Abstract

Most climate change mitigation schemes in urban planning concentrate on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the distant future by altering the urban form and encouraging more sustainable behaviour. However, to reach climate change mitigation targets, a more immediate reduction in GHG emissions is also needed as well as a reduction in GHG emissions in other fields. This article evaluates the important role of earthworks in the prompt and substantial reduction required for GHG emissions. The research includes a single case study and three focus group interviews. The results of the case study reveal the magnitude of possible emission reductions through urban planners’ control over earthworks, whereas the findings of the focus groups shed light on the relevance of the findings beyond the single case. Three urban planning solutions were implemented in the case area to reduce GHG emissions from earth construction, resulting in the saving of 2360 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Notable savings were also achieved in other emission categories. Such a successful management of rock and soil material flows requires a strong vision from the urban planner, cooperation among many different actors, and smart decisions in multiple planning phases. Furthermore, numerical data is needed to confirm the environmental benefits if the coordination of earthworks is to be widely included in regional climate change mitigation strategies.

Highlights

  • Concerns for environmental sustainability, especially commitments to the mitigation of climate change, increasingly influence the priorities of urban development [1,2,3,4]

  • The three planning solutions that were implemented in Kuninkaantammi and examined in this study reduced CO2 emissions from earthworks by 2360 tonnes

  • This study examined the capability and motivation of urban planning to reduce the environmental impact of earthworks and the potential magnitude of such contribution to climate change mitigation

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Summary

Introduction

Concerns for environmental sustainability, especially commitments to the mitigation of climate change, increasingly influence the priorities of urban development [1,2,3,4]. Densification, an improved infrastructure for public transport, and new energy-efficient buildings are supposed to be the core elements of sustainable urban development [9,10,11,12]. Smaller and more energy-efficient modern living and working spaces consume less heating energy that—within the compact urban form and centralised infrastructure—can be produced through combined heat and power or waste-to-energy generation [1,16,17,18]. Urban planning solutions that improve the microclimate can directly reduce the need for energy consumption within the built environment. Large parks can cool down local urban thermal environments [19] and reduce the need for cooling indoor spaces within the area. A practical application has been introduced for identifying the areas within a city that have the most potential for such benefits [20]

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