Green-blue multifunctional infrastructure: An urban landscape system design new approach

Green-blue multifunctional infrastructure: An urban landscape system design new approach

Kuzniecow Bacchin, T.
Ashley, R.
Sijmons, D.F.
Zevenbergen, C.
Van Timmeren, A.

Architecture and The Built Environment

Urbanism

2014-09-07

Cities exhibit unique and ever-changing spatial layouts formed by nested natural and socio-economic systems, sub-systems and components resulting from exchange, interaction, and interdependency processes. In this context, managing surface water in urban areas requires new approaches that integrate the knowledge about territorial patterns and processes into the development of management practices and control structures designed for hydraulic and ecological performance. As integrated systems, green, blue and grey water infrastructure can reduce runoff, increase biodiversity and offer cultural/health benefits through public access to valued natural resources. This article introduces a tool using ArcGIS and EPA SWMM platforms to analyse the spatial configuration and composition of the urbanised landscape, designing nested networks of green, blue and grey spaces relevant to the scale of analysis. An example was provided for the City of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The article demonstrates the use of combined spatial/network analysis, hierarchical design and hydrodynamic modelling in playing a strategic role in advancing the integration of urban planning, ecosystems services objectives and sustainable stormwater management practices.

urban landscape planning
urban ecology
ecosystem services
multifunctional infrastructure
flood risk
sustainable stormwater management
liveability

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e648f794-789f-427b-af22-399e2deeee70

ICUD 2014: Proceedings of the 13th IAHR/IWA International Conference on Urban Drainage, Sarawak, Malaysia, 7-12 September 2014

Institutional Repository

conference paper

(c) 2014 The Author(s)