SYMP 24-5
Landscapes, systems and policies to regenerate cities
Planners recognize that ecological systems can play a role in regenerating cities, and that correlations exist between the healthy environments and healthy populations. With a rise in diseases such as diabetes, obesity and asthma, public health professionals also see a rapid increase in the costs of treating non-communicable chronic diseases in urban areas. With a globe that is now more than 50% urban it is increasingly important to improve how cities support human and environmental health.
The speaker is an experienced landscape architect and planner focused on bringing nature into cities. His efforts engage science through collaborations with ecologists, however urban ecology is only partially understood. Urban development and infrastructure have substantially altered urban conditions, climate and natural systems, leaving ecologists and designers only able to estimate solutions and interventions that will improve ecological health within the city.
Issues of economics, public policy, social equity and public opinion also weigh heavily on attempts to use nature to improve the health, economy and equity of cities. Designers and ecologists working together can make a major impact on urban conditions if they find ways to collaborate in the urban arena, where scientific knowledge is insufficient and public processes are unpredictable.
Results/Conclusions
The speaker will present planner/ecologist collaborations in the heart of three cities. These cases demonstrate three scales of intervention, from regional to site specific, along with the processes, methods and outcomes of each. The benefits of each project are substantial, but qualitative only at this time.
The Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan establishes a detailed vision to bring ecological function and urban revitalization together over 32 miles of the LA River. The project is approved and has progress in governance, community activism, federal action and funding.
The South Platte River in Denver has been substantially rehabilitated through a series of projects that improve aquatic, riparian and upland habitats while also catalyzing new urban investment and community engagement with nature.
St. Patrick’s Island in the Bow River in Calgary is 24 acres of highly damaged habitat that is under construction as a substantial urban ecological restoration project within an urban park setting. Significant hydraulic and hydrologic interventions that are underway will support the establishment of new habitats with carefully considered human interaction and experience within a restored natural setting.