72
J. A. R. Plata et al.
Keywords Green infrastructure · Social welfare · Quality of life · Urban
sustainability · Planning
1 Introduction
Cities are the center of sustainability crisis: economic, ecological, political and cultural. They encompass problems associated with climate change, deficient supply of
basic services, social inequality and the lack of essential public goods. UN-Habitat
estimates that in 2015 cities concentrated 7.3 billion people and that this figure may
reach 9.7 billion in 2050 (2018). Population growth will have massive consequences
for sustainable development.
In this context the UN-Habitat advocates for a new type of city, one sustainable
city, one people-centered city, with equal access to quality public services, and where
tangible and intangible aspects of prosperity are integrated. A key concept in this
approach is “prosperity”, defined as “a social construct that materializes in the realm
of human actions. It builds deliberately and conscientiously on the objective conditions prevailing in a city at any time, wherever located and however large or small.
This is a broader, wide-ranging notion that has to do with a well-balanced, harmonious development in an environment of fairness and justice” (UN-Habitat (United
Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2013, p xii).
In accordance with this definition a major action to achieve prosperity is that cities
invigorate urban planning and design approaches and tools for social welfare. It may
imply to pursue, among other objectives to ensure the provision of infrastructure
for supporting quality of life, equity and environmental sustainability (UN-Habitat
(United Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2013). Despite the solutions may
be different depending on local conditions, some key interventions include the provision of public goods and infrastructure for all inhabitants (UN-Habitat (United
Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2018).
Green Infrastructure approach has been recently introduced in urban planning
as a novel approach for the land conservation and land management. This approach
implies the creation of a network of open spaces in multiple scales, with different qualities and functions, according to the natural attributes of land (Calderon-Contreras
and Quiroz-Rosas 2017; Vásquez et al. 2016). Planning strategies for green infrastructure are frequently skewed toward ecological aspects. Such a fragmented and
unidimensional perspective in the development of urban planning may have a poor
contribution to social welfare. There is a need of integrating the social aspects to
achieve effective planning, and to recognize the social contributions of green infrastructure. Therefore, the present study builds upon a diagnosis on the functions and
dysfunctions of green infrastructure components for the social welfare in one of
the most dynamic industrial regions in Central Mexico. The analysis focuses on the
inhabitants’ perception about the benefits and problems of different open natural
spaces in the Metropolitan Zone of Leon, Mexico. Additionally, lessons for sustainable urban planning are discussed.
J. A. R. Plata et al.
Keywords Green infrastructure · Social welfare · Quality of life · Urban
sustainability · Planning
1 Introduction
Cities are the center of sustainability crisis: economic, ecological, political and cultural. They encompass problems associated with climate change, deficient supply of
basic services, social inequality and the lack of essential public goods. UN-Habitat
estimates that in 2015 cities concentrated 7.3 billion people and that this figure may
reach 9.7 billion in 2050 (2018). Population growth will have massive consequences
for sustainable development.
In this context the UN-Habitat advocates for a new type of city, one sustainable
city, one people-centered city, with equal access to quality public services, and where
tangible and intangible aspects of prosperity are integrated. A key concept in this
approach is “prosperity”, defined as “a social construct that materializes in the realm
of human actions. It builds deliberately and conscientiously on the objective conditions prevailing in a city at any time, wherever located and however large or small.
This is a broader, wide-ranging notion that has to do with a well-balanced, harmonious development in an environment of fairness and justice” (UN-Habitat (United
Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2013, p xii).
In accordance with this definition a major action to achieve prosperity is that cities
invigorate urban planning and design approaches and tools for social welfare. It may
imply to pursue, among other objectives to ensure the provision of infrastructure
for supporting quality of life, equity and environmental sustainability (UN-Habitat
(United Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2013). Despite the solutions may
be different depending on local conditions, some key interventions include the provision of public goods and infrastructure for all inhabitants (UN-Habitat (United
Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2018).
Green Infrastructure approach has been recently introduced in urban planning
as a novel approach for the land conservation and land management. This approach
implies the creation of a network of open spaces in multiple scales, with different qualities and functions, according to the natural attributes of land (Calderon-Contreras
and Quiroz-Rosas 2017; Vásquez et al. 2016). Planning strategies for green infrastructure are frequently skewed toward ecological aspects. Such a fragmented and
unidimensional perspective in the development of urban planning may have a poor
contribution to social welfare. There is a need of integrating the social aspects to
achieve effective planning, and to recognize the social contributions of green infrastructure. Therefore, the present study builds upon a diagnosis on the functions and
dysfunctions of green infrastructure components for the social welfare in one of
the most dynamic industrial regions in Central Mexico. The analysis focuses on the
inhabitants’ perception about the benefits and problems of different open natural
spaces in the Metropolitan Zone of Leon, Mexico. Additionally, lessons for sustainable urban planning are discussed.