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Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure

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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 33169

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Gunwoo Kim

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Department of Landscape Architecture, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
Interests: urban ecology; urban forestry; green infrastructure; climate change; ecosystem services; resilient landscapes; landscape urbanism; urban social-ecological system; ecosystem service assessment; landscape ecology; ecological and sustainable design/planning; urban regeneration and renewal; nature and human
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Dear Colleagues,

The growing recognition of the multi-faceted services provided by green infrastructure is having an effect on urban de-sign proprieties, particularly regarding health, sustainability, and social responsibility. A better understanding of the role played by green infrastructure in urban ecosystems and the service it provides to enhance sustainability is urgently needed. Research is therefore needed to examine these multiple benefits of green infrastructure and its effects on sustainability.

For this Special Issue, we invite papers focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics within the ecosystem services and green infrastructure interface:

Examples of ecosystem functions and services provided by green infrastructure across the world.
The green infrastructure implementation gradient—examples of places where there has been a shift from green infrastructure for single services or purposes to recognition of multiple services or purposes of green infrastructure.
Examples of government/organizational policies moving from single benefits and services to recognition of multi-functional services and policies.
Strategies for assessing green infrastructure performance—examples of how green infrastructure services or benefits (ecological and social) are being measured in different places.
The performance of urban green systems.
Green infrastructure and its effectiveness and provision of ecosystem services
The adoption of best planning, design, and stewardship practices of green infrastructure.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Gunwoo Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

green infrastructure
ecosystem services
sustainability
planning and policy
urban green systems

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4099 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Mitigation of Deicing Salt Loading to Water Resources by Transpiration from Green Infrastructure Vegetation

by Wuhuan Zhang, Charles R. Burgis, Gail M. Hayes, Derek A. Henderson and James A. Smith

Land 2022, 11(6), 907; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11060907 - 14 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1967

Abstract

Green infrastructure (GI) protects aquatic ecosystems from stormwater runoff caused by urban development. Bioretention (BR) is a typical GI system wherein stormwater runoff is routed to a soil basin planted with vegetation and has been shown to reduce deicing salt loads in surface runoff, but the removal mechanism of salt is poorly understood. This study explores the potential of different vegetation types to reduce deicing salt released from a BR by transpiration. Six engineered soil media columns were built in a laboratory greenhouse to simulate a 1012 m² BR basin along Lorton Road, Fairfax County, VA, USA. The effect of vegetation type (Blue Wild Indigo and Broadleaf Cattail) and influent salt concentration on flow volume and salt mass reduction were quantified for multiple storm events. For all storm events, chloride inflow concentrations, and vegetation types, Cl⁻ load reduction ranged from 26.1% to 33.5%, Na⁺ load reduction ranged from 38.2% to 47.4%, and volume reductions ranged from 11.4% to 41.9%. Different inflow salt concentrations yielded different removal rates of deicing salt, and for a given column, salt removal decreased over sequential storm events. For each influent salt concentration, columns planted with Broadleaf Cattail (BC) performed better for volume and salt mass reductions than columns planted with Blue Wild Indigo (BWI), which in turn performed better than the controls. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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18 pages, 10097 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Impact of Park Renovations on Cultural Ecosystem Services

by Xin Cheng, Sylvie Van Damme and Pieter Uyttenhove

Land 2022, 11(5), 610; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11050610 - 21 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2189

Abstract

Urban parks are essential in enhancing the quality of city life by providing diverse cultural ecosystem services (CES). Despite considerable investments in park renovations, there is very little evidence about whether park renovations can properly secure CES. This study provides a basis for the incorporation of CES evaluation into urban park practice to maximize CES. We specifically ask how CES are influenced by park renovations. We developed a participatory mapping approach by asking people to assess CES on a current map and on a historical map, representing the situations before and after the renovation, instead of doing a follow-up study, in order to be more time-efficient and enhance the comparative effects. The results show that the park renovations had different impacts on CES and not all the renovations had positive impacts. This study has a huge potential for supporting park practice. First, this study shows that specific park renovations can be used to guide park management to enhance CES. Second, this study provides a new insight for landscape architects to rethink their design proposals before construction. Third, the study encourages the method of combining participatory mapping and interviews to link CES to a specific location and specific renovations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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28 pages, 4964 KiB

Open AccessArticle

History of Seoul’s Parks and Green Space Policies: Focusing on Policy Changes in Urban Development

by Jeonghee Choi and Gunwoo Kim

Land 2022, 11(4), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11040474 - 25 Mar 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6643

Abstract

Globally, urban areas have been expanding rapidly since industrialization. In South Korea, urban policy has evolved according to urban development, but the change in parks and green spaces policy for a pleasant urban environment is insignificant. The purpose of this study is to present the direction of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s parks and green spaces policy in terms of green infrastructure, by examining urban policies and changes in the parks and green spaces policy of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The research method established the concepts of urbanization, green park areas, and green infrastructure, focusing on a literature review. The trends in urban development in South Korea and abroad, the correlation between urban development and green park areas, and changes in the parks and green spaces policy of Seoul are examined. The study found that urbanization in South Korea has augmented since 1960, and the parks and green spaces policy has also focused on quantitative expansion. As the era of local autonomy passed, there were remarkable policy changes tailored to citizens’ needs, and major policy directions were determined according to the political inclinations of policymakers. The era of low growth adopted the policy of introducing green park areas as green infrastructure to solve urban environmental problems, and parks and green spaces policies as strategic plans to re-naturalize smart green cities and urban infrastructure, and to increase urban resilience using advanced technology. Future research is expected regarding consistent policy implementation measures linked to the state-regions, such as analyzing citizens’ perceptions of policies to solve urban problems and taking practical measures for the implementation of parks and green spaces policies to expand green infrastructure. The implication of the study is that the green infrastructure strategy is important as a solution to urban environmental issues such as climate change. Therefore, there should be a will of policymakers and strong institutional support for continuous policy promotion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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16 pages, 3947 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

An Effectiveness Study on the Use of Different Types of LID for Water Cycle Recovery in a Small Catchment

by Heenyun Kim and Gunwoo Kim

Land 2021, 10(10), 1055; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10101055 - 08 Oct 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2890

Abstract

Low-Impact Development (LID) is alleviating the water cycle problems that arise from an increasing impervious surface area caused by urbanization. However, there is insufficient research on the application and analyses of LID techniques that are used for studying the management goals for water cycle restoration. The present study applied various LID techniques, utilizing the stormwater management model (SWMM) in the Naju-Noan Waterfront Zone Construction Project and studying its effects, aiming to restore the runoff that had increased due to urbanization to its pre-development state. The five LID techniques used in the analysis were permeable pavements, bioswales, rainwater gardens, green roofs, and planter boxes, which took up 36.2% of the total area. Our analysis showed that development increased the runoff rate from 39.4% to 62.4%, and LID reduced it to 34.7%. Furthermore, development increased the peak flow from 0.77 m³/s to 1.08 m³/s, and the application of LID reduced it to 0.78 m³/s. An effective reduction in the runoff and peak flow was shown in every recurrence period that was tested, and the bioretention cell type of LID showed the best effectiveness per unit area compared with permeable pavements and green roofs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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21 pages, 2945 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Ecosystem Services Value Change and Its Driving Forces Responding to Spatio-Temporal Process of Landscape Pattern in the Co-Urbanized Area

by Xinyu Zhang, Huawei Li, Hua Xia, Guohang Tian, Yuxing Yin, Yakai Lei and Gunwoo Kim

Land 2021, 10(10), 1043; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10101043 - 03 Oct 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2652

Abstract

The development of urbanization is still expanding on the earth, and the rapid expansion of cities has changed the regional landscape pattern and significantly affected the value of regional ecosystem services in developing countries such as China. Zhongmu County, as the core area of Zhengzhou-Kaifeng integration, studying the temporal and spatial transformations of its landscape pattern and ecosystem service value (ESV) is of great significance to the region’s sustainable development. Based on remote sensing images and socioeconomic data, this study aims to explore the landscape pattern of Zhongmu County from 2005 to 2018 and its impact on ESV. Research methods include an ESV equivalent factor method, landscape pattern index, spatial autocorrelation, and other methods. The results showed that: (1) During the study period, the patch density and shape complexity, landscape diversity, and fragmentation of the overall landscape in the study area continued to increase while landscape connectivity decreased. (2) The total amount of ESV increased by 10.05 million USD; ESV had certain differences in spatial distribution: high-value clusters were mainly located at the boundary of the Yellow River in the north, while low-value clusters had a significant eastward expansion trend. (3) ESV increased significantly in areas where cultivated land was transferred to waters and forests, and ESV in areas where waters transferred to construction land and cultivated land was significantly reduced. (4) ESV had a significant positive spatial correlation with patch density, edge density, mean patch fractal dimension, mean patch size, and the landscape shape index, and a spatially negative correlation with the contagion index and cohesion index. The spatial and temporal changes in landscape patterns and ESV were all mainly driven by the regional development “Zhengzhou-Kaifeng integration” policy. Therefore, the ESV can be improved, and the ecological security of the urban integration area can be guaranteed through policy measures such as optimizing the layout of construction land and adjusting the uniform distribution of green areas by the land-use policy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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12 pages, 2262 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Green Space Arrangement for an Optimal Landscape Planning Strategy for Runoff Reduction

by Byungsun Yang and Dongkun Lee

Land 2021, 10(9), 897; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090897 - 25 Aug 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4361

Abstract

Increased impervious surfaces due to urbanization have reduced evaporation and infiltration into the soil compared with existing natural water cycle systems, which causes various problems, such as urban floods, landslides, and deterioration of water quality. To effectively solve the urban water cycle issue, green infrastructure using urban green space has emerged to reduce runoff and increase evaporation. It has the advantage of restoring the water cycle system of urban areas by complementing the failure of conventional stormwater treatment systems. However, urban areas under high-density development have limited green space for stormwater treatment. Hence, it is necessary to efficiently utilize street trees and small green spaces to improve the urban water cycle through green space. In this study, we simulated different green space distribution scenarios in the virtual domain to find the optimal strategy of green space planning. Compared to clustered scenarios, dispersed green space distribution scenarios and placing green space downstream were more effective in reducing the runoff amount. The paper provides insights into the considerations for determining green space spatial plan and zoning regulations for stormwater treatment by green infrastructure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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23 pages, 16296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Ecological Analysis of Green Network in Urban Area Using Circuit Theory and Least-Cost Path

by Oh-Sung Kwon, Jin-Hyo Kim and Jung-Hwa Ra

Land 2021, 10(8), 847; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080847 - 13 Aug 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3519

Abstract

Quantitative securing of green space in already developed cities has many practical limitations due to socio-economic limitations. Currently, South Korea is planning a green network to secure and inject effective green space, but it is difficult to reflect it in the actual space plan due to the abstract plan. This study utilizes circuit theory and least-cost path methods for presenting a green network that is objectified and applicable to spatial planning. First, an analysis of the Least-cost Path revealed 69 least-cost paths between 43 core green areas of the study site. Most least-cost paths have been identified as passing through small green areas and streams in the city. Using the circuit theory, it was also possible to distinguish areas other than least-cost paths from areas with high potential for development, areas where target species are concentrated within corridors. In particular, areas with relatively high green network improvement effects were derived within and around corridors. This study is most significant in establishing and evaluating existing urban green networks, overcoming the limitations discussed at the linear level and expanding to the area level. To increase the utilization of this study in the future, field surveys and monitoring studies on target species need to be supplemented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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21 pages, 2957 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Green Infrastructure in an Agricultural Peri-Urban Area: A Case Study of Baisha District in Zhengzhou, China

by Hua Xia, Shidong Ge, Xinyu Zhang, Gunwoo Kim, Yakai Lei and Yang Liu

Land 2021, 10(8), 801; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080801 - 30 Jul 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2850

Abstract

Quantifying the dynamics of green infrastructure (GI) in agricultural peri-urban areas is of great significance to the regional ecological security, food security, and the sustainable development of urban integration. Based on remote sensing images, this study aims to provide a spatiotemporal dynamic assessment of the GI in Baisha District from 2007 to 2018 to improve the layout of GI and planning policies from the perspective of ecological security and food security. Research methods include landscape pattern indices, spatial autocorrelations, and grid analyses in this case study. The results suggest that ensuring the dominant position of farmland is critical to maintaining the composition and connectivity of the overall GI. The recreation, inheritance of farming culture, and ecosystem service functions of farmland should be improved to meet the growing needs of urban residents. GI includes the farmland, greenspace, and wetland on both sides of the Jialu River that should be retained and restored as much as possible to protect natural ecological processes. Simultaneously, construction of important urban facilities and residential areas in flooded areas should be banned. A part of the evenly distributed large greenspace patches should be moved to both sides of the Jialu River to increase the agglomeration effect of GI. Optimization measures in this case study also offer a perspective for other agricultural peri-urban areas that have experienced similar urbanization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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19 pages, 2617 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Web of Science-Based Green Infrastructure: A Bibliometric Analysis in CiteSpace

by Huamei Shao, Gunwoo Kim, Qing Li and Galen Newman

Land 2021, 10(7), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070711 - 06 Jul 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4543

Abstract

Many cities worldwide are using re-greening strategies to help reverse urbanization patterns that aggravate environmental issues. Green infrastructure (GI) has become a significant and effective strategy to address environmental problems. To better understand GI, this study uses CiteSpace to analyze 5420 published papers in the field of GI on the Web of Science database from 1990–2020. This bibliometric analysis will help new scholars and researchers to better understand the current status and trends in GI research, as well as identify further research needed in the field. This study evaluated research on GI trends according to publication amounts, keywords, journals, disciplines, countries, institutions, and authors. Results show that, first, GI research has experienced rapid growth since 2014. Second, GI, ecosystem services, and city are the top three keywords related to GI research, with green roof as the keyword with the strongest linkage. Third, Sustainability, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, and Landscape and Urban Planning are the top three journals publishing GI research. Fourth, the top three disciplines researching GI are environmental science, engineering, and science and technology. Fifth, the USA is the top ranked country in terms of the number of published GI-related papers (1514 papers), followed by China (730 papers) and England (546 papers). Sixth, the US Environmental Protection Agency (84 papers) is the top institution in terms of publications, followed by the Chinese Academy of Science (83 papers) and the Swedish University of Agriculture (66 papers). Finally, D. Haase has the most published articles (29 papers), followed by S. Pauleit (28 papers) and P. Angelstam (26 papers). These findings indicate that GI has developed significantly in the last 30 years, with a high probability for increased growth in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing Sustainability and Ecosystem Services through Urban Green Infrastructure)

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