Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary

Abstract

Green infrastructure is presented as a novel and innovative approach in the current environmental planning discourse, but how new is it really? An historical overview of planning ideas in both the urban and the rural contexts indicates that the concept, if not the term, “green infrastructure” has a very long and distinguished pedigree in the field of landscape and open space planning. To determine how far the concept is indeed new, definitions of green infrastructure from the literature are examined. While “green” has long been loosely used as a synonym for natural features and vegetation in the planning context, “infrastructure” is the part of the term which is really novel. Infrastructure is otherwise understood as being either “technical” or “social”, and the common features of these otherwise very different forms are considered in order to gain a better understanding of how they might also relate to a new interpretation of green infrastructure. A number of international case studies of different “green infrastructure” projects are then presented, again to better understand their common features and potential relationship to other infrastructure types. Finally, the necessity to consider green and blue areas together and to take them as seriously as other forms of infrastructure is emphasized. The developing climate and biodiversity crises underline the urgency of implementing a flexible and multifunctional green-blue infrastructure system. This must be carefully integrated into the existing fabric of both urban and rural landscapes and will require an appropriately resourced administration and management system, reflecting its beneficial impacts.

Roadside Vegetation Functions, Woody Plant Values, and Ecosystem Services in Rural Streetscapes: A Qualitative Study on Rural Settlements in Western Slovakia

“…The identified deficiencies in woody plant attributes and the fulfilment of respective functions in the assessed model areas can help mitigate the problems and insufficient quality and values of woody plant species and contribute thereby to more efficient solutions and an enhancement of roadside woody vegetation in rural public open spaces. A purposeful planning as suggested by many authors [10][11][12][13]78] and the interest of local governments in public space enhancement, including streetscapes and main road corridors, should belong to local action priorities. Besides the aesthetic value of streetscapes, woody plants significantly fulfil important climate [24] and transport safety functions and contribute to a better quality of the environment, and they enhance the social aspect of public open spaces in the countryside.…”

“…According to the Council of Europe Landscape Convention, landscape is defined as perceived by people and characterised as a result of mutual influence and interactions between natural and/or human factors [9]. It is therefore important to adjust land use to biodiversity, natural systems, and green infrastructure in rural landscapes [10,11] and integrate this approach both into policy-making [12] and planning processes [13].…”

“…Development of cultural landscapes has always been of interest in landscape history studies. From this perspective, it is important to know and understand how the dynamic settlement development respects historical landscape values and how it will be implemented in landscape protection and management strategies [11,14]. All landscape types have a characteristic spatial morphology, representing the prevailing land use, industry, production, urbanisation, and other activities throughout the historical development.…”

Replanejar com a Paisagem: uma Abordagem Multimétodo sobre a Adoção de Infraestrutura Verde para Bacias Hidrográficas em Urbanização

“…A conjugação de processos que combinam o planejamento da paisagem urbana a dimensões ambientais não é nova, mas constitui um desafio frequentemente reformulado sob a ótica de cada campo disciplinar (Matsler et al, 2021;Mertens;Stiles;Karadeniz, 2022). Nesse sentido, Freitas (2020) filia-se a uma perspectiva que aponta à paisagem como possibilidade de conjugação harmônica entre ambientes, um conceito integrador que viabiliza incursões projetuais.…”

“…Múltiplos suportes metodológicos constituem o caminho percorrido neste trabalho para uma apreensão de características locais. São mobilizados conceitos e modelos associados à hidrologia e às noções pertinentes ao campo de estudos da infraestrutura verde atentando-se particularmente à incorporação de componentes existentes da paisagem conforme advogam Mertens, Stiles e Karadeniz (2022). Utilizamos também o instrumental da linguagem de serviços ecossistêmicos para fins de comparação sob o ponto de vista das externalidades ambientais em direção à promoção de justiça ambiental conforme indicam Calderón-Argelich et al (2021).…”