Blue-green Solutions Research Articles

Improving health and wellbeing through health-centred, evidence-based urban planning methodologies

Abstract Issue/problem The relationship between urban design and human health has been repeatedly established. In fact, research has shown that urban design can influence the greatest challenges to communities’ physical, mental and social well-being around the globe. One of today's biggest health burdens is related to non-communicable diseases, and a facilitating factor in the development of these non-communicable diseases is the design of urban spaces. Currently, urban planning and revitalization are based dominantly on profit criteria with routinized methodologies, with little focus on health and wellbeing. Description of the problem HEART is a collaborative EU-funded project that addresses this issue by upgrading the conventional approach to urban planning towards integrated nature-based methods and concepts with emphasis on health, societal and environmental aspects through the unique concept of Health Centred Planning Methodology. The project aims to improve urban health and reduce health disparities through an innovative Blue-Green-Solutions-based implementation mechanisms of urban planning that embraces and promotes health and wellbeing as a key-planning criterion. To achieve this, HEART is engaging local communities to map the needs and challenges and to express their expectations and preferences so that delivered solutions are co-created and embraced by citizens. It also collects data from three demo sites in three cities - Athens, Belgrade, and Aarhus - to implement nature-based solutions that will address pre-identified socio-cultural, health, and well-being issues. HEART also uses medical evidence in clinical and non-clinical setting to produce evidence proving the effects of various Blue-Green Solutions on public health and wellbeing. Lessons Evidence generated by HEART can be used by stakeholders - such as policymakers and city and health authorities - in their decision-making process around urban planning.

Correction: Mottaghi et al. Caring for Blue-Green Solutions (BGS) in Everyday Life: An Investigation of Recreational Use, Neighborhood Preferences and Willingness to Pay in Augustenborg, Malmö. Land 2023, 12, 336

There was an error in the original publication [...]

Caring for Blue-Green Solutions (BGS) in Everyday Life: An Investigation of Recreational Use, Neighborhood Preferences and Willingness to Pay in Augustenborg, Malmö

In this article, we explore the production of socio-cultural values around blue-green solutions (BGS) through the perspective of care. We explore how values and preferences are formed through the complexity of everyday life engagements in a BGS environment. The data come from a questionnaire answered by 328 households in the neighborhood of Augustenborg in Malmö, Sweden. The questionnaire collects detailed information about inhabitants’ possible recreational use (through Likert scale questions) and willingness to pay (WTP) (estimated through contingent valuation). The study evaluates if and how people care to use, care to live with, and care to pay for BGS. The result shows that people in Augustenborg relate in different and sometimes contradictory ways to BGS. A well-used BGS environment does not per se make the environment successful or result in people preferring a BGS environment in the future. In addition, recreational use and building awareness about BGS flood mitigation seem to increase the willingness to pay, whereas living longer in the area seems to decrease it. The study reveals a landscape of care that is constantly being formed and transformed. This suggests that both planning and research needs to focus more on the relation between BGS and social use over time.

How much green roofs and rainwater harvesting systems can contribute to urban flood mitigation?

ABSTRACT Increased urbanization combined with the intensification of short rainfall events has worsened the urban flood issue. Among the different blue-green solutions to mitigate pluvial floods, green roofs (GR) and rainwater harvesting (RWH) have been investigated as sustainable systems to reduce runoff from rooftops. Their flood mitigation capacity, however, has been estimated mostly at building-scale. Following the need to estimate discharge reduction at large scale over entire cities, we simulated the installation of (extensive, intensive and multilayer blue) GRs on flat roofs and RWH systems for sloped ones. Performances of such systems were investigated in selected cities, representing different climate regimes. Although at building-scale GRs showed higher retention capacity, the cost-efficiency analysis highlights that at large-scale RWH tanks ensure higher retention with lower costs, due to rooftop distribution. The coupled system of multilayer blue-GRs and RWH tanks guarantees a discharge reduction of 5% even during extreme events.

Using mHealth Technologies to Promote Public Health and Well-Being in Urban Areas with Blue-Green Solutions.

European and International cities face crucial global geopolitical, economic, environmental, and other changes. All these intensify threats to and inequalities in citizens' health. The implementation of Blue-Green Solutions in urban and rural areas have been broadly used to tackle the above challenges. The Mobile health (mHealth) technologies contribution in people's well-being has found to be significant. In addition, several mHealth applications have been used to support patients with mental health or cardiovascular diseases with very promising results. The patients' remote monitoring can be a valuable asset in chronic diseases management for patients suffering from diabetes, hypertension or arrhythmia, depression, asthma, allergies and others. The scope of this paper is to present the specifications, the design and the development of a mobile application which collects health-related and location data of users visiting areas with Blue-Green Solutions. The mobile application has been developed to record the citizens' and patients' physical activity and vital signs using wearable devices. The proposed application can also monitor patients physical, physiological, and emotional status as well as motivate them to engage in social and self-caring activities. Additional features include the analysis of the patients' behavior to improve self-management. The "HEART by BioAsssist" application could be used as a health and other data collection tool as well as an "intelligent assistant" to monitor and promote patient's physical activity.

Flood modelling and proposed Blue-Green Solutions – A case study in Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract. This study assesses the potential benefit of Blue-Green Solutions (BGS), green rooftops, rain gardens, permeable pavements, and bioswales, in Lisbon, Portugal. These proposed mitigation measures are applied using TFM-DYN (Nilsson et al., 2021) to simulate potential fluvial flooding distributions from a 10- and 50-year rain event.Water depth of over 30 centimeters can cause damage to infrastructure. The model results show water depths of over 40 centimeters in some parts of the study area for the 10-year return period, raising the need for action. For the 50-year return period even more areas will be affected. These floods can occur at a relatively rapid pace. Four BGS were implemented for flood mitigation. Areas with green roofs and rain gardens showed a lowering in water depth for both return periods. This study shows that even relatively simple data allows for an estimation of urban flooding and the potential effect of BGS for specific locations can easily be determined.

Pervasive Monitoring of Public Health and Well-Being in Urban Areas with Blue-Green Solutions.

The urban environment seems to affect the citizens' health. The implementation of Blue-Green Solutions (BGS) in urban areas have been used to promote public health and citizens well-being. The aim of this paper is to present the development of an mHealth app for monitoring patients and citizens health status in areas where BGS will be applied. The "HEART by BioAsssist" application could be used as a health and other data collection tool as well as an "intelligent assistant" to monitor and promote patient's physical activity in areas with Blue-Green Solutions.

Integrated flood management in the Hull catchment, England

Since the major flood event in 2007, RPS has been deeply involved in investigating, understanding and reducing flood risk across the Hull and Haltemprice catchment. RPS has developed and refined a complex integrated catchment model by combining Yorkshire Water's model of below-ground assets with data for the watercourses and overland flow paths obtained from the Environment Agency, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Hull City Council. RPS used the model to identify major schemes, leading to the design of flood alleviation schemes at Willerby and Derringham, Anlaby and East Ella, and Cottingham and Orchard Park. With further enhancements, the model has been used to better understanding of the complex interactions between the various water systems and solutions are being identified for a long-term plan. Hull has many unique features, driven by its topography, geology and the historical developments of its sewerage network and waterways. These specific challenges require bespoke solutions and there is a clear desire among the partner organisations to work together to drive contemporary blue–green solutions. This requires multi-agency working and progressive thinking to deliver effective flood risk management. This paper reviews the challenges in understanding and resolving these issues.

Blue-Green Playscapes: Exploring Children’s Places in Stormwater Spaces in Augustenborg, Malmö

The urbanisation of cities increases the demands on, and complexity of, urban land use. Urban densification is challenging urban green space. Cities have responded to this challenge by adopting a multiple-use strategy where different functions share space. Shrinking open space has to contain solutions for everyday functions such as bicycle parking, waste sorting, blue-green stormwater systems, and playscapes. Values and functions that can reinforce and amplify each other are therefore of interest to study.<em> </em>The present article explores the possibilities for blue-green solutions (BGS) to be used as part of children’s playscapes. BGS are aboveground, ecological stormwater facilities, introduced to prevent flooding and support biodiversity while adding recreational and aesthetic qualities to the urban environment. The objective is to discuss the extent to which ecological and social values can reinforce each other in terms of encouraging children to engage with BGS natural elements. The researchers have studied the Augustenborg residential neighbourhood in Malmö. The area was primarily investigated through a postal survey, which identified a remodelled park with a floodable sunken lawn as a potentially attractive area for children’s activities. The park was analysed as a potential playscape and supported by on-site observations. The study shows that even if BGS largely meet children’s play values, due to existing socio-spatial structures, children are not using the offered play features. The article discusses the results in terms of how stormwater management may enhance the actualisation of play potentials in children’s everyday living environment.

Comparison of blue-green solutions for urban flood mitigation: A multi-city large-scale analysis.

Flooding risk in cities has been recently exacerbated by increased urbanization and climate change, often with catastrophic consequences in terms of casualties and economic losses. Rainwater harvesting systems and green roofs are recognized as being among the most effective blue-green mitigation measures. However, performances of these systems have currently been investigated only at laboratory or very-small local scales. In this work, we assess the potential benefit of the extensive installation of these solutions on all the rooftops of 9 cities, with different climatological and geographical characteristics. Both surface discharge reduction and delay between rainfall and runoff peak generation have been investigated. Green roofs ensure a larger average lag time between rainfall and runoff peaks than rainwater harvesting systems, without significant differences between intensive and extensive structures. On the other hand, the cost-efficiency analysis, considering the entire urban area, shows a higher retention capacity with a lower financial investment for rainwater harvesting rather than for green roofs in most cases. For extreme rainfall events, large-scale installation of rainwater harvesting systems coupled with intensive green roofs over the entire city have shown to be the most efficient solution, with a total discharge reduction that can vary from 5% to 15%, depending on the city characteristics and local climate.

Thermally stable, solution processable and redox active new poly(amide-imide)s: synthesis and characterization

A series of new poly(amide-imide)s was prepared by polycondensation of our already reported diamine, N,N’-[((propane-2,2-diylbis(4,1-phenylene) bis(oxy))bis(4,1-phenylene)]bis(4-aminobenzamide) (BDM) containing flexible ether and amide linkages with different aromatic dianhydrides via simple two-step method. The synthesized poly(amide-imide)s were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. These poly(amide-imide)s demonstrated nice solubility in most of the organic solvents at ambient temperature and upon heating. They also revealed great thermal stability and showed glass transition temperatures (Tgs) exceeding 150 °C in addition to the temperature of 10% weight loss (T10) that fluctuated from 460 to 522 °C having more than 59% residual yield at 800 °C in nitrogen atmosphere indicating their flame retardant characteristics. Furthermore, they also showed interesting photoluminescent properties with blue green solution emission properties, redox activity, and lower onset oxidation potentials with appreciably shallow HOMO levels.

EXPLORING SPATIAL PARAMETERS TO EVALUATE HUMAN WALKING ACCESSIBILITY OF URBAN GREEN SPACE

Abstract. With the growth of urban population and the increasing urban density, urban green space has become a kind of precious and limited resources. It not only has a positive impact on the health of urban residents with high work-life pressure but also offers opportunities as part of blue-green solutions for sustainable urban water management. Therefore, to effectively utilise the limited green spaces, experts are exploring a way of organising the green space layout to balance human needs and other urban developing requirements (e.g., in this case, urban stormwater management) within the certain common area. With this target, translating the space accessibility to human and other urban developments on green space into space parameter is a critical step to organize space model for the multi-functional green space. Although there are plenty of existing spatial parameters developed for evaluating human accessibility (such as travel distance, land-use, spatial connectivity etc.), there isn’t a way to organize them to satisfy the diverse evaluation needs from different research purposes. Besides, most of them are suitable for analyzing space on a city scale or at least a precinct scale in a 2D model. To the accurate design on a micro-scale, it is still a big challenge. The reason is some parameters for city analysis don’t work on a micro-scale, and some parameters should be reorganised in the evaluation algorithm or should include more micro-scale factors. Thus, this paper, based on the characteristics of human behaviour, redefines the complex concept- accessibility and develop measurable parameters with feasible factors on micro-scale. Overall, this paper presents: (1) a new definition of walking accessibility of green space; (2) evaluation criteria (3) parameters (depth and Integration) reflecting connectivity criteria (4) Parameters (travel time and speed, slope, direction changes) relating travel distance criteria with updated evaluation algorithm and factors. This paper aims at useful spatial parameters and evaluation measures that are applicable to integrate human needs within multi-functional green space design, especially green stormwater management design.

Blue-Green Solutions and Everyday Ethicalities: Affordances and Matters of Concern in Augustenborg, Malmö

This article aims to understand how the introduction of blue-green solutions affects ethical concerns and expectations of an urban environment. Blue-green solutions are complementary technical solutions, introduced into urban water management, in order to deal with the impact of urbanisation and climate change. These kinds of solutions establish new affordances that have an impact on everyday life in the urban environment. This article describes how blue-green solutions become part of urban settings and how they influence the inhabitant’s perceptions, desires and matters of care concerning these settings. The article examines the interplay between blue-green technologies and the social, material and cultural context in the Augustenborg district in Malmö, Sweden. The study is based on the analysis of free-text answers to a questionnaire aimed to collect information about the interaction between blue-green solutions and everyday life in public spaces. By exploring the inhabitants’ point of view, the article then seeks to recognise the meanings and thoughts entangled with place concerning different types of blue-green solutions. We summarise the main concerns raised by the inhabitants and discuss how the implementation of blue-green solutions relates to the transformation of everyday ethicalities and matters of concern relating to the neighbourhood. We conclude that blue-green infrastructure seems to come with a new kind of sensitivity, as well as with an intensification of concerns, in an existing urban environment. This has important social repercussions, which also makes it important to study the social role and implications of blue-green technologies further.

Sewage systems, treatment plants, ‘blue–green solutions’: The role of professionals in the historical justifications and planning of urban wastewater infrastructures

ABSTRACT This article analyses three key moments in the historical development of urban wastewater infrastructure and points to the important role that professionals, and particularly engineers, play in these transformations in relation to public issues and concerns over wastewater. The article uses historical documents and interview data to illustrate the work of professionals, as well as suggesting more specifically that professionals have the capacity to translate public concerns into material solutions—in this case, infrastructures. By combining and developing Laurent Thévenot’s pragmatic sociology and Andrew Abbott’s sociology of professions to understand the historic role of professionals in urban wastewater planning, the article reveals a growing concern with ‘green’ justifications in this area, and how these justifications both enable and constrain professional work on specific infrastructures.

Integrating blue-green and grey infrastructure through an adaptation pathways approach to surface water flooding.

A range of solutions to future flood risk are available ranging from blue-green infrastructure (BGI) as commonly incorporated in sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to traditional grey infrastructure (e.g. pipe networks, storage tanks, flood walls). Each offers a different profile with respect to costs, flexibility of implementation and the ability to deliver a range of wider benefits beyond their flood protection function. An important question that must be addressed when considering these approaches is what is the most suitable mix of grey and blue-green solutions to urban flooding at any location and at any future time? This paper uses an adaptation pathways approach to compare a range of alternative options to deal with current and expected future flood risk in part of a London borough. Solutions considered separately and in combination include grey pipe expansion, bioretention cells, permeable pavements and storage ponds. A methodological framework combines a range of existing tools to develop, assess and characterize each pathway, including a storm water management model (SWMM), a SuDs opportunity selection tool, an adaptation pathway generator and the CIRIA B£ST tool for monetizing multiple benefits. Climate change is represented by the UK Water Industry Research method for establishing future rainfall intensities for sewer and BGI design. The results showed that by extending the way in which adaptation pathways are compared and evaluated through the wider consideration of multiple benefits there is a trade-off between deferring interventions until they are needed for flood risk mitigation and delivering the multiple benefits associated with interventions so that performance thresholds do not need to be met before introducing new options. The relative contribution of each option's capital and operation and maintenance costs has implications on when the option is implemented as well as the rate of implementation. The monetization of the multiple benefits associated with each pathway shows that their economic co-evaluation alongside infrastructure costs can change the preference for one pathway over another. This article is part of the theme issue 'Urban flood resilience'.

Assessment of barriers and drivers for implementation of blue-green solutions in Swedish municipalities

Due to increased urbanisation, and climate change, there have been calls for a more sustainable management of stormwater. Blue-green measures have been recognised as a sustainable solution and a necessary complement to pipe-bound approaches. The aim of this study is to identify barriers and drivers in the implementation of blue-green measures in a Swedish context, to increase the understanding of how they could be implemented in a more successful manner. The study is qualitative and based on semi-structured interviews. Through the lens of transition theory, barriers and drivers for blue-green measures were identified and they give an updated picture of Swedish urban stormwater management. Many factors encourage municipal actors to implement blue-green solutions, such as increased need for recreation, protection of biodiversity and climate change. Identified barriers are found within the municipal stormwater management it-self, but can also be found outside the storm water management structure, such as lack of knowledge among politicians, officials, exploiters and civilians, fragmented roles and responsibilities in general, as well as uncertainty of the effects and cost of new alternatives. The study has three main findings; Several barriers were mentioned by most of the interviewees clearly show that a wide range of changes are needed to alter the current stormwater management regime; Niche innovations are often put forward as a way to enhance socio-technical transition, but this study is that such an approach is over-simplified instead elaborated suggestions for an alteration of urban stormwater management is given, both with top-down and bottom-up perspective. For the success of blue-green solutions, educational efforts are important at different levels in the planning, building and maintenance process of blue-green solutions. Therefore, employees must have a good general knowledge of both blue and green issues as well as having contacts in the different sectors of the municipality. To conclude we argue that a transition can not only be induced by pilot projects but requires change in legal structures as well as altered financing models for blue-green solutions. Moreover, the ongoing, but slow, change should therefor probably be interpreted as a shift to a new regime, but rather an evolutionary transition where new approaches are combined with traditional, pipe-bound solutions.

Production of Gas-Phase Uranium Fluoroanions Via Solubilization of Uranium Oxides in the [1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium]+[F(HF)2.3]- Ionic Liquid.

A new methodology for gas-phase uranium ion formation is described in which UO2 is dissolved in neat N-ethyl,N'-methylimidazolium fluorohydrogenate ionic liquid [EMIm+][F(HF)2.3-], yielding a blue-green solution. The solution was diluted with acetonitrile and then analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. UF6- (a U(V) species) was observed at m/z = 352, and other than cluster ions derived from the ionic liquid, nothing else was observed. When the sample was analyzed using infusion desorption chemical ionization, UF6- was the base peak, and it was accompanied by a less intense UF5- that most likely was formed by elimination of a fluorine radical from UF6-. Formation of UF6- required dissolution of UO2 followed by or concurrent with oxidation of uranium from the + 4 to the + 5 state and finally formation of the fluorouranate. Dissolution of UO3 produced a bright yellow solution indicative of a U(VI) species; however, electrospray ionization did not produce abundant U-containing ions. The abundant UF6- provides a vehicle for accurate measurement of uranium isotopic abundances free from interference from minor isotopes of other elements and a convenient ion synthesis route that is needed gas-phase structure and reactivity studies like infrared multiphoton dissociation and ion-molecule dissociation and condensation reactions. The reactive fluorohydrogenate ionic liquid may also enable conversion of uranium in oxidic matrices into uranium fluorides that slowly oxidize to uranyl fluoride under ambient conditions, liberating the metal for facile measurement of isotope ratios without extensive chemical separations. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Aquatic biodiversity in sedimentation ponds receiving road runoff – What are the key drivers?

Recently, increased attention has been paid to biodiversity conservation provided by blue-green solutions such as engineered ponds that are primarily established for water treatment and flood control. However, little research has been done to analyse the factors that affect biodiversity in such ponds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of environmental factors on aquatic biodiversity, mainly macroinvertebrate communities, in road sedimentation ponds in order to provide a foundation for recommendations on aquatic biodiversity conservation. Multivariate statistical methods, including unconstrained and constrained analysis, were applied to examine the relationships between organisms and the water quality as well as physical factors (including plant cover). Stepwise multiple regressions indicated that the most important variables governing the variation in the biological community composition were pond size, average annual daily traffic, metals, chloride, distance to the closest pond from study pond, dissolved oxygen, hydrocarbons, and phosphorus. The presence of most taxa was positively correlated with pond size and negatively correlated with metals. Small ponds with high pollutant loadings were associated with a low diversity and dominated by a few pollution tolerant taxa such as oligochaetes. A comprehensive understanding of impacts of various environmental factors on aquatic biodiversity is important to effectively promote and conserve aquatic biodiversity in such sedimentation ponds. Our results indicate that road sedimentation ponds should be designed large enough, because large ponds are likely to provide a more heterogeneous habitat and thus contain a species rich fauna. In addition, larger ponds seem to be less contaminated due to dilution compared to smaller ponds, thereby maintaining a higher biodiversity. Finally, creating some additional ponds in the vicinity of the sedimentation ponds in areas with few water bodies would increase the connectivity that facilitates the movement of invertebrates between ponds.

Convenient synthesis of twin-Christmas tree-like PbWO4 microcrystals and their photocatalytic properties

Novel twin-Christmas tree-like PbWO4 microcrystals have been prepared via a convenient aqueous solution route at room temperature under the assistance of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). The product was characterized by XRD, EDX, SEM, TEM, UV-vis and PL and BET techniques. It was found that β-CD plays an important role in the forming of twin-Christmas tree-like PbWO4 microcrystals. A five-step growth mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of such twin-Christmas tree-like structures. The photocatalytic performance of PbWO4 microcrystals was evaluated by measuring the decomposition rate of methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) solution under the UV irradiation, and the photocatalytic results indicated that as-prepared PbWO4 microcrystals exhibit good and versatile photocatalytic activity as well as excellent recyclability.

Effect of transition metal doping on the photocatalytic properties of FeVO4 nanoparticles

Abstract Undoped FeVO4 and FeVO4:M(2%) (where M = Mn2+, Ti4+ and Zn2+) nanostructures have been synthesized using a simple sonochemical method. The transition metal ions have been chosen as dopants to modify the electronic band structure which can lead to better exploitation of FeVO4 as a photocatalyst material. The samples have been characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Morphology and surface area of the samples has been elucidated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. Diffuse reflectance UV visible measurements confirm that the materials have their band gaps in the visible region. The photocatalytic activity of all the samples has been studied under UV and visible irradiation using model dye pollutants like methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) solutions. Attempt has been made to discuss the photocatalytic degradation mechanism by performing trapping experiments using various scavengers. Moreover, the reusability of the material has also been tested and it has been found to have a good recycling potential.