Green Infrastructure and Social Welfare. Lessons for …
73
2 Green Infrastructure as a Strategic Approach
for the Urban Sustainability
According to the 2030 Agenda, making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable is a goal of sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goal 11, SDG 11) To achieve this objective, effective urban planning can
contribute to tackle with the socioenvironmental issues brought by urbanization (e.g.
accelerated expansion of urban areas, aquifer depletions, increasing urban footprint,
loss of native species or heat island phenomena).
The New Urban Agenda (UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2017) integrates a set of commitments and principles related to the SDG
11. The Commitment 37 promotes the creations of safe, inclusive, accessible, green
public spaces. It includes streets, sidewalks, bikeways, squares, gardens, parks and
other natural spaces that provide multiples functions for social interaction, public
health and social welfare; the Commitment 65 centers on the need of facilitating sustainable planning of natural resources in cities and human settlements in a way that it
improves and protects urban ecosystems and environmental services, the reduction of
greenhouse emissions and the management of natural disasters. Interestingly, Commitment 100 highlights the need for supporting well designed networks of streets
and safe, ecological public spaces for all, free of delinquency and violence. Green
infrastructure can be a strategic approach for the design of public space networks of
ecological value and contributes to sustainable development of cities.
The meaning of green infrastructure has different interpretations. This study refers
to Green Infrastructure (GI) as an interconnected network of natural spaces that provides environmental benefits. In this sense, Bendict and McMahon (2006) defines GI
as “an interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserves
natural ecosystems values and functions, sustains clean air and water, and provides
a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife”. To the authors, green infrastructure
constitutes a natural life-support framework for environmental, social and economic
systems. From this perspective, green infrastructure components are key spaces in
urban or rural settings that contributes to land sustainability.
The European Agency on Environment points out that green infrastructure is
an efficient well-proved tool of urban planning that provides ecological, social and
environmental benefits by nature (Gorm 2015). Natural and semi-natural spaces
and other natural elements work together to provide ecological and social services.
Ecological services include aspects, such as, the reduction of air pollution, flood
mitigations and the improvement of environmental health (Austin 2017; Calaza 2016;
Castro Castro 2018). Social services refer to the provision of a sense of history, sense
of a place and leisure and recreation activities, among other benefits (Selman 2012).
Seen from this perspective, green infrastructure serves as a multifunctional network
of natural and semi-natural spaces and elements that provide benefits for the support
and the improvement of the quality of life and the social welfare in multiple scales
of a given territory.
73
2 Green Infrastructure as a Strategic Approach
for the Urban Sustainability
According to the 2030 Agenda, making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable is a goal of sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goal 11, SDG 11) To achieve this objective, effective urban planning can
contribute to tackle with the socioenvironmental issues brought by urbanization (e.g.
accelerated expansion of urban areas, aquifer depletions, increasing urban footprint,
loss of native species or heat island phenomena).
The New Urban Agenda (UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) 2017) integrates a set of commitments and principles related to the SDG
11. The Commitment 37 promotes the creations of safe, inclusive, accessible, green
public spaces. It includes streets, sidewalks, bikeways, squares, gardens, parks and
other natural spaces that provide multiples functions for social interaction, public
health and social welfare; the Commitment 65 centers on the need of facilitating sustainable planning of natural resources in cities and human settlements in a way that it
improves and protects urban ecosystems and environmental services, the reduction of
greenhouse emissions and the management of natural disasters. Interestingly, Commitment 100 highlights the need for supporting well designed networks of streets
and safe, ecological public spaces for all, free of delinquency and violence. Green
infrastructure can be a strategic approach for the design of public space networks of
ecological value and contributes to sustainable development of cities.
The meaning of green infrastructure has different interpretations. This study refers
to Green Infrastructure (GI) as an interconnected network of natural spaces that provides environmental benefits. In this sense, Bendict and McMahon (2006) defines GI
as “an interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserves
natural ecosystems values and functions, sustains clean air and water, and provides
a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife”. To the authors, green infrastructure
constitutes a natural life-support framework for environmental, social and economic
systems. From this perspective, green infrastructure components are key spaces in
urban or rural settings that contributes to land sustainability.
The European Agency on Environment points out that green infrastructure is
an efficient well-proved tool of urban planning that provides ecological, social and
environmental benefits by nature (Gorm 2015). Natural and semi-natural spaces
and other natural elements work together to provide ecological and social services.
Ecological services include aspects, such as, the reduction of air pollution, flood
mitigations and the improvement of environmental health (Austin 2017; Calaza 2016;
Castro Castro 2018). Social services refer to the provision of a sense of history, sense
of a place and leisure and recreation activities, among other benefits (Selman 2012).
Seen from this perspective, green infrastructure serves as a multifunctional network
of natural and semi-natural spaces and elements that provide benefits for the support
and the improvement of the quality of life and the social welfare in multiple scales
of a given territory.