Abstract
Nowadays, it is better understood that the benefits of green infrastructure include a series of ecosystem services, such as cooling, water storage and management, recreation and landscaping, among others. Green technologies are still developing to provide sustainable solutions to the problems that modern cities and peri-urban areas face at an ever-increasing rate and intensity. Constructed wetlands technology is an established green multi-purpose option for water management and wastewater treatment, with numerous effectively proven applications around the world and multiple environmental and economic advantages. These systems can function as water treatment plants, habitat creation sites, urban wildlife refuges, recreational or educational facilities, landscape engineering and ecological art areas. The aim of this article is to highlight the synergies between this green technology and urban areas in order to reconnect cities with nature, to promote circularity in the urban context and to apply innovative wetland designs as landscape infrastructure and water treatment solutions. This approach could be a step further in the effort to mitigate the current degradation process of the urban landscape. Following the concept of green infrastructure, the article presents and suggests ways to integrate wetland technology in the urban environment, namely: (i) stormwater and urban runoff management (storage and treatment of water during storm events) to provide protection from flood incidents, especially considering climate change, (ii) innovative low-impact infrastructure and design solutions for urban wastewater treatment, and (iii) wetland technology for habitat creation and ecosystem services provision.
Highlights
Green infrastructure (GI) is a modern approach to deal with issues that mainly arise in the urban environment
The occurring overflow volume can be higher than the capacity of the treatment plants, which means that the excess combined sewer overflow (CSO) and/or wastewater volume is discharged into surface water bodies to avoid overloading of the existing treatment plants and results in flood incidents in urban areas [8]
Green infrastructure can increase the green coverage in the urban environment and create new ecosystems within the cities, while dealing with major urban issues such as urban water management, to limit the risks associated with urban heat islands, flooding and water–air quality
Summary
Green infrastructure (GI) is a modern approach to deal with issues that mainly arise in the urban environment. The moving force towards this direction is the increasing risks that modern cities face due to the more and more frequent appearance and increasing extent of extreme events such as urban floods or extended dry periods Today, it is realized more than ever before that ecosystem services, i.e., all services and goods that nature provides to humans, possess a tremendous value, which should not be neglected [3]. The increasing water demand in urban areas and freshwater withdrawal calls for improved water efficiency This need is further arising from the gradual global transition to a circular economy that follows the 5Rs rules, i.e., reduce water losses and enhance water efficiency, reuse water, recycle water resources and wastewater, restore water of a specific quality to where it was taken from, and recover resources out of wastewater. It becomes apparent that GI is at the center of the new vision to achieve greater circularity within urban systems
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