Green Infrastructure Development Research Articles

Sustainability in Action: Green Infrastructure as a Marker of Sustainable Urban Development

The current form and pace of urbanization is an ongoing threat to sustainable urban development. As these problems span social, environmental, and economic realms, it is imperative that any proposed solution is able to address these problems holistically. Although a number of silver-bullet solutions such as electric vehicle adoption have been introduced, they do not respond to the problems with an integrated approach. Tackling this problem will require a solution that can be changed and applied on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, the development of green infrastructure is the most efficient solution when responding to the problems threatening urban sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to argue for the efficacy of green infrastructure methods by analyzing the evidence provided about factors like temperature and pollution levels in green cities as compared to other proposed solutions, and to explore critiques of green infrastructure and discuss their potential improvements. The research provided contains a mixture of case studies, participant surveys, and other scientific findings and has the potential to make green infrastructure a priority in the future planning of cities.

Impact of Urban Expansion on Migratory Birds in the Lagos Wetlands: Breeding Habits and Population Dynamics

This research delves into the complex interactions between urban expansion and migratory bird populations in the Lagos wetlands, specifically examining how changes in urban landscapes influence breeding habits and population dynamics. The rapid and extensive urbanization in Lagos has resulted in considerable habitat fragmentation and environmental degradation, leading to significant disruptions in the ecological functions vital for the sustenance of migratory bird species. This study conducts a thorough analysis of existing conservation measures, assessing their effectiveness and identifying gaps in current practices. Building on this analysis, the research proposes a suite of integrated strategies for sustainable urban planning that emphasizes wildlife preservation. These strategies include the development of green infrastructure, the establishment of ecological corridors, enhanced community involvement in conservation efforts, and the integration of robust environmental policies into urban planning frameworks. The study underscores the critical need for a holistic and scalable approach to urban planning, one that effectively balances human development with the preservation of biodiversity. The findings advocate for a multi-faceted response to urban impacts, suggesting that while current conservation efforts provide a foundation, they require significant expansion and reinforcement to safeguard the migratory bird populations and maintain the ecological health of the Lagos wetlands in the face of ongoing urban challenges.

Optimizing urban green infrastructure using a highly detailed surface modeling approach

Urban trees and forests show a better ecosystem with many benefits, including pure air quality. The development of urban green infrastructure (UGI) creates a better management system that greatly impacts social values in an urban system. The UGI and construction activities are receiving much attention for their effectiveness in addressing various urban ecological, social and economic issues. Using green infrastructure in stormwater management can reduce the influence on urban sewerage systems and, eventually, on building water resources. The main goal of the research is to optimize the green infrastructure to provide a less-pollution, well-organized, and pleasurable environment for the inhabitants. Various models are used to study the present rainfall-runoff scenario, but the stormwater management model (SWMM) is the most preferable and suggested model. Once the parameters are accessed, optimizing the green infrastructure (GI) will be easy. A complete SWMM model is evaluated over the complete surface, and a hydrological measurement is presented. The evaluation study presents various component percentages: asphalt (37%), green (27%), ceiling (21%), grit (12%), and cemented area (2%), which provides rainproof coverage of approximately 60%. A design is developed about the diverse events of GI in urban exploiting the SWMM and demonstrates its stimulus on the rainfall-runoff behaviour. In recent years, very little attention has been given to green spaces in urban areas, which not only increases pollution but also decreases the urbanization. Therefore, urban green spaces are more important to improve air quality and resident living standards. Over the given scenario and the rainfall event, a decline of the quantitative discharge parameters is evident, such as discharge volume (i.e., from 3.6 to 61.8) and the peak discharge rate (i.e., from 5.4 to 62.7%). The simulation results show that green areas give high satisfaction with low construction costs, which shows the superlative performance ratio of the examined measures. From the investigation, it is also recommended to have green areas and public spaces in impervious urban areas, which greatly reduced the runoff in the project area.

Barriers to resident participation in tree-planting initiatives across a metropolitan area

Past research on barriers to the development and implementation of green infrastructure (GI) has examined the experiences of policy makers and community leaders, with a focus on planting or installing GI. However, many of these programs rely on participation from the public — especially residents — who often steward GI over the long-term on both public and private lands. To better understand the barriers experienced by primary stewards of GI, we conducted 93 intercept interviews with residents spanning four neighborhoods in the City of Philadelphia and in four nearby suburban municipalities with active TPIs. Selected neighborhoods and towns included areas with varied canopy cover and economically and racially diverse communities. We found that residents viewed trees as a neighborhood asset, yet they also identified multiple categories of barriers across the tree lifecycle, including physical, maintenance, aesthetic, knowledge, and environmental issues. Our study also reveals the convergence and divergence of barriers experienced across city and suburban neighborhoods based on contextual factors. Our results suggest that barriers to participation in TPIs are multi-dimensional, context-specific, and endure across the lifecycle of GI. Long-term maintenance concerns relate to tree care that is outside the purview of TPIs led by non-profit organizations. Advancing equitable urban forestry that reaches neighborhoods with the greatest need requires recognition and respect of resident and community experiences, needs, and land use priorities, as well as improved institutional collaboration.

Existing evidence on the potential of soils constructed from mineral wastes to support biodiversity: a systematic map

Abstract Background The development of cities and transport infrastructure produces a large volume of mineral waste (e.g. excavated earth material). At the same time, cities are increasingly trying to develop green infrastructures, given the ecosystem services they provide to people, but this comes with considerable economic and environmental costs associated with the transfer of fertile soil from rural areas to cities. In a circular economy approach, the reuse of mineral waste to build fertile soil is a substantial opportunity to reduce the economic and environmental costs of both mineral waste management and green infrastructure development. Soils constructed from these materials (constructed Technosols) must be able to support vegetation growth and become a suitable living environment for soil organisms. This requires ecological engineering to maximise the potential of constructed soils for biodiversity, both from a taxonomic and functional perspective. In this context, we systematically mapped the evidence related to the ability of soils constructed from mineral wastes to support biodiversity. Methods We gathered published and grey literature through searches in two publications databases (Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection), one search engine (Google Scholar), nine organisational websites and through a call for literature. Titles, abstracts, and full-texts were successively screened using eligibility criteria. All included studies were described with coded variables and a database was produced. The extent of evidence was assessed and knowledge clusters and gaps were identified. Review findings The searches yielded 9265 articles, and 153 articles were retained after the screening process. More than half of these articles were from European countries, with France leading the field with 40 articles, followed by Spain (15 articles) and Italy (10 articles). Most of the articles (75%) were produced after 2015. The main reasons for constructing soils from mineral waste were for mine rehabilitation (35%), waste recycling (16%) and experimental purpose (15%). The 153 articles were divided into 1962 studies, a study being a combination of a taxon, an intervention (i.e. soil construction) and a measured outcome. Among these studies, the most studied biological group is plants (69% of studies) and especially herbaceous species (32%), followed by microorganisms (17%) and invertebrates (14%). The most used type of mineral waste is mine waste (31% of studies) followed by excavated soil (16%) and demolition waste (14%). Finally, the most frequently measured outcome is plant growth (42% of studies), followed by organism abundance (16%) and diversity (10%). Conclusions Three main knowledge clusters were identified which could be addressed in the future for full synthesis of the results: (1) How well do plants grow in soils constructed from mineral wastes? (2) What is the potential of soils constructed from mineral wastes to support biodiversity? and (3) How do microbial communities develop in soils constructed from mineral wastes? There is a lack of studies investigating several biological groups at the same time: only 6 articles out of 153 investigated the response of both plants, invertebrates and microorganisms to soil construction. More research is therefore needed on the ability to support a diversity of organisms.

Using fs/QCA to explore the influencing factors of urban green infrastructure development and its combinational drivers: the case of the Yangtze River Delta region of China.

High levels of urban green infrastructure (UGI) development can help mitigate the climate, biodiversity, and habitat crises faced by cities and support the achievement of sustainable urban development. Based on the relevant data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region obtained from 2011 to 2020, this study measured the development level of natural and geographic conditions, economic development, urban construction, social and cultural development, and eco-environment quality and urban green infrastructure (UGI); evaluated the development trend of UGI in the region during the 12th Five-Year Plan and 13th Five-Year Plan by using entropy TOPSIS; and used fs/QCA to explain the high-level development path of each city toward the achievement of a green infrastructure. The results showed that (1) the development level of UGI in the Yangtze River Delta region decreases from southeast to northwest, and gradually decreases from Shanghai, Hangzhou, and other central cities. (2) There were several different configurations of high levels and non-high levels of UGI development drivers across regions, confirming the existence of multiple causality and asymmetry indices in the drivers of UGI. (3) During the "12th Five-Year Plan" and the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the conditions needed to achieve a high level of UGI gradually became stricter, expanding from nature-social culture and urban construction-eco-environmental drivers to nature-urban construction, nature-social culture-eco-environmental, urban construction-economy-social culture-eco-environmental drivers. Research findings can provide greater guidance and implications for future sustainable urban development.

Green Transition Assessment, Spatial Correlation, and Obstacles Identification: Evidence from Urban Governance Data of 288 Cities in China

The green transition of China’s cities is crucial for ecology civilization realization. Based on the driver–pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR) framework, an integrated technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) model with entropy weight, this study achieved the comprehensive assessment of the green transition of 288 province-level municipalities and prefecture-level cities in China over 18 years from 2002 to 2019, in addition to the spatial correlations and obstacles analysis. The results indicate that major cities in China have a more significant green transition value, and the eastern region is developing fast, while the northeast region is relatively slow. There was heterogeneous spatial distribution for green transition, because of the disequilibrium sustainable development of 288 cities. Green transition has a significantly positive spatial autocorrelation in the cities of China, the high–high significant clusters greatly increased, and the main locations changed from the northeast to southeast of China. Frequent obstacles were also found, including road infrastructure construction, water resources, and the green coverage of urban built-up areas. Based on these results, several policy implications were put forward, including the optimization of environmental laws and regulations, the development of green transportation infrastructure, resource conservation and the circular economy, the establishment of a green financial system, and increasing the linkage for the green transition of different cities.

Green finance, new infrastructure, and carbon emission performance in Chinese cities

Green finance (GF), new infrastructure (NI), and low-carbon green development play important roles in promoting high-quality economic development in China. To date, few studies have considered the relationships among GF, NI, and carbon emission performance (CEP) simultaneously. Using the panel data of 285 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2021, an improved vertical and horizontal pull-out gearing method was used to measure the GF and NI composite indices, and the CEP was measured using the slacks-based measure (SBM) non-expected output model. Using the panel data fixed-effects model and interactive effect model, it was found that both GF and NI can effectively enhance urban CEP and produce a superposition effect, promoting each other to deepen their ability to enhance the CEP. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the effects of GF and NI are more notable in eastern China, with a higher degree of marketization, policy support for the development of the digital economy, and resource-based cities. Green technological innovation, industrial structure upgrading, and resource allocation optimization are pathways for GF and NI to jointly enhance the CEP. Further analysis of the spatial system of the equation model using the generalized three-stage least squares (GS3SLS) methodology found that there were spatial interaction spillover effects among GF, NI, and CEP and that these effects were better for a local area than for the surrounding neighboring cities.

Making a case for nature‐based solutions for a sustainable built environment in Africa

AbstractThe potential of using nature‐based solutions to address issues of climate change has continued to gain momentum, especially in developed nations. However, the same cannot be said for developing countries, particularly in Africa, where the knowledge and awareness of natural solutions are low, and research on their application within the built environment is scant. Using a sciento‐metric and narrative review of published literature, this paper makes a case for research exploration on nature‐based solutions for a sustainable built environment in Africa. The findings revealed an opportunity for significant research contributions on nature‐based solutions in addressing flood risk management, climate change and urban planning, water quality and carbon emission, sustainable development, and green infrastructure and urban development. These areas are the critical focus of past studies explored. Also, the findings offer guidance for further studies to be conducted in less explored areas, such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gases, energy utilisation, indoor comfort, and numeric models for using nature‐based solutions within the African context. The findings of the study offer an excellent theoretical background to direct researchers and practitioners who seek to attain and promote sustainable built environments through nature‐based solutions, especially in Africa.

Integrating landscape ecology in urban green infrastructure planning: A multi-scale approach for sustainable development

In response to the growing global recognition of the need to achieve sustainable development, significant efforts are underway to actively integrate nature into the urban environment by implementing green infrastructure. However, due to rapid urban growth, there is a need for novel approaches that integrate ecological knowledge and methods into urban green infrastructure design and development. Traditionally, the planning of green infrastructures in large metropolises has primarily approached from a unique city scale perspective. Here, we advocate for a multi-scale approach, encompassing both spatial and temporal dimensions. This is because by considering space, time, and scale, it is possible to identify relevant elements and constraints at each level and integrate them in an overall solution.This paper combines methodologies and concepts derived from the fundamentals of landscape ecology and proposes their integration into the planning of functional green infrastructures within an urban context. We explore distinct strategies to integrate nature into large cities through three perspectives: urbanism, landscaping, and ecology. The approach used assumes the necessity of a multi-scale framework to establish an integrated and sustainable green system, exemplified by the case study of the city of Madrid (Spain).Considerable progress has been made in the planning of a green belt within Madrid city. However, this initiative has focused primarily on a large-scale, leading to a minimal impact on the city core. To address this limitation, the proposed solution employs a multi-scale approach. By developing a connected network, we aim to provide a comprehensive plan for the integration of green infrastructure throughout the whole urban area.

Green infrastructure development: Strategies for urban resilience and sustainability

This research explores the pivotal role of green infrastructure in fostering urban resilience and sustainability. Defining green infrastructure as an interconnected system of natural and human-made elements, the study delves into varied interpretations. The literature review elucidates its significance by intertwining ecological, social, and economic dimensions. The conceptual framework outlines holistic strategies for development, emphasizing biodiversity, community engagement, and seamless integration with existing urban structures. Despite the documented benefits, challenges such as limited space, maintenance issues, and resistance to change must be addressed. The conclusion underscores the transformative potential of green infrastructure, offering a roadmap for cities to navigate obstacles and embrace a future where nature and urbanity coalesce for resilient and sustainable urban environments.

Development of green infrastructure as a trend in climate transformation - challenges for Polish cities

The aim of this paper is to characterize the shaping of green infrastructure for the 12 largest Polish cities in 2005-2021. The research was performed using the data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS). The outline of the research supports the conclusion that large Polish cities should make changes to increase the area of functional green spaces. In line with global and European trends, investments in the development of green infrastructure should be a priority in the development strategies of Polish cities. The development of functional green spaces should make them more biophilic according to the good practices of the greenest cities in Europe and the world.

Public Perception on the Role of Urban Green Infrastructure Development and Land Use Management in Rapidly Urbanized Countries: The Case of Hawassa City, Ethiopia

Public Perception on the Role of Urban Green Infrastructure Development and Land Use Management in Rapidly Urbanized Countries: The Case of Hawassa City, Ethiopia

Green infrastructure development as a factor of Moscow metropolis sustainable development

The research is aimed at improving the sustainable development of cities, which focuses on the systemic goal setting of environmental development tasks, social policy and economic responsibility. The development of green infrastructure has been among the sustainable development goals of many cities around the world since the early 2000s. The study showed that the modern understanding of green infrastructure in Russia is still not widespread, which creates problems for the sustainable development of Russian cities in the future, since the implemented greening programs generally reflect a more simplified and fragmented meaning of the city’s green infrastructure. It has been established that the situation in Russia has begun to change over the past few years: new scientific, methodological and practical approaches to the development of green infrastructure in Russian cities have been developed, leading state and public institutions presented ratings reflecting the ideology of the development of green infrastructure in cities within the framework of the principles of sustainable development. Based on the method of comparative and statistical analysis, the article identifies the features of the development of green infrastructure in Moscow, shows its advantages and problems, and suggests directions for its sustainable development based on innovative approaches to vertical gardening.

Eight Years of Research Related to the Green Sukuk in the Global Stock Exchange Market to Support the Implementation of SDG: A Bibliometric Review

The awareness of investors that only invest in green instruments has been increasing recently. Green sukuk was an investment that followed the Sharia principle and promoted environmental preservation. This study aims to analyze green sukuk in previous studies as an alternative financing for green infrastructure development in Indonesia. This study used a bibliometric method by taking secondary data from meta-data papers from Scopus and SCI. Forty papers from Scopus and 29 from SCI during 2016-2023 were taken as samples. Data were analyzed with Vosviewer and Biblioshiny. The results of this study show that the energy was closely related to the topic of green sukuk. Energy was mostly used in the abstract and titles of papers. Moreover, the abstract and the title showed that the word sustainable was used frequently, implying that the energy power plant could become an underlying asset for green sukuk due to its sustainable revenue. However, the government should take action to create regulations that could support the green project as an underlying asset of Green Sukuk.

A comprehensive study of the city's green infrastructure. The case of Yekaterinburg

The subject of the study is green city infrastructure. The content of the concept ‘green infrastructure’ is expounded, and the reasons why the term ‘green infrastructure’ is now mostly used. Special attention is paid to the structural properties of the green infrastructure, in particular to the main element that ensures its sustainability - the green framework. As a case in point, we considered the condition of the green infrastructure framework in the city of Ekaterinburg. Issues around the green infrastructure framework were identified and described regarding its structural properties. Long-term risks arising from the mismatch between the structural properties of the green infrastructure framework and the needs of city development are assessed. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that we used not only the traditional methods such as mapping, graphical analytic technique, and photo surveying, but also new modern approaches such as geo-referenced data, multispectral space images from which different indices are calculated, in particular combinations of images in different channels. The article shows how different indices can be applied and used to analyze green infrastructure. It is concluded that in a number of cases it is the use of geo-referenced data that allows obtaining unique information about the condition of the green infrastructure and the causes of long-term changes occurring in it. All the identified regularities are used to evaluate the design decisions laid down in the general plan of the city to forecast risks and create recommendations that contribute to the sustainable development of green infrastructure.

Green Infrastructure Development within Urban Environment provided by Privately Owned Public Spaces

Since the industrialisation era, there has been a trend towards radial sprawl, rapid development and concentration of people in the largest cities. Historically, people needed space outside their homes to interact and communicate to each other. In the city it was provided by public open space, forming the centres of social life. The conditions and opportunities for people to use outdoor space have also changed with changing eras and political power settings, along with the scale of development, security concerns and ownership of space in the city. The aim of the study is to explore the nature of Privately Owned Publicly – Accessible Spaces (POPS) and their potential development contribution to urban green infrastructure, developing design and planning recommendations for the development of Privately Owned Publicly – Accessible Spaces in the urban environment. The research carried out during the literature review and analysis of city plans of the cities introduced POPS program shows the relevance of the topic of private ownership of public open space in the world's major metropolises, but that it is conceptually possible to adapt it to smaller-scale urban planning, for example by applying it to private investors and developers in their requirements for new buildings and sites development.

Investigating Urban Flooding and Nutrient Export under Different Urban Development Scenarios in the Rouge River Watershed in Michigan, USA

Adverse environmental impacts in the watershed are driven by urbanization, which is reflected by land use and land cover (LULC) transitions, such as increased impervious surfaces, industrial land expansion, and green space reduction. Some adverse impacts on the water environment include urban flooding and water quality degradation. Our study area, the Rouge River Watershed, has been susceptible to accelerated urbanization and degradation of ecosystems. Employing the Land Change Modeler (LCM), we designed four alternative urban development scenarios for 2023. Subsequently, leveraging the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), we utilized two models—Nutrient Delivery Ratio (NDR) and Flood Risk Mitigation (UFRM)—to evaluate and compare the performance of these scenarios, as well as the situation in 2019, in terms of nutrient export and urban flooding. After simulating these scenarios, we determined that prioritizing the medium- and high-intensity development scenario to protect open space outperforms other scenarios in nutrient export. However, the four scenarios could not exhibit significant differences in urban flooding mitigation. Thus, we propose balanced and integrative strategies, such as planning green infrastructure and compact development, to foster ecological and economic growth, and enhance the Rouge River Watershed’s resilience against natural disasters for a sustainable future.

URBAN CATALYZE IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN BAGHDAD CITY

Urban Catalyze is the process that catalyzed the largest scale in cities by introducing appropriate variables as well as encouraging the continuous and progressive reform and development of the urban fabric. Sustainable Urban Catalyze is a strategy that aims to promote urban development in a sustainable and balanced manner between current and future needs, so this approach includes improving the sustainability of cities in general and residential areas in particular through the development of green infrastructure and placemaking, as well as enhancing community participation and improving the quality of life for residents. The research diagnosed its research problem in a lack of knowledge on “role of sustainable urban catalyzes in the development of residential areas in the city of Baghdad”. The research aims to clarify the characteristics, patterns, levels and indicators of sustainable urban catalyze that may contribute positively to catalyzed residential areas to be more efficient in achieving the requirements of their occupants. Its hypothesis was that “the characteristics of sustainable urban catalyze have a positive dimension in catalyzing and developing sustainable urban design in the residential area”. The research finds that the characteristics of sustainable urban catalyze in residential areas can be achieved by adopting its indicators (resource use efficiency, biodiversity and environment, sustainable transport, sustainable economy, sustainable social and cultural life, and finally sustainable urban management), as these indicators contribute to achieving a balance between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable urban development of the residential area, so that cities and residential areas are built that combine economic, social, and environmental aspects, which enhance their sustainability and attractiveness as place to live and work

Sechs Ansatzpunkte für eine nachhaltige und sozialverträgliche grüne Transformation

Abstract Germany wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, which requires a substantial acceleration in emission reduction. The OECD suggests six levers for a successful sustainability transformation. More comprehensive and coherent greenhouse gas pricing, involving a phase out of environmentally harmful subsidies would set better incentives to switch consumption, production and innovation to climate­friendlier products and technologies. Direct revenue refunds to households would avoid overburdening lower­income groups. Furthermore, there are a number of costly and poorly targeted subsidies for the deployment of renewables that can be reduced gradually. This would make room to offer more support for expediting development of green energy technologies and infrastructure. Workers in energy­intensive industries will need support to retrain and potentially move to other industries or places.