Green-energy, water-autonomous greenhouse system: an alternative-technology approach towards sustainable smart-green vertical greening in smart cities

Abstract

Abstract:By means of "going greener", "getting smarter" and "converging smart-green", an innovation-driven smart city could address the steps toward more sustainability and aim toward improved human well-being. A vertical greening means a vertical triumph of greenery in a high density urban area, in some ways it displays the level of smartness and greenness in a city. Researchers have suggested the use of vertical greening in urban areas to improve sustainability of the environment. However, conventional vertical greening is in open fields, unprotected, threatened by climate disasters, lacking in better controlled climate conditions and plant response-based circumstances. In addition are always the challenges of energy saving, reduction of CO 2 emissions, reduction in water use and in pesticide use. A greenhouse system could instead solve different facets of these problems in conventional vertical greening to achieve an optimal balance between an efficient environmental control and efficient plant use of available resources. The greenhouse solution appears to be intellectually justifiable, adaptable and innovative, and appears beneficial to a smart-green and sustainable smart city. Through the literature review and foresighted design point of view, the paper first summarizes the major concepts and trends of smart cities, vertical greening usage and new greenhouse technologies, and approaches an introduction to the relationship and development between vertical greening and greenhouse systems, and is followed by a presentation of a proposed novel prototype of a green-energy, water-autonomous greenhouse system. The sophisticated and multidisciplinary greenhouse system reveals its innovations and advantages by using water resources and solar energy in a rational way, fit for an alternativetechnology approach towards sustainable smart-green vertical greening in smart cities. Aimed at improving responsiveness, efficiency and performance for environmental and resource sustainability, and also aimed at improving well-being, the system is expected to be a foresight with simplicity in evolutionary vertical greening. By means of Industry Foundation Classes file format, with a true BIM model consisting of a digital prototype of the physical elements, further design of the system will allow us to simulate an ideal greenhouse type of vertical greening and understand its behavior in both the computer environment and actual on-site construction, as well as allow the building of a smart-green point cloud with BIM workflow on any network in a smart city.

The role of landscape design in Smart Cities

“…Therefore, the issue arises in urban and landscape design fields become generic, answering the questions related to the cities and regions sustainability levels, user friendly innovative economies that could easily operate in present reallife environments [15].…”

“…However, it managed to emerge and change towards a perception for dealing with strategic, contemporary problems of the urban structure [7]. The majority of contemporary problems relate to the environmentally responsive design, resource efficiency, technologies, and ability to design future cities with quality for the prospective urban communities [15]. By these aspects we see a lot of concepts and strategies are "going greener" and "getting smarter", innovationdriven, trying to become more sustainable.…”

Are Garden Cities in the Desert Sustainable?

“…Urban gardens can increase the amount of urban greening, reduce urban heat island effects, improve the quality of outdoor and indoor air, beautify urban landscape, lower indoor temperatures, increase energy efficiency, protect building structures and reduce noise. (Hung and Peng, 2017) The experience of nature in the urban environment has been interconnected to public health, the reduction of heat island effects, the awareness for water savings solutions, and the creation of a sense of quality of life in a city (Chiesura, 2004;Wu, 2014). Mekala et al (2015) in a study of a suburb of Melbourne, Australia concluded that the economic benefits, which included avoided health costs, increased property values, recreational benefits, and ecosystem services through the reduction of heat island effect and carbon sequestration, could offset annual maintenance costs of green urban spaces.…”

“…Today urbanization in desert environments is faced with complex social and ecological challenges caused by population growth, urbanization and depleting water resources. In envisaging these challenges, cities are increasingly concerned with providing innovation-driven, more environmentally-responsive landscapes (Hung and Peng, 2017). Urban parks together with land albedo modifications, such as for example, with cool roofs and cool pavements, may reduce air temperature in neighbourhoods located inside green spaces (Lu et al, 2017).…”

Editorial Introduction

“…A greenhouse system could instead solve different facets of these problems. Therefore, the final paper "Green-energy water-autonomous greenhouse system: an alternative-technology approach towards sustainable smart-green vertical greening in smart cities" summarizes new greenhouse technologies and approaches to introduce the relationship and development between vertical greening and greenhouse systems, and presents a proposed novel prototype of a green-energy water-autonomous greenhouse system (Hung & Peng, 2017). The authors suggest using a true BIM model for further design of the proposed greenhouse system.…”