This week, our lectures, videos, and project precedents present some of the different ways that “green infrastructure” can be applied to better deal with different environmental or human health challenges. Based on the course content, please respond to at least (2) two of the bullets below. 

Lectures + Videos

• Based on reviewing the lectures and videos, what are some strategies that landscape architects are using to incorporate green infrastructure into the built environment? What are the different strategies used and what are the various benefits?
• Reflecting on one (or a few) specific strategies mentioned in one of the videos, how could this be applied or adapted to your hometown?

Readings

• Reflect on the various readings (as well as lectures/project precedents) on green roofs. If you could design a green roof, where would you do so? Would it be part of a commercial building, community center, etc.? What challenges would it solve and what amenities would it provide?
• After reviewing the ESRI storymap and web app about green infrastructure, look up your hometown or another city of interest. What do you learn about how your area compares (percent intact habitat core area and the streets vs. streams) to national averages? What green areas are particularly important to conserve in your area?

Project Precedents

• How did two of the project precedents- Metro-Forest Project, Taopu Central Park, Fontana Urban Greening Master Plan- employ green infrastructure with similar or different goals, techniques, context, and social/ecological benefits? Which project did you find to be most compelling or successful?
• How did two of the green roof project precedents- Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, Yard, and Vertical Oasis: Verdant Sustainability in an Arid Climate- differ in terms of goals, context, scale, and/or construction techniques?

A discussion post of about 300 words is expected for full credit. Thoughtfulness and originality may earn extra points!

LECTURES [4:51]

VIDEOS [32:27]

READINGS [25:00]

• Reading | The Dirt, Jared Green, “Green Infrastructure: A Landscape Approach (Links to an external site.)” (7:00)
• Reading | The Dirt, Chella Strong, “Garden City, Mega City (Links to an external site.)” (3:00)
• Reading | Esri Story Maps team, “Green on Gray (Links to an external site.)” (7:00)
• Reading | The Dirt, Jared Green, “Faced with Climate Impacts, Communities Turn to Green Infrastructure (Links to an external site.)” (4:00)
• Reading | ESRI, “Seeing Green Infrastructure (Links to an external site.)” (4:00)

PROJECT PRECEDENTS [21:00]

• Project Precedents | The Metro-Forest Project (Links to an external site.) (7:00) (Links to an external site.)
  • [ASLA:] An ecological regeneration project designed as an outdoor exhibition space to cultivate environmental awareness and educate visitors about local forest ecology.
• Project Precedents | Taopu Central Park (Links to an external site.) (8:00) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
  • [ASLA:] Taopu Central Park is the unifying element and urban green lung for Taopu Smart City, a science and technology hub in northwest Shanghai…. The park choreographs the movement of people, water, air, soil, and wildlife while filtering pollutants and providing much needed habitat.
• Project Precedents | Air Quality, Placemaking and Spatial Equity: The Fontana Urban Greening Master Plan (Links to an external site.) (8:00)
  • [ASLA:] Grounded by quantitative research, the Fontana Urban Greening Master Plan applies scientific knowledge to explore various dimensions of air quality. In doing so, the Plan creates a multi-scalar, green infrastructure vision that influences development patterns, improves individual health, and creates a resilient future for Fontana.

Deeper Dive: Green Roofs!

LECTURES [20:38]

READINGS [8:00]

PROJECT PRECEDENTS [18:00]

• Project Precedents | Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (Links to an external site.) (8:00)
  • [ASLA:] The 11-acre park includes wetlands, detention lawns, a retention pond, and the biggest green roof in Thailand, all integrated into dynamic public spaces where people can enjoy playgrounds, an amphitheater, gardens, and meditation areas.
• Project Precedents | Yard (5:00) (Links to an external site.)
  • [ASLA:] Yard is unique in its integration of landscape and building, its rethinking of public access to a roof terrace, and its unique integration into the fabric of the city. In ecological terms, the green roof covers 60% of the building footprint and manages the majority of the stormwater runoff from the project.
• Project Precedents | Vertical Oasis: Verdant Sustainability in an Arid Climate (Links to an external site.) (5:00)
  • [ASLA:] As hard as it may be to imagine green roofs in the arid Arizona climate, this project deploys a blanket of them across half a million square feet…. The thorough research behind this system and thoughtful integration within the architecture allow it to stand as a future case study for sustainable, multi-level planting within arid environments.