Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary
Green infrastructure is presented as a novel and innovative approach in the current environmental planning discourse, but how new is it really? An historical overview of planning ideas in both the urban and the rural contexts indicates that the concept, if not the term, “green infrastructure” has a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/89 |
| _version_ | 1797492779243274240 |
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| author | Elke Mertens Richard Stiles Nilgül Karadeniz |
| author_facet | Elke Mertens Richard Stiles Nilgül Karadeniz |
| author_sort | Elke Mertens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Green infrastructure is presented as a novel and innovative approach in the current environmental planning discourse, but how new is it really? An historical overview of planning ideas in both the urban and the rural contexts indicates that the concept, if not the term, “green infrastructure” has a very long and distinguished pedigree in the field of landscape and open space planning. To determine how far the concept is indeed new, definitions of green infrastructure from the literature are examined. While “green” has long been loosely used as a synonym for natural features and vegetation in the planning context, “infrastructure” is the part of the term which is really novel. Infrastructure is otherwise understood as being either “technical” or “social”, and the common features of these otherwise very different forms are considered in order to gain a better understanding of how they might also relate to a new interpretation of green infrastructure. A number of international case studies of different “green infrastructure” projects are then presented, again to better understand their common features and potential relationship to other infrastructure types. Finally, the necessity to consider green and blue areas together and to take them as seriously as other forms of infrastructure is emphasized. The developing climate and biodiversity crises underline the urgency of implementing a flexible and multifunctional green-blue infrastructure system. This must be carefully integrated into the existing fabric of both urban and rural landscapes and will require an appropriately resourced administration and management system, reflecting its beneficial impacts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:08:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ae8041387cad4927b7d38ed7305a40f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:08:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-ae8041387cad4927b7d38ed7305a40f82023-11-23T14:22:27ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2022-01-011118910.3390/land11010089Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is NecessaryElke Mertens0Richard Stiles1Nilgül Karadeniz2Department of Landscape Sciences and Geomatics, Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, 17033 Neubrandenburg, GermanyDepartment of Landscape Architecture, Vienna University of Technology, 1040 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Agriculture/Ankara University, Ankara 06120, TurkeyGreen infrastructure is presented as a novel and innovative approach in the current environmental planning discourse, but how new is it really? An historical overview of planning ideas in both the urban and the rural contexts indicates that the concept, if not the term, “green infrastructure” has a very long and distinguished pedigree in the field of landscape and open space planning. To determine how far the concept is indeed new, definitions of green infrastructure from the literature are examined. While “green” has long been loosely used as a synonym for natural features and vegetation in the planning context, “infrastructure” is the part of the term which is really novel. Infrastructure is otherwise understood as being either “technical” or “social”, and the common features of these otherwise very different forms are considered in order to gain a better understanding of how they might also relate to a new interpretation of green infrastructure. A number of international case studies of different “green infrastructure” projects are then presented, again to better understand their common features and potential relationship to other infrastructure types. Finally, the necessity to consider green and blue areas together and to take them as seriously as other forms of infrastructure is emphasized. The developing climate and biodiversity crises underline the urgency of implementing a flexible and multifunctional green-blue infrastructure system. This must be carefully integrated into the existing fabric of both urban and rural landscapes and will require an appropriately resourced administration and management system, reflecting its beneficial impacts.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/89green infrastructurelandscape and open space planningclimate changebiodiversity crisisgray and social infrastructuregreen corridor |
| spellingShingle | Elke Mertens Richard Stiles Nilgül Karadeniz Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary Land green infrastructure landscape and open space planning climate change biodiversity crisis gray and social infrastructure green corridor |
| title | Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary |
| title_full | Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary |
| title_fullStr | Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary |
| title_full_unstemmed | Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary |
| title_short | Green May Be Nice, but Infrastructure Is Necessary |
| title_sort | green may be nice but infrastructure is necessary |
| topic | green infrastructure landscape and open space planning climate change biodiversity crisis gray and social infrastructure green corridor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/1/89 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elkemertens greenmaybenicebutinfrastructureisnecessary AT richardstiles greenmaybenicebutinfrastructureisnecessary AT nilgulkaradeniz greenmaybenicebutinfrastructureisnecessary |