Tag Archives: green infrastructure

Biophilic Cities

Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning

Yesterday I mentioned Blue Urbanism by Timothy Beatley. An earlier book of his was called Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning. This echoes some of my personal ideas about building a civilization that is truly in harmony with nature. Here’s the description on Amazon:

Tim Beatley has long been a leader in advocating for the “greening” of cities. But too often, he notes, urban greening efforts focus on everything except nature, emphasizing such elements as public transit, renewable energy production, and energy efficient building systems. While these are important aspects of reimagining urban living, they are not enough, says Beatley. We must remember that human beings have an innate need to connect with the natural world (the biophilia hypothesis). And any vision of a sustainable urban future must place its focus squarely on nature, on the presence, conservation, and celebration of the actual green features and natural life forms.

A biophilic city is more than simply a biodiverse city, says Beatley. It is a place that learns from nature and emulates natural systems, incorporates natural forms and images into its buildings and cityscapes, and designs and plans in conjunction with nature. A biophilic city cherishes the natural features that already exist but also works to restore and repair what has been lost or degraded.
In Biophilic Cities Beatley not only outlines the essential elements of a biophilic city, but provides examples and stories about cities that have successfully integrated biophilic elements–from the building to the regional level–around the world.
From urban ecological networks and connected systems of urban greenspace, to green rooftops and green walls and sidewalk gardens, Beatley reviews the emerging practice of biophilic urban design and planning, and tells many compelling stories of individuals and groups working hard to transform cities from grey and lifeless to green and biodiverse.

the urban carbon cycle

This article from Landscape and Urban Planning looks at carbon emissions and carbon sequestration in Beijing:

During the study period, carbon sequestration only offset 2.4% of carbon emission, indicating a serious imbalance of the city’s carbon metabolism. The city’s core built-up area expanded along eight axes, and its form fluctuated between simpler and more complex. From a small-scale perspective, the spatial pattern mainly showed expansion and aggregation of patches with high carbon emission and shrinkage and fragmentation of patches with high carbon sequestration.

I think this sort of study is useful as we think about what it would mean for cities to be truly sustainable either within their own boundaries or in the context of the larger landscape. 2.4% doesn’t sound like much, but if that is the answer with no system-level planning or management, could it be boosted to 5% or 10% with a more systematic approach to green infrastructure? The rest of the landscape (farms, protected forests, grasslands, and wetlands, and bodies of water) would do its share. Finally, technology would have to make up the remaining gap, if we really want to one day get to carbon neutral or even begin to role back the damage we have done to the atmosphere and oceans.