Potential for Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Green Infrastructure
A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2025 | Viewed by 3874
Special Issue Editor
Interests: interdisciplinary research; ecological engineering; water and waste management; environmental assessment and impact mitigation; responsible use of resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ecological engineering, as the synthesis of ecology and engineering, deals with the sustainable design and operation of ecosystems heavily influenced by humans and uses nature-based solutions (nbS) to do so. The overarching engineering–ecological goal is to ensure sustainability in order to allow designed ecosystems to function permanently for the benefit of society and ecology. This Special Issue, on the one hand, uses findings from ecology and ecosystem research, material cycle management in the system with small material losses, the lowest possible proportion of technical energy, as well as the effective use of energy and materials. On the other hand we aim to outline the characteristics of these technologies, including multifunctional use, the integration of different spatial levels and the creation of both networks and decentralized, redundant decision-making structures, while at the same time using the best possible ecological construction methods and treatment processes.
Ecological engineering uses nature-based solutions (nbS) to create and develop coherent networks of green and blue infrastructure in rural and urban areas. The overview and definition of the World Conservation Union (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, IUCN, 2016) are helpful for determining the dimensions of nbS: “Measures for the protection, sustainable management and restoration of natural or modified ecosystems that address the societal challenges effectively and adaptively while providing benefits for human well-being and biodiversity” (IUCN, 2016). The IUCN refers in particular to nbS for overcoming societal challenges and specifically names climate change, food security, water security, disaster risks, risks to human health and risks to economic and social development.
This Special Issue deals with the potential for nbS in urban green infrastructure at all levels. The key issues addressed are:
- Sustainable settlement ecosystems and urban green infrastructure
- Multifunctional structural elements executed as nature-based solutions
- Strategies and measures to promote biodiversity in urban areas
- Sustainable landscape development in rural areas
- Circular green and blue systems
- Land recycling and land conversion
Prof. Dr. Petra Schneider
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- ecological engineering
- ecosystem services
- nature-based solutions
- green infrastructure
- land recycling
- land transformation
- animal-aided design
- sustainable urban drainage
- climate adaptation
- biotope networks
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