Urban Ecological Planning and Design in the Global South

Cilliers, Sarel S.; Breed, Christina; Cilliers, Elizelle Juaneé; Lategan, Louis

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-67650-6_15

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 135 publications

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“…In this regard, implementing community-based participatory planning is admittedly inevitable to obtain meaningful solutions and insight from the residents, informing decision-making in designing healthy urban green spaces in South Africa [89,90]. Cilliers and Cilliers [91],…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allergenic tree pollen in Johannesburg and Cape Town as a public health risk: Towards a sustainable implementation framework for South African cities

Gharbi

Neumann

Cilliers

et al. 2023

Preprint

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South Africa’s urban population is increasing, and in parallel, urban green infrastructure has shown an increase in alien tree species, e.g., mulberry (Morus sp.), oak (Quercus spp.) and plane trees (Platanus spp.) to name a few. This causes ecological problems since alien trees are often more water-demanding and competitive than indigenous trees, but they also increase the abundance of respiratory diseases often triggered by an allergic reaction towards the pollen of those alien taxa. In the current study, utilizing 7-day volumetric spore traps, we illustrate that the most abundant tree pollen in the two largest cities of South Africa, Cape Town and Johannesburg, is produced by alien trees with a high risk of allergenicity. This adds another aspect related to public health when evaluating plant species composition in urban forestry and urban ecology, which underlines the urgency of more intense monitoring. More importantly, this - for South Africa - newly emphasized risk for public health underlines the applicability of current directives (i.e., Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs), localized Precinct Plans, Land Use Schemes (LUSs)) and implementation options in urban planning. Here, we present ideas that may be implemented in such a framework. From both a public health and an ecological perspective, it is recommended to plant indigenous trees like Combretum erythrophyllum, Vachellia and Senegallia spp. that have fewer ecosystem disservices, like a lower impact on public health due to lower allergenicity/lower pollen occurrence and providing more ecosystem services such as lower water needs.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allergenic tree pollen in Johannesburg and Cape Town as a public health risk: Towards a sustainable implementation framework for South African cities

Gharbi

Neumann

Cilliers

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A recent report by Cambridge University [50] (p. 13) emphasizes the role that infrastructure can play towards place-making and greater sustainability: an example from Cape Town is presented in which hard infrastructure (Bus Rapid Transit) is combined with the creation of public spaces and facilities. At another level, a greater focus on green infrastructure in cities can also support both the goals of sustainability and a sense of place [51]. If a balanced approach to public space design prevails, one in which all its intrinsic components are encouraged to be in dialogue, we can expect to be on the right track to a more meaningful urban environment.…”

Section: Key Considerations For Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Planning: Towards a Mutually Inclusive Approach to Infrastructure Planning and Design

Schoulund

Amura

Landman

2021

Land

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Increasingly independent fields of specialization, civil engineering, and urban design find themselves practicing in isolation on the same urban issues. The result surfaces on the relative qualities of public spaces: projects that are functionally successful but spatially poor, and vice versa This is critical in the global south, where infrastructure is prioritized, and politicized, as the key driver of change but often heedless of spatial consequences. The present study explores the dynamics of integration between logics arising from technical and spatial fields, and the planning processes under which such integration is feasible. An urban design/infrastructural project in Argentina, stalled for more than two decades under regulatory policies, was selected as a case study. An overview and background of the adopted planning/design methodologies are followed by a structural/spatial analysis, focusing on type, logistics, and construction on the one hand, and on indicators of successful public spaces on the other: access, uses, comfort and image. Aspects that a priori appeared as inevitable compromises found a common, but the critically logical ground in which urban and structural thinking complemented each other. More than a functional asset, infrastructure presents an opportunity to re-think the future of the built environment as a typology that could be conceived, designed and evaluated, on the same terms as successful public spaces.

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“…Therefore, it is necessary to find new ecological ideas based on the local biodiversity, primarily with a parallel reference to historical values or social requirements [6,7]. Many scientists and practitioners who work in the landscape architecture and urban planning fields pay attention to the need for a new sustainable approach in planning and design methodology and adapt the space to the current conditions [8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformation of Green Areas in Central Squares after Revitalization: Evidence from Cittaslow Towns in Northeast Poland

Jaszczak

Pochodyła

Płoszaj-Witkowska

2022

Land

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In recent years, unfavorable changes in the development of city squares can be observed in Poland due to poorly conducted revitalization. These changes include, among others, the elimination of greenery or its significant reduction and the introduction of impervious surfaces to the places formerly designated by forms of greenery. This article highlights the need to redesign the central squares in small towns as part of their revitalization, including three levels of approach: functional, ecological, and aesthetic. The research aimed to analyze the degree of changes in the development of green areas in central squares due to the implementation of revitalization projects. Central squares in four selected towns of Cittaslow from the Warmia and Mazury region (northeastern Poland) were selected as the research area. The methods of comparative analysis were used, considering the comparison of functions, space, and composition, as well as the “research by design” method, which was adopted. A comparative analysis of changes in the arrangement of squares and analysis of changes in greenery structure was performed. The results showed that, in two examples, the changes related to removing greenery from the squares were not on a large scale due to the compensation with new forms. However, the vegetation was removed in two squares without introducing new forms or compensating for the greenery to a minimum extent. This allowed us to answer whether the structure and various forms submitted in the greenery projects in the squares, so-called landscape architecture objects, correspond to the current ecological design requirements. From the perspective of landscape architecture and ecological design, it was positive to introduce a diversified vegetation structure and supplement it with medium and tall forms, as evidenced by the development of the square in Biskupiec. However, the results also showed a negative aspect of the revitalization conducted by removing the greenery and replacing it with an impermeable surface, for example, in the square in Bartoszyce. The final stage was to propose general guidelines for revitalizing squares and design proposals considering introducing plant forms in the squares in the four analyzed towns.

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Urban Ecological Planning and Design in the Global South

Cited by 15 publications

References 135 publications

Allergenic tree pollen in Johannesburg and Cape Town as a public health risk: Towards a sustainable implementation framework for South African cities

Allergenic tree pollen in Johannesburg and Cape Town as a public health risk: Towards a sustainable implementation framework for South African cities

Integrated Planning: Towards a Mutually Inclusive Approach to Infrastructure Planning and Design

Transformation of Green Areas in Central Squares after Revitalization: Evidence from Cittaslow Towns in Northeast Poland

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