Sustainability and the City - Center for Urban Green Spaces

eportGreen InfrastructureTranslating globallessons to Indian citiesIan C. MellIndian cities are expanding like never before. This is putting new pressures on capacity of theenvironment to meet the challenges posed by this rapid urbanisation.To ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, it is important to look beyondIndia and identify best practices that can be translated from cities of other countries tothose in India.The future of India’s citieslies in successfully balancingenvironmental capacity withurban growth to develop liveable andsustainable urban locations. Central tothis process is our understanding of theways urban Green Infrastructure (GI)can be managed to mitigate the effectsof urban expansion. Exploring thelinks between green spaces, adaptionto climate change and the promotionof urban well-being illustrates thaturban parks, waterways, greenwaysand in particular urban street trees areintegral to the creation of functionalenvironments.Due to the rapid rate of development inIndia the capacity of the environmentto meet the needs and challenges ofgrowth is becoming compromised.To evaluate how best to plan forsustainable environmental and socialexpansion it is important to lookbeyond India to identify whether bestpractices can be translated from othercities to India. Assessments of greeninvestments provide a useful lens toundertake such a process as evidencefrom the UK, Europe and the USAdraws on a decade of innovative urbanlandscape management. A numberof investment options have beenestablished which could be appliedto Indian cities - each promoting amulti-functional approach to urbandevelopment. The variety providesIndian planners with elbow space toapply alternative forms of landscapemanagement. Each of the GIdevelopment options discussed arealready seen in some form in Indiancities. However, due to a lack of coordination,funding and politicalwill they are not functioning at themaximum potential.The future of India’scities lies in successfullybalancing environmentalcapacity with urbangrowth to developliveable and sustainableurban locations. Centralto this process is ourunderstanding of howurban Green Infrastructure(GI) can be managed tomitigate the effects ofurban expansion.Ian C. Mell Ph.Dis Lecturer, Department of Geography & Planning University of Liverpool, UK(Email : i.c.mell@liverpool.ac.uk)14 urbanature