The concept of ecosystem services in adaptive urban planning and design: A framework for supporting innovation

Abstract

This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. Author's personal copy Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 254-259 Contents lists available at ScienceDirectLandscape and Urban Planning j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / l a n d u r b p l a n Research PaperThe concept of ecosystem services in adaptive urban planning and design: A framework for supporting innovation h i g h l i g h t s• Using citizen/civic science as a strategy to promote transdisciplinarity.• An adaptive method to promote innovation via small, safe-to-fail design experiments.• Suggested indicators to monitor ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure.• Proposes a core/common set of metrics to assess ecosystem services.• A transdisciplinary adaptive design/planning model to support urban sustainability.a r t i c l e i n f o b s t r a c tRecent research and professional interest in planning for sustainable and resilient cities emphasizes the assessment of a broad spectrum of urban ecosystem services. While such assessments are useful to establish specific benchmarks, and for measuring progress toward sustainability and resilience goals, they do not motivate, or support the innovations required to provide specific ecosystem services as an intentional part of routine urban and infrastructure development activity by municipalities and professionals. In this context, predictions for unprecedented future urbanization and development of new urban infrastructure represent a unique opportunity to "learn-by-doing". Significant advances in urban sustainability have recently been made through transdisciplinary collaborations among researchers, professionals, decision-makers and stakeholders. However, these advances, often through pilot projects, have limited transferability to other cities due to the inherent biophysical and cultural uniqueness of the city in which they originated, and of the projects and plans themselves. The promise of practicing "learning-by-doing", therefore, remains an elusive goal, not yet fully integrated with urban development. In this essay, a framework for "safe to fail" adaptive urban design is proposed to integrate science, professional practice, and stakeholder participation. The framework is a transdisciplinary working method, and includes experimental design guidelines, monitoring and assessment protocols and strategies for realizing specific urban ecosystem services integral with urban development. The "safe-to-fail" adaptive urban design framework encourages and rewards innovation in a low-risk context -while assessing the achievement and performance of the specific intended ecosystem services.

A Preliminary Study on Connectivity and Perceived Values of Community Green Spaces

“…The cumulative effects of such practices will bring greater ecosystem services into urban areas including: improving air quality, reducing storm water, mitigating urban heat island effects, and creating wildlife habitat [29][30][31]. Ecological and social benefits derived from community green spaces can offer the prospect of landscape and urban planning models with higher standards for landscape performance, which in turn contributes to increasing urban sustainability [13,32].…”

Conceptualizing Dimensions and Characteristics of Urban Resilience: Insights from a Co-Design Process

“…It was stressed that the maintenance of ecosystems and ecosystem health is imperative for the resilience of human societies. As was reiterated by some group members, a disregard of ecosystem services in the long run could lead to conflicts arising from ecosystem fragmentation and biodiversity loss; ultimately, the sustainability of the ecosystem itself and the associated ecosystem services will be undermined [30][31][32]. Climate mitigation was also highlighted as important for sustainability and fitting within the broader frame of resilience.…”

New Resource-Wise Planning Strategies for Smart Urban-Rural Development in Finland

“…The need for such "urban-rural partnerships" has been recognised for a long time [24,25], but the practical implementation still seeks a form. The need for a systems approach is also recognised in ecosystem-based adaptation strategies, which have recently attracted increasing attention among urban planning (see, e.g., [26][27][28][29]). Natural and cultural ecosystem services are, hence, considered as part of an overall adaptation strategy that helps people and communities adapt to the negative effects of climate change.…”