world heritage monument of cultural value since 2002. The allées became endangered despite reconstruction type maintenance efforts. The presented survey analyses the living heritage’s former renewal programs and underlines the necessity of new reconstruction concepts in urban heritage protection. We hypothesize that urban green infrastructure development, the main issue in the 21st century to improve the urban ecological system and human liveability, may support heritage protection. The Budapest World Heritage Site is worthwhile for a complex renewal where the urban green ecosystem supply and liveable, pedestrian-friendly urban open space system are at the forefront to recall the once glorious, socially and aesthetically attractive avenue.


Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Cortinovis ◽  
Grazia Zulian ◽  
Davide Geneletti

Nature-based recreation is among the most relevant ecosystem services supplied by urban green infrastructure, affecting citizens’ physical and mental wellbeing. Providing adequate green spaces for nature-based recreation is among the main goals of urban planning, but commonly-used indicators offer a partial view on the issue. Innovative methods and approaches, such as the ESTIMAP-recreation model, appear as promising ways to increase the quality of information available for decision-makers by considering both the range of green spaces that provide the service and the locally-specific demand. The article presents an application of the ESTIMAP-recreation model to the city of Trento (Italy), aimed at testing its adaptation to the local context and the potential improvements brought to urban planning. The comparison of the results with traditional indicators based on the availability and accessibility to urban parks shows significant differences in terms of priority of intervention across the city, with implications on planning decisions. The application demonstrates that innovative methods can enhance the understanding of nature-based recreation in cities beyond the focus on urban parks, revealing a wide portfolio of actions that planners can put in place to promote nature-based recreation through a multifunctional green infrastructure.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 779
Author(s):  
Vito Emanuele Cambria ◽  
Thomas Campagnaro ◽  
Giovanni Trentanovi ◽  
Riccardo Testolin ◽  
Fabio Attorre ◽  
...  

Understanding and explaining the use of green spaces and forests is challenging for sustainable urban planning. In recent years there has been increasing demand for novel approaches to investigate urban green infrastructure by capitalizing on large databases from existing citizen science tools. In this study, we analyzed iNaturalist data to perform an assessment of the intentional use of these urban spaces for their value and to understand the main drivers. We retrieved the total number of observations obtained across a set of 672 European cities and focused on reporting from mapped green areas and forests. We used two separate multivariate explanatory models to investigate which factors explained variations in the number of observations for green areas and forests. We found a relatively heterogeneous use of these two urban green spaces. Gross domestic product was important in explaining the number of visits. Availability and accessibility also had positive relationships with the use of green areas and forests in cities, respectively. This study paves the way for better integration of citizen science data in assessing cultural services provided by urban green infrastructure and therefore in supporting the evaluation of spatial planning policies for the sustainable development of urban areas.


2018 ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Giovanni Sanesi ◽  
Giuseppe Colangelo ◽  
Raffaele Lafortezza ◽  
Enrico Calvo ◽  
Clive Davies

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 568-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paraskevi Karanikola ◽  
Thomas Panagopoulos ◽  
Stilianos Tampakis ◽  
Aikaterini Karipidou-Kanari

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate residents’ perceptions, preferences and satisfaction concerning the urban green infrastructure of Kalamaria, Greece, to evaluate the importance of urban parks for residents’ well-being and to suggest management improvements. Design/methodology/approach – Following a random sampling method, 385 residents were interviewed. Green infrastructure number and size, design suitability, safety, variety and care of plants, noise pollution, facilities for people with disabilities and duration and frequency of visits to green areas were among the considered parameters. Factor and hierarchical log-linear analyses were conducted. Findings – The existing green spaces were insufficient in number, size and design, and their distribution was unsatisfactory. The facilities and equipment in the green spaces were evaluated as rather mediocre, and most respondents were unsatisfied with the overall planning and management of the green infrastructure in the municipality of Kalamaria. The results indicate that resident’s well-being relates to their satisfaction with urban green infrastructure. Frequent and longer visits of green spaces significantly improved the perceived well-being. The residents expressed an intention to pay 20-40 percent more than the average price for a house with a view of a green area. Originality/value – Public perception surveys enable green infrastructure managers to identify preferred management alternatives and to use this information in an urban planning framework. Local authorities can use the results of the present survey to manage the city’s green infrastructure, enhance the city’s resilience and anticipate climate change challenges and the future needs of residents.


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