Convivial Greenstreets: A Concept for Climate-Responsive Urban Design

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual framework for using “convivial greenstreets” (CG) as a resource for climate adaptation. When applied consistently, CG can become an emerging green practice with a positive impact on urban adaptation to climate change: CG may provide localized climate amelioration in ways that support social engagement outdoors. However, as spontaneous phenomena, CG should neither become an academic nor an aesthetic prescriptive tool. How then can CG be used as an active resource for urban adaptation to climate change while avoiding these two potential pitfalls? To explore this question, we present the concept of CG and the ways it can be situated in theoretical urbanism and analogous urban morphologies. We profile the CG inventory corpus and conceptualization that has taken place to date and expand them through a climate-responsive urban design lens. We then discuss how CG and climate-responsive urban design can be brought together while preventing the academization and aestheticizing of the former. This discussion is illustrated with a group of visualizations. We conclude by submitting that climate-responsive urban design and extensive and robust CG practices can co-operate to promote more resilient communities and urban climates. Finally, the conceptual framework herein sets an agenda for future research.

Climate change preparedness across sectors of the built environment – A review of literature

“…Within the context of the UK, there is also evidence of several government policies and decision-making models aimed at supporting place-making for climate change, however the translation of these into physical works is seen to be limited by a lack of substantive knowledge on the subject . Other actions across urban design literature were largely conceptual, such as the development of urban design process models for engaging with climate change , decision-making support tools (Matos Silva and Costa 2016;Nouri and Costa 2017), and conceptual design responses (Tamminga et al 2020). There is recognition of a lack of translation of urban design theories or concepts into on-the-ground action (Loukaitou-Sideris 2012).…”

Transformation towards Green Cities: Key Conditions to Accelerate Change

“…Tamminga, Cortesão, and Bakx [63] presented a conceptual framework for using "convivial green streets" (CG) as a resource for climate adaptation. When applied consistently, CG can become an emerging green practice with a positive impact on urban adaptation to climate change: CG may provide localized climate amelioration in ways that support social engagement outdoors (coinciding subsystems).…”

“…In addition to what has been achieved in this field, the design and imagining of possible futures, in a plan-making phase, can also help to accelerate transformations [16,[60][61][62], as it shows how the city can be and, thus, attracts people to see the advantages of greening the city. In such a way, Tamminga et al [63] illustrated an index of standard green elements that can be used in several ways for greening the city. This index is helpful given that inhabitants or other actors can easily project these elements in their surroundings, helping them to understand how the future can possibly be.…”

Urban Climate Resilience

“…Broadly put, academia creates evidence-based design knowledge on climateadaptive design; spatial designers introduce sitespecific design solutions into a design schema; contractors and builders materialize the design schema, which makes their mindset and the qualities of their building practices a cornerstone of implementing an urban climate resilience vision. Citizens can be engaged in implementing climateadaptive solutions, for example, through streetscape gardening or depaving (Tamminga et al 2020) and, last but not least, civic authorities determine new urban (re)developments and, Urban Climate Resilience, Fig. 1 The climate-adaptive design component of urban climate resilience deals with planning and implementing infrastructural interventions in the built environment, i.e., spatial design and engineering solutions shaping or reshaping the physical layout of an urban area and, thereby, determining its climate resiliency depending on how the political agenda includes climate action, regional and local governments can create or hinder the chances for the implementation of climate-adaptive solutions (Pot 2020).…”