Sustainability and the City - Center for Urban Green Spaces

Green InfrastructureTranslating global lessons to Indian citiesCITY-SCALE PARKS AND GARDENSMost global cities are home to at leastone green space that is deemed to beof city-scale importance. Central Park(New York, USA), Parc de Villette(Paris, France) and The Gardensby the Bay (Singapore) all act asmagnets for local people, businessesand tourists. What they offer are largemulti-functional spaces providingrespite from urban environment. Eachwas planned to contain a combinationof water, physical infrastructure andlandscaping options. The impact ofthese spaces has been in terms ofestablishing locations that are centralto the economic and social value ofits host city. City-scale investmentstherefore provide valuable economicreturns on investment, as well as arange of social well-being benefits.Supporting city-scale investmentswith a tiered system of smaller greenspaces also enables planners to developintegrated green networks across widerurban areas; Copenhagen (Denmark)and Dortmund (Germany) aresuccessful examples of this process.New Delhi Trees signageURBAN TREESThe role of urban street treesis disproportionate to theirperceived value. Street trees offer acomprehensive form of urban greeningby adapting urban environments toclimate change, promoting betterphysical and mental health, mitigateurban pollution and support a widerange of economic activities (i.e. treecommerce).Evidence from five UKand European cities indicated thatstreet tree investments encourageeconomic returns in far excess ofimplementation costs (Manchester£24+ pppy; Esslingen €11+ pppy).Research undertaken in the Newcastle(UK) and Bari (Italy) highlighted therestorative value of trees for personalhealth. Whilst forest managers inIndianapolis and New York (bothUSA) calculated the value of streettrees to the local economy, identifyingthat in both locations the return oninvestment ran into millions of dollarswhich could be directly attributedto trees. Further evidence fromManchester (UK) also highlights therole of trees in interception pollution,mitigating temperature (between5-15 0 C change), as well as aidingthe ability of urban water systems tomitigate extreme weather events.RETRO-FITTING BROWNFIELD SITESRecently one of the most successfulforms of GI investment has beenretrofitting brownfield sites. TheHigh Line (New York, USA) utiliseda derelict rail track to reinvigoratethe Lower West side; the OlympicPark in London reclaimed 2.5km 2of contaminated land in EastLondon into commercial and socialuse; and in Detroit (USA) tracts ofdisenfranchised housing has beenreimagined as sites for large-scaleurban agriculture. The link betweeneach investment is based upon a reevaluationof undervalued land toform functional urban GI networks.Although the scales differ, the primaryfocus of each investment has beento create accessible, functional, andmost importantly, hybrid green spaceswithin heavily urbanised locations.MANAGEMENT OF URBAN GIIn London (UK), New York andPhiladelphia (both USA), andAmsterdam (Holland) there arecredible management agenciespromoting urban greening thatwork alongside engaged advocacystakeholders. The benefit of this is theestablishment of a range of integratedmanagement plans which identifystrategic investment sites. To ensurethis system is successful each cityhas earmarked funding to supportthis process. The combination ofappropriate funding and knowledgemanagement aligned with ecological,water and climatic expertise enableseach city to maintain its green spaces asecologically functional, whilst creatinglocations for social and economicinvestments. Working within suchan environment facilitates a moreengaged dialogue between advocacygroups, political structures and localJuly 201315