Transforming Biocities: Designing Urban Spaces Inspired by Nature

Foreword
Biocities: From a Concept to a New Urban Reality
References
Contents
Towards the Development of a Conceptual Framework of BioCities
1 Introduction
2 A Brief History of Urbanisation
3 Why Is Now the Time for BioCities?
4 BioCities Manifesto
5 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
Urban Sustainable Futures: Concepts and Policies Leading to BioCities
1 Introduction
2 The Journey Towards BioCities
3 Nature-Based Solutions
3.1 Background
3.2 Global Policies
4 European Policy Framework for NBS
4.1 Green Infrastructure
4.2 Ecosystem-Based Adaptation
4.3 Urban Forestry
5 Emerging Concepts on Future Sustainable Cities
5.1 The Green City
5.2 The Resilient City
5.3 The EcoCity
5.4 The Sponge City
5.5 The Urban Food City
5.6 The Smart City
5.7 The BiodiverCity
6 The Route of European Policies and Actions for Future Sustainable Cities
7 The New European Urban Agenda
8 Cities as Viewed from a Green Infrastructure Strategy or Biodiversity Strategy
8.1 Urban Greening Platform
8.2 Green Deal and Related Urban Challenges
8.3 New Bauhaus and Next Generation EU
9 Case Studies: Green City Policies in Action
10 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
10.1 Key Messages
References
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions as Pillars of BioCities
1 Introduction
2 State of the Art: Describing Processes and Possibilities
2.1 Essential Building Blocks of Biodiversity in Cities
2.1.1 Abiotic and Biotic Factors
2.1.2 Providing Ecosystem Services
2.1.3 Surveying Urban Green Spaces
2.1.4 Trade-Offs and Disservices
3 A New Approach
3.1 Biodiversity, Digital Technology, and Environmental Awareness
4 Priority Areas of Paramount Importance for the Realisation of BioCities
4.1 Water Shortage and Flood Overflow Control
4.2 Food Production
4.3 Landscape Scale Management of Urban Greening and NBS
4.3.1 Soil Quality Management
5 Case Studies: Good Practices
6 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
Green Infrastructure and Urban Forests for BioCities: Strategic and Adaptive Management
1 Introduction
2 Public Urban Nature Management
2.1 Green Infrastructure
2.2 Urban Forests
2.3 The Need for New Approaches
3 Processes of Planning, Designing and Management to Develop BioCities
3.1 Strategic Management
3.2 Adaptive Management
3.3 New Governance Approaches
4 Promoting BioCities: From Silos to Synergies
4.1 A Network Approach
4.2 Co-responsibility
4.3 The Potential of Brown Spaces
4.4 Benefits and Trade-offs
5 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
Mitigation and Adaptation for Climate Change: The Role of BioCities and Nature-Based Solutions
1 Introduction
2 Urban Forest and Other NBS Contributions to Climate Change Mitigation
2.1 Climate Change Issues and Trends
2.2 Carbon Sequestration by Urban Trees
2.3 Substitution Effect of Wood Use
2.4 Need to Reconcile Mitigation and Adaptation
3 Urban Green Infrastructures Contribute to Climate Change Adaptation
3.1 Climate Change and Urban Heat Islands: A Dangerous Mix
3.2 The Role of Urban Green Spaces to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect
3.3 Green Infrastructures Reduce Energy Costs
4 Urban Green Infrastructures Improve Urban Air Quality
4.1 Air Pollution: A Threat to European Cities
4.2 The Role of Green Infrastructure
5 Urban Green Infrastructures and the Water Cycle
6 Green Mobility and Greener Urban Landscapes
7 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
BioCities as Promotors of Health and Well-being
1 Introduction
1.1 Public Health and the Urban Environment
1.2 Conceptual Framework
2 Mechanisms Underlying Health and Well-being Benefits of Green Spaces
2.1 Stress Reduction/Attention Restoration
2.2 Mitigating Urban-Related Environmental Hazards
2.3 Enhancing Social Interaction and Cohesion
2.4 Increasing Physical Activity
2.5 Enriching Environmental Biodiversity
2.6 Climate Change and Health: Direct and Indirect Benefits
3 Health and Well-being Benefits of Green Spaces
3.1 Mental Health, Well-being, and Quality of Life Benefits of Green Spaces Over the Life-Course
3.2 Physical Health Benefits of Green Spaces Over the Life-Course
3.2.1 The Microbiomes Approach: Reflections and Research Development
3.2.2 Green Barriers for Agents and Vectors of Communicable Diseases
3.2.3 Physical Health in Adults
3.2.4 Healthy Ageing
3.2.5 Mortality
3.2.6 Health Risks of Green Spaces
4 Green Space as an Integral Part of Healthy Living in BioCities
4.1 Transportation
4.2 Greening School Environments
4.3 Greenery Along Roads, Waterways, Railways; Street Trees, Green Walls, and Green Roofs
4.4 Greening Housing and Business Developments: Greening Healthcare Settings, Prisons, and Care Homes
5 Interventions, Enabling, and Indicators
5.1 Available Therapies, Protocols, and Programmes: Forest Therapy and Healing Gardens
5.2 Green Spaces as Treatment for Disabled/Marginalised People
5.3 The Way Ahead: Enabling Environment, Institutional Tools, Actions, and Knowledge
5.4 Success Stories and Good Practices
6 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
Forests, Forest Products, and Services to Activate a Circular Bioeconomy for City Transformation
1 Introduction
2 Trends in the Reuse of Materials in Architectural and Urban Development
3 Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban and Peri-Urban Forests
4 Urban Food Production (Agroforestry)
5 Urban-Rural Community Linkages
6 The Crucial Role of EU-Funded Research to Solve the Rural-Urban Dilemma
7 Enabling the Circular Economy: Bottlenecks and Trade-Offs
8 Forest and Forest Products as Carbon Sinks and Substitutes for Fossil Fuels in Cities
9 Forests as Providers of Inclusive Growth and Services
10 Conclusions
References
Innovative Design, Materials, and Construction Models for BioCities
1 Introduction and Statement
2 Key Issues
3 State of the Art
4 Automated Life Cycle Analysis
4.1 Building Information Modelling, Material Passports, and Cascading Waste Streams
5 Wood and Engineered Timber
5.1 Prefabrication and Design for Disassembly at the Urban Scale
5.2 Technical Performance
5.3 Seismic, Fire, Thermal, and Acoustic Properties
5.4 Wood Façades
5.5 Regulation, Perception, and Certification
5.6 Health and Well-Being
5.7 Timber Supply and the Impact on Forest Ecosystems
6 Decentralisation, Distribution, and Mixed Use
6.1 Bottom-Up Decision-Making
6.2 Digital Fabrication
6.3 A Network of Networks to Support Urban Metabolisms
6.4 Information and Control Systems
6.5 Integrated Green Systems
7 Case Studies
8 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
Untitled
The Social Environment of BioCities
1 Introduction
2 Human-Nature Relationship and Their Impacts on the Urban Environment
2.1 Importance of Studying Human-Nature Relationships
2.2 Overview of Theories Addressing Human-Nature Relationship
2.3 State of the Art of Scientific Literature on Human-Nature Relationship
2.4 Methods Used for Studying Human-Nature Relationship
2.5 Human-Nature Relationship in Urban and Green Space Planning and Management
2.6 Environmental Justice
3 Inclusive BioCities
4 Role of Green Space in Community Building
5 Case Study for Sustainable Place-Keeping: The Geogarden
6 Public Participation/Stakeholder Engagement
6.1 Definitions
6.2 Why Participation?
6.3 Core Values of Participation
6.4 When to Do It?
6.5 Who to Engage and Include?
6.6 Challenges of Participation and Engagement
7 Case Studies of Stakeholder and Public Participation
7.1 Stakeholder Engagement for Nature, Liveability, and Sustainability
7.2 Public Participation for Participatory Democracy
8 Conclusions
References
From BioCities to BioRegions and Back: Transforming Urban-Rural Relationships
1 Introduction
2 State of the Art and Trends
2.1 BioCity and BioRegion as a Complex Social-Ecological System
2.2 Dominant Processes: Urbanising the Rural
2.2.1 Urban Sprawl
2.2.2 Agricultural and Forestry Intensification
2.2.3 Land Abandonment
2.3 New Processes Ruralising the Urban
2.3.1 Community-Based Agriculture
2.3.2 City Greening Ideas
2.3.3 Land Sparing, Land Sharing, and Rewilding
2.3.4 Creating Climate-Resilient Landscapes
3 Restoring Urban-Rural Relationships: From Concepts to Good Practices
3.1 Reconfiguring the Nature-Culture Nexus
3.1.1 Towards a New Social-Ecological Perspective for Urban-Rural Relationships
3.1.2 Co-production and Governance of Transformed Urban-Rural Relationships
3.1.3 The Crucial Role of Co-learning
4 Case Studies: Successful Transformational Processes in Urban-Rural Relationships
5 Outcomes and Concluding Remarks
References
The Enabling Environment for BioCities
1 Introduction
2 Key Issues and Solutions
3 Enabling Governance
4 Enabling Policies and Legal Frameworks
5 Investment, Collaboration, and Partnership
6 Social Inclusion and Participation
7 Risks and Their Management
8 Links to European Policies and Actions
9 Gaps and Perspectives
10 Take-Home Messages
11 Case Study
References
Towards BioCities: The Pathway to Transition
1 Forest Ecosystems as an Analogue for the BioCity
2 Framing the BIOCITY: The Role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
3 Pathways to Transition
4 Relationships with Other Networks
5 Measuring Success
6 Global Inspiration: Case Studies
7 The Role of the European Forest Institute (EFI)
References
Glossary
Index