The Potential of Tram Networks in the Revitalization of the Warsaw Landscape

The current crisis of worldwide agglomeration and economic, spatial, and ownership factors, among others, mean that there is usually a shortage of new green areas, which are socially very beneficial. Therefore, various brownfields or degraded lands along public transport routes, e.g., tram lanes, are effectively transformed for this purpose. The significant potential of tram systems is that they can became a backbone of green corridors across the city. This case study of the Warsaw tram system (total length over 300 km of single tracks in service in 2019) enables us to simulate the potential growth of a biologically active area connected with an increasing share of greenery around tram lanes in Warsaw. Experience allows the authors to present the types of greenery systems based on existing and future tram corridors best suited for this city. The suggested usage of tram lanes as green corridors is in line with the generally-accepted concept of urban green infrastructure. Therefore, the aim of the authors is to present in a condensed fashion their views on a very important issue within the program of the revitalization of the Warsaw landscape by converting where possible the existing tram lines, as well as planning new ones according to the “green point of view”.

Urban Green Accessibility Index: A Measure of Pedestrian-Centered Accessibility to Every Green Point in an Urban Area

Advancements in remote sensing techniques and urban data analysis tools have enabled the successful monitoring and detection of green spaces in a city. This study aims to develop an index called the urban green accessibility (UGA) index, which measures people’s accessibility to green space and represents the citywide or local characteristics of the distribution pattern of green space. The index is defined as the sum of pedestrians’ accessibility to all vegetation points, which consists of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) with integration and choice values from angular segment analysis. In this study, the proposed index is tested with cases of New York, NY, and San Francisco, CA, in the US. The results reveal differences based on the significance of streets. When analysis ranges are on a neighborhood scale, a few hotspots appear in well-known green areas on commonly accessible streets and in local neighborhood parks on residential blocks. The appearance of high-accessibility points in low-NDVI areas implies the potential of the efficient and proper distribution of green spaces for pedestrians. The proposed measure is expected to help in planning and managing green areas in cities, taking people’s accessibility and spatial relationships into consideration.

'Pollute the bay and poison the people': A short history of the Green Point marine sewage outfall, 1882–1992

The City of Cape Town in South Africa pumps 40 million litres of untreated sewage into the Atlantic Ocean from the Green Point outfall pipeline every day. This results in microbial and chemical pollution of the sea (including persistent organic pollutants), marine organisms and recreational beaches, breaching the City’s constitutional commitment to ‘prevent pollution and ecological degradation’ and, in doing so, it fails to uphold the constitutional right to an environment for citizens that is not harmful to ‘health or well-being’. This article explores how the decision to build this marine outfall was reached in 1895. It illustrates how narrow economic interests from the 1880s until today have driven the City’s commitment to the Green Point outfall despite a long history of opposition from citizens and scientists and repeated instances of pollution and ill-health. The findings reveal how, rather than being the cost-saving option that the City has always claimed it to be, its maintenance has cost enormous sums of money. The story of the Green Point outfall is one in which unimaginative, short-term monetary thinking has thwarted the search for an ecologically and hydrologically sustainable alternative means of sewage disposal – a legacy the City’s residents and the oceans that surround it live with today.

Boundary|Time|Surface: Art and geology meet in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada

Boundary|Time|Surface was an ephemeral sculptural work created to interrogate the human practice of dividing the Earth for social, political, scientific and aesthetic reasons. The 150-metre-long work comprised a fence of 52 vertical driftwood poles, 2–3 metres tall, positioned along an international boundary stratotype at Green Point, Newfoundland, Canada, separating Ordovician from Cambrian strata. Geology has as its basis the establishment of limits and boundaries within the Earth. Pioneers of geology defined the periods of the geologic timescale with the intent of representing natural chapters in Earth history; from their colonialist perspective, it was anticipated that these would have global application. Since the mid-20th century, stratigraphers have attempted to resolve the resulting gaps and overlaps by establishing international stratotypes. Artists creating work in dialogue with the land and environment have taken a wide range of approaches, from major, permanent interventions to extremely ephemeral activities, some of which echo practices in geological fieldwork. Because it was constructed in a national park, Boundary|Time|Surface was designed to have minimal impact on the environment; the installation was constructed by hand from materials found on site in one day, on the falling tide. During the remainder of that tidal cycle, and those following, the fence was dismantled by wave and tidal action. This cycle of construction and destruction was documented in video and with time-lapse still photography. Exhibitions derived from the documentation of ephemeral works function as translations of the original experience, offering an extended opportunity for members of the public to experience aspects of the original work and its context. Two exhibitions of artwork derived from Boundary|Time|Surface have provided opportunities for several thousand members of the public to interact with a range of visual media directly, both as aesthetic objects, and as sources of information regarding the geological and socio-political history of the site. A limited-edition book published in September 2019, to accompany an exhibition of the work, has extended the reach of the project further.