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Smart urban planning needs to have a multicriteria-based approach to prevent the deteriorating local thermal climate. Maximizing the cooling potential using the available grey infrastructure would be the utmost priority of future smart cities. Remote sensing and GIS can be the appropriate tools to develop a climate-resilient urban planning framework. Studies are needed to include different features of vertical and horizontal landscaping to mitigate heat stress and enhance liveability at the city level. With this goal, the current work outlined a holistic approach to efficiently using green spaces with minimal reconstruction. The problem of regional climate threat was evaluated with urban heat island characterization. Moran's I clustering identified nearly 12% of the study area to be under considerable heat stress during summer days. Multiple techniques, such as mapping local climate zones, segment mean shift-based roof extraction, vegetation index computation, solar azimuth-based green wall site selection, etc., were applied to formulate solutions and provide an integrated method for city-level environment enhancement. A considerable area was identified as most suitable for green roof cover, and it was also computed that the transition towards green roof at only these locations may bring down the maximum heat island intensity by 0.74 °C. Additionally, solar zenith, illumination effect, and building height information were combined to create a distinct method where vertical plantation would flourish exceptionally. A rigorous assessment of more than 130 urban green spaces further quantified the relation between landscape geometry and cooling effect to provide optimum green space designs for future urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of urbanisation has a significant impact on climate change, with projections indicating that over 70% of the global population will live in cities by 2050. The challenges associated with climate change impacts on urban areas include urban heat islands, unsustainable water management, floods and air pollution. This study explores the potential of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and renewable energy in Torino, Italy, with a particular focus on the exploitation of rooftops for solar panels and green roofs. The data from 159 buildings in San Salvario was collected using aerial photogrammetry. The solar potential was analysed with ArcGIS, taking into account both geographic and building-specific factors. Buildings that were unsuitable for solar panels were identified for green roofs. This research supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 13 (Climate Action), and 15 (Life on Land). The annual solar potential was estimated at 100,300 kWh, with 2,450 m2 of suitable roof area for green roofs. The study demonstrates the feasibility of using rooftops to increase urban sustainability, thereby enhancing the quality of life for residents. The integration of NBS and solar energy can facilitate the creation of more sustainable and resilient urban environments. The study recommends the implementation of spatial-enabled urban planning as a means of overcoming barriers and promoting the development of green, energy-efficient communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing climate and rapid urbanization have resulted in an increase in urban floods. It is crucial to develop and improve flood management measures in urban areas to minimize losses. The sponge city strategy, which is based on the concept of Low Impact Development (LID), has proven effective in mitigating urban surface water floods and improving water management. However, there is still a need to determine the scope of flood improvement based on flood risk assessment and consider the cost-effectiveness of improvement measures. This study addresses this gap by developing a rapid cost–benefit assessment method for LID measures using cellular automata. The study area was Waterloo, and potential LID measures such as green roofs, permeable pavements, and bio-retention facilities were chosen. LID mitigation scenarios were generated based on the risk distribution of buildings. The CADDIES model, which is based on cellular automata, was used to simulate urban surface floods. The study found that the submerged area of flood water depth greater than 0.3 m increased logarithmically with the rainfall return period, while areas with depths greater than 0.6 m and 0.9 m increased linearly. Implementation of all three LID scenarios had the best effect on flood control, with scenario S3 showing the highest economic benefit and scenario S12 demonstrating the best investment return. When only the green roofs measure was implemented, the recommended renovation area accounted for 30%-50% of the total building area. If the green roofs measure was combined with the other two measures, the renovation area should be as small as possible. The study has shown that this method efficiently selects an investment strategy with favorable cost–benefit outcomes, thereby assisting decision-making in the planning of sponge city construction. This practical and effective approach offers scientific support for the sustainable management of urban floods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) is pivotal in reconciling biodiversity conservation with sustainable urban development through adaptive management approaches. This paper introduces a comprehensive conceptual framework integrating ecological principles, urban planning strategies, and adaptive management methodologies to nurture resilient and biodiverse urban landscapes. The essence of UGI lies in its capacity to bolster ecological connectivity, restore ecosystem functions, and provide habitats for diverse flora and fauna within urban settings. Fundamental principles governing UGI design underscore its multifunctionality, connectivity, diversity, and accessibility, emphasizing the importance of adaptive management marked by its iterative and participatory nature. Despite challenges posed by urbanization, such as habitat loss, pollution, and climate change, UGI interventions offer promising avenues for enhancing habitat quality, connectivity, and ecosystem resilience. Global case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of UGI in biodiversity conservation, leveraging initiatives like green roofs, urban forests, and community gardens. UGI significantly contributes to sustainable urban development by offering diverse ecosystem services across various domains. Adaptive management is critical for effective UGI planning and implementation, ensuring flexibility amidst evolving environmental conditions. However, UGI encounters hurdles, including funding constraints, institutional fragmentation, and equity issues. Addressing these challenges necessitates innovative financing mechanisms, community involvement, and policy innovations. UGI presents a transformative pathway towards fostering resilient, biodiverse, and sustainable urban landscapes, imperative for cities to thrive in the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skyrise greenery, including green roofs and vertical gardens, has emerged as an indispensable tool for sustainable urban planning with multiple ecological and economic benefits. A bibliometric analysis was used to provide a systematic review of the functions associated with skyrise greenery in urban landscapes. Key research tools, including the "Bibliometrix" R package and "CiteSpace" 6.2 R4, highlight the depth and breadth of the literature covering skyrise greenery. In 2000–2022, a total of 1474 original journal articles were retrieved. Over this period, there was an exponential increase in the number of publications, reflecting both enhanced knowledge and increasing concerns regarding climate change, the urban heat island, and urbanization. Of the total, ~58% of the articles originated from China, followed by the USA, Italy, Australia, and Canada. The research themes, such as urban heat islands, carbon sequestration, hydrology, and air quality, have been identified as the frontier in this fields. Furthermore, researchers from developed countries contributed the most publications to this domain, while developing countries, such as China, play an increasing role in the design and performance evaluation of vertical greenery. Key benefits identified in vertical green systems (e.g., green roofs and walls) include thermal regulation, sustainable water management, air-quality improvement, noise reduction, and biodiversity enhancement. In addition, several potential future research prospectives are highlighted. This review provides a comprehensive insight into exploring the pivotal role of skyrise greenery in shaping sustainable, resilient urban futures, coupled with sustainable urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roofs are promising tools in sustainable urban planning, offering benefits such as stormwater management, energy savings, aesthetic appeal, and recreational spaces. They play a crucial role in creating sustainable and resilient cities, providing both environmental and economic advantages. Despite these benefits, concerns persist about their impact on water quality, especially for non-potable use, as conflicting results are found in the literature. This study presents a comparative analysis of the quantity and quality of water drained from an extensive green roof against an adjacent conventional rooftop made of fiber–cement tiles in subtropical Brazil. Over a 14-month period, the water drained from both roofs was evaluated based on physical (turbidity, apparent color, true color, electrical conductivity, total solids, total dissolved solids, suspended solids), chemical (pH, phosphate, total nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, chlorides, sulfates, and BOD), microbiological (total coliforms and E. coli), and metal (copper, iron, zinc, lead, and chrome) concentration parameters. The discharge from the green roof was 40% lower than its counterpart measured at the control roof, while the water quality from both roofs was quite similar. However, the green roof acted as source of chlorides, electrical conductivity, color, BOD, total hardness, E. coli, phosphate, sulfate, and turbidity. On the other side, the green roof neutralized the slightly acidic character of rainwater, showcasing its potential to mitigate the effects of acid rain. The study's results underscored that the water discharged from the green roof generally aligned with non-potable standards mandated by both Brazilian and international regulations. However, the findings emphasized the imperative need for pre-treatment of the green roof discharge before its utilization, specifically adjusting parameters like turbidity, BOD, total coliforms, and E. coli, which were identified as crucial to ensure water safety and compliance with non-potable use standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the immense amount of infrastructure in cities, the introduction of vegetation into these constructions is expected to play a critical role in reducing the heat island effect, in mitigating the effects of climate change, and in supporting habitat connectivity and associated biodiversity. Although there is the perception that these solutions can improve the biodiversity of cities, their real value is still unclear. This paper focuses on two aspects of urban greening: green roofs and green walls. It provides a systematic review on biodiversity present in green roofs and walls, through an exhaustive worldwide literature analysis. Arthropods, bats, and birds were the three taxonomic groups analyzed in the papers included in our review. We observed a strong increase in the number of recent publications, thus demonstrating a growing interest in this topic. In summary, we found that green roofs/walls offered additional opportunities for plants and animals to thrive in urban environments because of habitat creation and greater spatial connectivity. In addition, the enhancement of other ecosystem services such as stormwater management and heat island mitigation was noted. By incorporating green features into urban design and planning, cities can support biodiversity while also improving the overall sustainability and livability of urban spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the rapid development of the world's economy has led to the large-scale development and utilization of ecological resources on the earth, due to which the ecological environment has been continuously and seriously damaged, resulting in the waste of resources, soil erosion, land desertification, etc. To avoid further damage to the ecological environment and ecological resources, improve the utilization rate of ecological resources, and ensure the sustainable development of human society, it is necessary to evaluate the ecological environment. In this study, we collected the required data using the Delphi method and remote sensing technology. Secondly, the green Olympic building evaluation system (which refers to the CASBEE method in Japan) was used to evaluate the impact of green roofs on architectural design and the urban ecological environment. Third, a deep learning (DL)-based hybrid model, which consists of a convolutional neural network (CNN) and long–short-term memory (SLSTM), known as CNN–LSTM, was used to evaluate the impact of green roofs on urban ecology and building architectural design. The influence of thermal comfort on the indoor environment of green roof buildings was studied. For experimentation, six samples of Shanghai Thumb Plaza, Splendid Tesco Point, Chaoshan Yuan Hotel, Green Management Office, Huangpu District Domestic Waste Transfer Station, and Changning District Fuxin Slaughterhouse were selected as evaluation objects, and the effect of green roofs on building design and urban ecology was evaluated from six levels: ecological, ornamental, safety, functional, social, and economic. Both the CASBEE and DL-based methods, CNN–LSTM, performed well and increased the evaluation results to some extent. The CNN–LSTM model increased the accuracy of the system by 3.55%, precision by 3.50%, recall by 4.46%, and F1-score by 3.30%. Overall, this study summarizes the existing problems of green rooftop buildings in Shanghai at this stage, which is conducive to formulating optimization strategies to improve the ecological benefits of green roof buildings and has important practical significance for realizing the sustainable development of human society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a sustainable approach to urban environmental management, green roofs are becoming more and more popular. They have been discovered to help reduce the urban heat island effect, insulating against noise and heat, managing stormwater, and eventually reducing climate change. Despite its established advantages and widespread use in most developed countries, green roofs have just recently gained popularity in the Izmir building sector. Izmir, a fast-growing city that may profit from green roofs, seems to have little idea of its potential. This study aims to determine the barriers to the widespread adoption of green roofs in Izmir. For this purpose, qualitative research was carried out and semi-structured interviews with government officials from different backgrounds such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, and engineering were carried out to gather the primary data. Although there are prospects for the adoption of green roofs, the study revealed that these roofs are not common in the study region due to expense, technical difficulties, a lack of understanding, and standards. In light of this, it was also discovered that for the local sector to progress, government authorities must provide incentives and change regulatory settings to better promote the use of green roofs, while industry organizations must offer educational initiatives. Moreover, it is crucial to enhance technicalproficiency and conduct research related to green roofs’ proven benefits in the context of Izmir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat loss and fragmentation are primary threats to biodiversity in urban areas. Least-cost path analyses are commonly used in ecology to identify and protect wildlife corridors and stepping-stone habitats that minimise the difficulty and risk for species dispersing across human-modified landscapes. However, they are rarely considered or used in the design of urban green infrastructure networks, particularly those that include building-integrated vegetation, such as green walls and green roofs. This study uses Linkage Mapper, an ArcGIS toolbox, to identify the least-cost paths for four native keystone birds (kererū, tūī, korimako, and hihi) in Wellington, New Zealand, to design a network of green roof corridors that ease native bird dispersal. The results identified 27 least-cost paths across the central city that connect existing native forest habitats. Creating 0.7 km2 of green roof corridors along these least-cost paths reduced cost-weighted distances by 8.5–9.3% for the kererū, tūī, and korimako, but there was only a 4.3% reduction for the hihi (a small forest bird). In urban areas with little ground-level space for green infrastructure, this study demonstrates how least-cost path analyses can inform the design of building-integrated vegetation networks and quantify their impacts on corridor quality for target species in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Municipality of Kakanj, an industrial municipality, emphasizes the crucial importance of environmental preservation, development encouragement, and the improvement of urban agriculture. In urban planning, a return to fundamental values aligned with population needs is essential. Urban spaces should encompass functions related to housing, livelihoods, social utility, and interaction. However, the issue arises with the reduction of green areas due to building construction, causing a disconnect between people and nature in their fast-paced urban daily lives. For this reason, green roofs on residential buildings are one way for residents to have daily contact with greenery, ultimately promoting a healthier and more active lifestyle. The creation of green roofs often provides the opportunity for urban beekeeping (depending on the location), which has been considered one of the solutions to the bee extinction problem and the increase in pollinators in recent years. The aim of this project is to develop a conceptual plan for adapting the existing flat roofs of three towers (S1, S-2, S-3) built in the 1980s in the Municipality of Kakanj into green roofs. These green roofs will create the potential to strengthen and expand the importance of urban agriculture, bringing a range of ecological, social, and economic benefits. This project seeks to redefine the skyline by replacing conventional roofs with lush green roofs, nurturing a harmonious blend of nature and urban life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roofs are becoming more essential part of sustainable urban planning since they can enhance the quality of urban runoff, reduce building energy use, and provide aesthetic value to the surroundings. Despite the fact that they provide significant benefits to cities, they are not widely used. Initial expenses have been discussed as a barrier to implementation, but the long term benefits associated with green roofs have largely been ignored. An accurate assessment of the entire costs and benefits of green roofs to society, cities, and the environment will assist government officials to make decisions about whether or not to invest in green roof projects. However, detailed benefit-cost evaluations related to green roofs are still lacking. Therefore, by conducting a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) on the instance of extensive green roof installation in Izmir Katip Çelebi University Cigli Campus, this study attempts to evaluate the economic viability of green roof projects in Izmir. The analysis consists of estimating four cost items and four benefit items. Benefit items were investigated under two categories: public and private benefit. The results indicate that the net present value (NPV) of the green roof is positive, although some of the benefits were not quantified. It means that the green roof project in the context of this study is worth making. This paper can help both academic researchers and government officials in Izmir understand the relative benefit and costs of green roofs under specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of green infrastructure (GI) as Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) generates positive effects on the water ecosystem service in an urban context. Practices such as bioretention cells, green roofs, rain gardens, permeable pavements, and infiltration trenches contribute to treating large volumes of runoff and providing safe spaces for populations living in highly urbanized areas. With the aim to simulate these effects, a hydrological modeling was carried out using the i-Tree Hydro Plus model, which quantified the runoff generated from precipitation events and effective transformations (NBS) to cope with runoff. Eight scenarios were developed: a baseline scenario, five future scenarios with green infrastructure, a scenario with increased tree coverage, and a scenario with increased urbanization. Our hypothesis is that NBS would reduce runoff and increase permeable flow. The analysis of the feasibility of implementing the modeled green infrastructures was carried out through consultation with local stakeholders in the micro-watershed. We found that bioretention cells decrease runoff by 5%, green roofs by 4%, rain gardens by 4%, permeable pavements by 4.5%, and infiltration trenches by 7.5% compared to the baseline scenario where runoff accounts for 32% of water balance flows. The scenario of increased tree coverage had a similar behavior to the baseline scenario, indicating that efforts in this alternative would generate a limited impact on the reduction of runoff. With increased urbanization, impermeable flow increases up to 78%, which would generate floods. Implementing NBS would be feasible since this type of initiative is included in the agenda of many regulatory instruments of urban planning in Costa Rica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the region most vulnerable to climate change and related hydro-meteorological risks. These risks are exacerbated in rapidly expanding urban areas due to the loss and degradation of green and blue spaces with their regulating ecosystem services. The potential of nature-based solutions (NBSs) to mitigate hydro-meteorological risks such as floods is increasingly recognised in Europe. However, its application in urban areas of SSA still needs to be systematically explored to inform and promote its uptake in this region. We conducted a multidisciplinary systematic review following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol to establish the general patterns in the literature on NBSs and hydro-meteorological risk mitigation in SSA. We searched scientific journal databases, websites of 12 key institutions and 11 NBS databases and identified 45 papers for analysis. We found at least 1 reported NBS in 71 % of urban areas of SSA across 83 locations. Of the papers, 62 % were clustered in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria only, while the most studied cities were Dar es Salaam and Kampala. Moreover, 66 NBS practices were identified, most of which (n=44) were for flood mitigation. With only Mozambique (n=2) among the most at-risk countries reporting NBSs, we found that NBSs are implemented where risks occur but not where they are most severe. Mangrove restoration (n=10) and wetland restoration (n=7), reforestation (n=10) and urban forests (n=8), and agroforestry (n=3) and conservation agriculture (n=2) were the most common NBS practices identified for floods, extreme-heat and drought mitigation, respectively. Traditional practices that fit the definition of NBSs, such as grass strips and stone bunds, and practices that are more popular in the Global North, such as green roofs and green façades, were also identified. These NBSs also provided ecosystem services, including 15 regulatory, 5 provisioning and 4 cultural ecosystem services, while 4 out of every 5 NBSs created livelihood opportunities. We conclude that the reported uptake of NBSs for hydro-meteorological risks in SSA is low. However, there could be more NBSs, especially at the local level, that are unreported. NBSs can help SSA address major development challenges such as water and food insecurity and unemployment and help the sub-region progress towards climate-resilient development. Therefore, we recommend that NBSs be mainstreamed into urban planning and knowledge exchange opportunities between SSA and Europe and that other regions be explored to promote uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roofs (GR) are known as one of the most effective water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) strategies to deal with numerous environmental and social issues that urbanized cities face today. The overall quality of research on GRs has significantly improved and an increasing trend is observed in the amount of research over the last decade. Among several approaches, the application of modeling tools is observed to be an effective method to simulate and evaluate the performance of GRs. Given that studies on GRs at a catchment scale are limited, this paper aims to provide a simple but effective framework for estimating the catchment-scale impacts of GR on runoff quantity and quality. MUSICX, an Australian-developed software that possesses the advantages of a conceptual model, is chosen as the modeling tool in this study. While MUSICX has built-in meteorological templates for Australian regions, this tool also supports several climate input file formats for application by modelers in other parts of the world. This paper presents two different modeling approaches using the Land Use node and Bioretention node in MUSICX. The steps used for model calibration are also provided in this paper. The modeling results present the annual reductions in runoff volume, total suspended solid (TSS), total phosphate (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) load. The largest reductions of roughly 30% per year were observed in runoff volume and TN load. The annual runoff reduction rate reported in this study is close to that of other published results. Similar research outcomes quantifying the benefits of GRs play a major role in facilitating the widespread implementation of GRs due to the awareness of both positive and negative impacts of GRs. Future studies are recommended to concentrate on modeling the impacts of implementing GRs at a large scale (i.e., scales exceeding the single-building scale) to fill the research gaps and enhance the modeling accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roofs are sustainable systems able to improve the building envelope performance. Planning urban green spaces should tackle the significant environmental challenges in contemporary cities. Identifying the problematic areas in the cities for implementing green roofs to better utilize their environmental benefits is an objective that is rarely considered in the literature and urban planning. The main purpose of this research is to determine and prioritize susceptible areas to implement green roofs for maximizing their benefits, with an emphasis on mitigating environmental challenges in urban areas. The case we choose is the second largest city in Iran, Mashhad. Four classifications are used to implement green roof projects in Mashhad. The obtained results show that high-priority areas to implement green roofs are in the eastern and northeastern districts of Mashhad. The highest air pollution, vehicle traffic, and the population-attracting centers (Imam Reza shrine) are concentrated in these areas. Due to the lack of enough space to create ground parks or other green features in these areas, utilizing green roofs is an appropriate tool to alleviate their environmental challenges. The development of ArcMap extensions and using accurate indicators based on real data will help urban managers in policy-making and future decisions about green roof projects. This methodology helps to promote green spaces, air quality, and quality of life in the cities and approach urban sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Labor & Engenho is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the aim of being a part of global change and providing an example to other researchers throughout the world, this paper details how breeding goals of horticultural plants and their application have shifted in Novi Sad (Serbia) in the last 10–15 years. Contemporary cities/citizens strive to incorporate nature into all of their important life segments and activities, thus requiring an interdisciplinary approach to solving challenges that the 21st century brings. Early research in Novi Sad (Serbia) was focused on the basic genetic, physiological, biochemical and botanical aspects of plant functioning and development in a challenging and changing urban environment abundant in abiotic stressors, as well as biotic and abiotic stressors, that affect the production of horticultural plant in this field. Recently, research interest has shifted towards the sustainable usage of plant genetic resources (roses, autochthonous terrestrial orchids, sweet and sour cherry eco-types, and allochthonous oil-rich species), as well as sustainable practices and nature-based solutions (urban-derived biodiesel, rain gardens, green roofs, green walls, constructed wetlands, water ponds, bioswales and permeable surfaces on a different scale of urban planning). This case study aimed to illustrate how plant selection and breeding strategies can satisfy urban growth demands, whereas urban planning must include sustainable genetic resources suitable for urban ecosystems. Available ornamental plant genetic resources (with pronounced tolerance/resistance to abiotic and/or biotic stressors) associated with the novel approach of their application in green city infrastructure provide the opportunity to implement multiple nature-based solutions leading to numerous ecosystem services. Combined, these contribute to the globally defined goals for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in urbanisation and population growth living in urban areas leads to major problems including increased rates of air pollution and global warming. Assessing the impact of buildings on wind flow, air temperature and pollution dispersion on people at the pedestrian level is, therefore, of crucial importance for urban design. In this study, the effect of different forms of urban vegetation including green roofs, green walls and trees on velocity, air temperature and air quality is assessed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for a selected area of the East Village. This study indicates that adding a building increases air temperature, pollution concentration and velocity at the pedestrian level. A parametric analysis is conducted to assess the impact of various key parameters on air temperature, pollution and velocity at the pedestrian level. The variables under consideration include wind speed, ranging from 4–8 m/s at a reference height of 10 m, and vegetation cooling intensity, ranging from 250–500 W·m−3. Three scenarios are tested in which the streets have no bottom heating, 2 °C bottom heating and 10 °C bottom heating. Pollution is simulated as a form of passive scalar with an emission rate of 100 ppb s−1, considering NO2 as the pollutant. In all cases, vegetation is found to reduce air velocity, pollutant concentration and temperature. However, the presence of vegetation in various forms alters the pattern of pollution dispersion differently. More specifically, the results indicate that planting trees (e.g., birch trees) close to the edge of buildings can decrease the air temperature by up to 2–3 °C at the pedestrian level. Increasing the cooling intensity of the vegetation from 250 to 500 W·m−3 results in significantly lower air temperature, whereas lower wind speeds result in a higher concentration of pollutants at the pedestrian level. A combination of green walls and trees is found to be the most effective strategy to improve the thermal environment and air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a framework choosing locations for green roofs (GRs). • Coupled benefit simulation models with NSGA-III for the optimal GR layouts. • The optimization for minimizing cost and for maximizing benefit was simulated. • A GR spatial layout is given based on different objectives in Xiamen. Rapid urbanization and increasing environmental challenges driven by climate change have diminished the efficacy and efficiency of traditional green infrastructure, particularly in high-density urban areas with a prominent contradiction between ecological construction and land scarcity. Green roofs (GRs) can provide multiple ecological benefits, and have proven to be an effective measure for addressing complex environmental issues in high-density urban areas. However, whether GR layout can deliver significant ecological benefits at a low investment cost requires further exploration. A multi-objective optimization framework for GR layout in high-density urban areas was proposed, balancing both costs and benefits. The framework intelligently extracted potential GRs, established a multi-objective evaluation system, integrated benefit simulation models with a multi-objective optimization algorithm (NSGA-III) to determine the optimal GR layout, and recommended the best layout scheme using the entropy weight-TOPSIS method. A case study in Xiamen, China, demonstrated the applicability and implications of this framework. The results indicated that the genetic algorithm effectively optimized the scheme to meet the objectives of runoff reduction, cooling effect, and investment cost in Xiamen Island. Specifically, the GRs contributed major runoff reduction (2.115–2.556 %), cooling effect (0.395–0.485 %), and investment cost (12.65 × 109–15.32 × 109RMB) across all optimal scenarios. This approach enables the visualization of GR layouts and quantification of associated benefits and costs, assisting decision-makers in scientifically balancing the costs and ecological benefits of GR layout options. The proposed framework provides a new and feasible path for high-density urban areas to achieve optimized GR spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has been one of architecture's most significant trends over the last twenty years. The environmental consciousness of professionals has put sustainability at the heart of the architectural profession and has contributed to adopting and implementing sustainable designs on the scale of urban landscapes. A green roof or living roof, which is a sustainable solution in architecture, is a roof on the surface of which plants are grown. The roof is covered by plants, covering the waterproof layer beneath the vegetation. However, various types of plants can be used in this scheme. Understanding the influencing factors in choosing the right plant species and the impact that utilizing green roofs has on the overall energy consumption of the building can tremendously help scientists and clarify the possible future research topics in this field. Hence, this article investigates energy optimization in the construction process of a green roof in sustainable architecture and its advantages and challenges. The results of this study show that budget limitations, managerial and organizational policies, legal issues, technical and scientific infrastructure, and cultural and geographical aspects are all affecting the widespread use of green roofs currently and need to be considered in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an impact of climate change, water-related disasters, such as floods, are becoming more frequent. In this context, there is an increasing demand to improve the resiliency of urban settlements, using multiple approaches and techniques. This paper assesses one of those techniques, by developing an algorithmic-parametric tool to quantify how urban forestry reduces flood impacts from rainfall runoff. The assessment was comprised by three main methodological steps: (#1) observing the scientific literature on "the sponge effect" observed in green infrastructures; (#2) developing an algorithmic-parametric tool using the Grasshopper application to estimate rainfall runoff, considering the influence of urban forestry design factors; and (#3) performing digital simulations with this parametric tool using a Rhinoceros-Grasshopper interface. Results indicate this method is effective in assessing the efficacy of green interventions to mitigate urban flood damage and also in foreseeing how different design strategies impact urban hydrological dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate disruption and rapid urbanization present numerous challenges to infrastructure and communities in Chinese cities, from flooding and coastal erosion, to drought and pollution. This review article focuses on the utilization of Blue‐Green Infrastructure (BGI)—a suite of nature‐based strategies combining hydrological functions (blue) with vegetated landscaping (green)—to provide climate resilience and urban multifunctionality in China's large, high‐density cities. Chinese cities are utilizing BGI in new construction, in neighborhood retrofits, and in revival of ancient nature‐based infrastructure. The literature gives most attention to BGI in China's Sponge City Initiative that addresses the pluvial flooding crisis. Quantitative monitoring of BGI shows progress in stormwater‐related functions and to a lesser extent with rainwater utilization to address water scarcity. Other studies document multifunctional aspects of BGI, including cooling and energy‐saving functions of urban trees and green roofs, and green space expansion with parks that serve as retention basins. However, significant challenges and potential remain. China's urban infrastructure, including BGI, needs stronger design to be robust under extreme conditions as climate disruption intensifies. There is potential for BGI to more fully address habitat fragmentation, extreme heat, sea‐level rise and other climate and urbanization hazards. Further research and pilot projects are needed to characterize and quantify the benefits of multifunctional BGI. More integrated planning across city sectors, with greater incorporation of ecological and social functions, will help Chinese cities achieve multiple goals: providing carbon‐neutral and climate‐resilient infrastructure, improving air and water quality, regenerating ecosystems, and enhancing urban quality of life. This article is categorized under:Energy and Urban Design > Climate and EnvironmentEnergy and Climate > Systems and InfrastructureEnergy and Urban Design > Systems and Infrastructure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is a particularly vulnerable continent to the effects of climate and environmental changes. Several tree planting projects were launched as one of the plausible solutions to climate action. This paper reviews the recent tree planting projects in African cities, initiated between 2009 to 2021, focusing on analyzing the expected benefits to the populations. Indeed, these projects have become a widespread instrument to promise planning solutions for many African countries given the expected improvements to mitigate air pollution, carbon sequestration, and the conditions of cities for the health and wellbeing of their citizens. The consequences of uncontrolled urbanization in Africa also stress the importance of better planning of green spaces. African cities should reconsider urban planning with a clear focus on the role of green infrastructures because of their extensive social benefits and supportive capacity for any significant sustainable development. While these projects seem to be a promising initiative and are expected to deliver beneficial ecosystem services to citizens, there are still some loopholes that this paper highlights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of New Building Materials / Xinxing Jianzhu Cailiao is the property of New Building Materials Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Urban pockets, although an integral part of the urban environment, often fall into the urban vacant land category. This paper aims to point out the diversity of urban pockets through their categorization, explore the ways of urban pockets' integration into urban green infrastructure planning, and indicate the potential achievable uses of urban pockets. Six types of urban pockets in Novi Sad (Serbia) were noted and three different yet not mutually exclusive perspectives on urban pockets' revitalization – productive, cultural and social – were proposed. This study could serve as a basis for the integration of urban pockets into urban planning theory and planning practices and as an inspiration for urban planners, landscape architects and policy-makers to create strategies for urban pockets' utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative impact of climate change, especially in urban areas, requires the use of new construction technologies and materials, harmonized with environmental aspects. One such approach is the construction of green areas on flat roofs of buildings. The positive impact of greening roofs is reflected in several important aspects: environmental, economic, and social. The pilot area that was researched is characterized by a high coefficient of construction. All this affects the creation of the so‐called heat island and bad microclimatic conditions, as well as the lack of areas that can be arranged for the rest of the local population. In addition to the impact of this type of urban planning on the preservation of the city's environment, the costs of building green roofs are also presented. In the final part of the article, the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of green roof layers is presented, using the Eco‐indicator method to show the environmental impact of a materials based on data from a life cycle assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the dynamic relationship between crop plant performance and variety of treatment effects (water levels, diversity, and Sedum) on extensive urban green roofs. Green roofs have gained recognition as a sustainable urban design strategy, offering benefits such as stormwater management, energy efficient, and improved aesthetic enhancements. However, environmental stressors can challenge plant growth and performance on these emerging extensive green roofs. To help cope with these stressors, certain planting techniques have been implemented on green roofs such as plants grown with Sedum and increasing diversity types. However, monitoring the effects of these treatments in a rapid, timely manner are still in its infancy. To monitor plant health (specifically bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)) on green roofs, this study utilizes hyperspectral remote sensing technology using two crucial optical parameters: red edge point (REP) and red well point (RWP) to offer new valuable insights into monitoring plant health on green roofs. The results found that both REP and RWP information can detect significant differences between the treatment effects of water treatment (high and low) (p = 0.006, p = 0.001) and plants with or without existence of Sedum (Crassulaceae) (p = 0.01, p = 0.07) but could not find significant difference in diversity effects (single crop or multiple crops) (p = 0.20, p = 0.45). The results of REP and RWP was also able to find that plants with Sedum under low watering treatments showed worse plant performance than plants without Sedum under low watering treatments (p = 0.006, p = 0.006). This provides insights that remote sensing technology can detect that there may have been a competition of resources under low watering treatments and that that REP and RWP has the potential for a future sophisticated green roof monitoring platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of urban green infrastructure is used to identify the concepts of its planning, implementation, and management at the level of the whole city as well as its individual parts. Green infrastructure, as a planned network of natural and semi-natural elements in cities, delivers a wide range of ecosystem services and improves urban environmental conditions. Planning the network of green infrastructure becomes a standard part of urban and spatial planning. Implementation strategies of green infrastructure in urban environment include applications of new specific elements and nature-based solutions. Green infrastructure research covers a wide range of topics. Our research focuses on the selected aspects of spatial analysis of green infrastructure in the city of Warsaw: distribution of main public green areas at the urban scale – forests and parks in the urban fabric, the forms of their protection, the use of linear elements of green infrastructure along communication routes, and the implementation of new elements of nature-based solutions in the urban environment – green roofs, green facades, and rain gardens. Based on the analysis of the studied selected aspects, recommendations were formulated for strengthening the interconnectivity of the green infrastructure system at an urban scale and implementation of new green infrastructure elements and in the intensively built-up districts where the number and size of green areas are insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, global ecological and environmental problems have gradually become prominent, and green infrastructure (GI), as one of the effective measures to deal with environmental problems, has gradually attracted attention from various fields. In this paper, green infrastructure is taken as the research object, and a total of 1 950 related documents in the core database of "web of science" from 1995 to 2021 are taken as the basic data source. By using CiteSpace visualization software, the network of scholars, the distribution characteristics of journals, highly cited articles, prominent keywords, research hotspots and future research trends of related documents are analyzed. The analysis results show that the research on green infrastructure at home and abroad continues to increase; the research on green infrastructure mainly focuses on urban planning, ecosystem services, ecological environment and other issues; the research field of green infrastructure has gradually changed from traditional research fields such as urban planning, architectural engineering and ecology to land use management, urban healthy development, urban sustainable development, physical heat radiation and other fields; at present, research on green infrastructure mainly involves urban planning, ecology and other fields; the future research on green infrastructure will involve the field of physical heat radiation. The purpose is to provide valuable scientific basis and theoretical basis for the future green infrastructure construction in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving urban sustainability goals, and improving the quality of life in cities, are aided by the careful selection of tree species for public green spaces. Numerous trade-offs and synergies are necessary to consider when selecting tree species for successful public green spaces and there is little data on effective species mixes. In this transdisciplinary research we consider the relative impacts of nine different tree planting scenarios, as modelled with i-Tree, in three piazzas of Bolzano, North Italy. The scenarios consider the opinions of the general public gathered from focused workshops and data collected via a purposefully created smartphone application in addition to data from local urban tree inventories. Shade provision and aesthetics were the primary factors that influenced citizen tree preferences. Scenarios which included larger tree species generally performed the best due to the greater provision of ecosystem services that arises with larger tree dimensions. Ecosystem disservices also increase with larger trees but can be minimised by careful species selection. Public participation in the planning of urban green spaces can be a beneficial activity which ensures new planning outputs will be well-received whilst providing opportunities for education of citizens about the multiple ecosystem services and disservices in urban contexts. Model outputs revealed that different tree species choices can have greatly different impacts in terms of ecosystem service and disservice provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The increasing demands of humankind contribute to the scarcity of natural resources and foster climate changes. For this reason, sustainable development has become a fundamental agenda in the twenty-first century. The intense urbanization induces significant changes in the natural water cycle, and this feature, coupled with neglecting the natural water dynamics in the urban planning process, increases the population's vulnerability to urban floods. In this context, sustainable urban drainage techniques have been proposed to match the urban and natural demands, while preserving or recovering the environmental functions, as much as possible. However, such techniques are often not adopted, even in developed cities, and this fact seems to be related to the improper awareness of the whole set of benefits involved in their use. This article aims to evaluate the economic viability of sustainable urban drainage systems, in a simple and easily acceptable way, considering the ecosystem services provided by green roofs and rainwater harvesting barrels, and including their action in delivering urban revitalization and valorization. The proposed method can be easily used and understood by decision-makers, facilitating its diffusion and use in urban policy-making process. The results showed a best-performing scenario for the rainwater harvesting system with a payback of approximately three years, a benefit-cost ratio of four, and an internal return rate of 45%. The ecosystem service benefits represent 36.3% to 50.8% of total benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable urban design has appeared in different perspectives to minimize and reduce the negative impacts of urban expansion in terms of climatic and environmental drawbacks. One of the undeniable approaches of sustainable urban design is the adoption of green urban roofs. Green roofs are seen to have a substantial role in addressing and resolving environmental issues in the context of climate change. Research investigations have indicated that green roofs have a remarkable impact on decreasing rainwater runoff, reducing the heat island effect in urban spaces, and increasing biodiversity. Nevertheless, green roofs in urban spaces as a competent alternative to nature remains a standing question. To what extent can green roofs mimic the biodiversity that is seen in nature? Moreover, to what level is this approach practical for achieving a tangible reconnection with nature, or so-called biophilia? This study attempts to discuss the essence and impact of green roofs in urban spaces based on a case study approach. The study reflected lessons from the New York High Line Green Roof regarding biophilia and biodiversity in this case study. It concludes with key lessons that can be transferred to other urban spaces with similar settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green Roofs (GRs) are increasing in popularity due to their ability to manage roof runoff while providing a number of additional ecosystem services. Improvement of hydrological models for the simulation of GRs will aid design of individual roofs as well as city scale planning that relies on the predicted impacts of widespread GR implementation. Machine learning (ML) has exploded in popularity in recent years, however there are no studies focusing on the use of ML in hydrological simulation of GRs. We focus on two types of ML-based model: long short-term memory (LSTM) and gated recurrent unit (GRU), in modelling GRs hydrological performance, with sequence input andsingle output (SISO), and synced sequence input and output (SSIO) architectures. Results of this paper indicate that both LSTM and GRU are useful tools for GR modelling. As the time window length (memory length, time step length of input data) increases, SISO appears to have a higher overall forecast accuracy. SSIO delivers the best overall performance, when the SSIO is close to, or even exceeds, the maximum window size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roofs have drawn much more attention under the promotion of the Sponge City-Low Impact Development Rainwater System (LID) in modern urban construction and planning. Much more green roofs have been built so far. However, there is a great challenge on the later maintenance in the process of green roofs, such as the difficult irrigation, high cost, and large water consumption. Therefore, automatic irrigation is urgently needed suitable for roof greening. Taking the microfiber capillary as the material, this study aims to propose an automated irrigation technology for the roof green potted test, called the microfiber capillary wicking irrigation (MCWI). Taking the Antirrhinum majus, Murraya paniculata, Podocarpus macrophyllus, Portulaca grandiflora, succulent plant, and Sedum lineare as test plants, a systematic investigation was made to clarify the effects of MCWI treatment on the soil water content and evapotranspiration of green roof. The transpiration rate and evapotranspiration amount were measured for the different plants in different seasons using the specific steaming instrument. A three-temperature model was established to evaluate the MCWI performance on the evaporation of green roofs. The field experiment was carried out in the Zhuhai Campus, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Province, China. The results showed that the average soil water contents of Murraya paniculata, Antirrhinum majus, and bare soil module with MCWI were 27%, 18%, and 47% higher than those without MCWI, respectively. The MCWI increased the soil water content, further reducing the occurrence of water stress. The transpiration rate of Antirrhinum majus with MCWI was significantly higher than that without MCWI (P>0.01) in summer (rainy season). The average daily transpiration rates of Antirrhinum majus were more than 13.8, 39.2, 45.7, and 19.0 J/(m2 ·s) on April 8, May 18, June 29, and July 27, 2021, respectively. Simultaneously, the maximum transpiration rates with MCWI were 22.3, 104.4, 94.0, and 30.8 J/(m2 ·s) higher than those without MCWI, respectively. The largest difference in transpiration rate between MCWI and non-MCWI was at 12:00-14:00, the hottest period of the day. Correspondingly, the higher the temperature was, the greater the temperature difference between plant canopy and air surrounding. By contrast, the bottom temperature of the test module with the MCWI was higher than that without MCWI in winter (dry season), no matter the day and night. The MCWI increased by 0.25 °C for the average temperature of the roof base, indicating a less temperature variation for the better energy storage of the green roof in winter. Evapotranspiration of Sedum line with MCWI at night was 0.14 mm higher than that without MCWI, but the MCWI evapotranspiration in the daytime was 0.57 mm lower than that without MCWI, indicating the overall decrease of 9.3% in the MCWI treatment. The change was attributed to the formation of dew in the process. Consequently, the MCWI can be used to improve the soil water content, the evapotranspiration of vegetation in summer, and to increase the roof evapotranspiration at night in winter. At the same time, it is also necessary to explore the air moisture for the green roof during the day, further to promote the non-precipitation resource. This finding can also provide sound theoretical support to the microfiber capillary wicking irrigation for water-saving green roofs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although warnings have been broadcasted in advance regarding this heavy rainfall, instantaneous rain intensity prediction of a specific place is a worldwide challenge. The design rainfall for many areas and watersheds in Zhengzhou City ranged from 15.7 to 26.5 mm, but Zhengzhou received 201.9 mm of rain during 16:00-17:00 on the 20 July alone, which is almost 10 times compared to the design rainfall of sponge cities. The rising temperature causes more water evaporation and enhance the water cycle, which drives up the frequency of extreme rainfalls. On the contrary, green vegetation can store rainwater,[10] and also can mitigate the urban heat island effect due to transpiration.[11],[12] Specifically, plants can block solar radiation from reaching the ground and plant transpiration can cool the urban thermal environment. [Extracted from the article]

Urban green spaces (UGSs) can provide important ecosystem services for citizens and their well-being. To make use of these services according to UGS user demands, urban residents, tourists, and city administrations should know where UGSs are located, what qualities they have and how to reach them on convenient routes. This paper presents a novel digital infrastructure which combines and fuses different data to map UGSs and their qualities, and makes this information available in a web app. The interactive information service of the app aims to support citizens to explore and search for suitable UGSs and to provide routing options to reach them based on their preferences. Via implicit and explicit feedback functions included in the app, further information on UGS users' preferences can be collected to enhance the overall knowledge basis, while respecting data privacy issues. The underlying data base consists primarily of open and volunteered geographic data, which allows for transferability to other cities. This paper describes the system design, its back-end and front-end components, as well as the process of development and deployment of the system in two pilot cities. Preliminary results of the piloting in the two cities are presented, focusing on user preferences for UGSs searches. The added value of the web app for city residents and the role of the newly gained knowledge for urban planning is discussed and reflected upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global increase of urban impervious land cover poses a significant threat to the integrity of river ecosystems. Hence, it is critical to assess the efficiency of green roofs (GR) to mitigate the negative impacts of urbanization on river ecosystems, such as thermal surges and pollutants. In this study, we evaluated the ecohydrological behaviour of two fully established GR under differing management regimes at the Chicago Botanical Gardens from July to September 2019. The drainage outflow from a non‐vegetated roof, a managed GR (perennial native and non‐native plants) and an unmanaged GR (perennial natural prairie vegetation) were monitored, and thermal dynamics, dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition and nitrate concentration assessed. The managed GR runoff had a lower DOC concentration and less humic‐like DOM signal (SUVA254) compared to the unmanaged GR. In contrast, lower concentrations of nitrate and more recalcitrant DOM (less protein‐like compounds relative to humic‐like compounds) were associated with the unmanaged GR. The unmanaged GR also displayed a greater capacity to reduce thermal surges associated with storm events. Our study provides new information on the implications of GR management for water quality with particular relevance to the urban stream syndrome. Further, the impacts of GR management on the mitigation of thermal surges and DOM composition can help to improve future GR design, as these ecohydrological responses have been largely overlooked to date. Our findings can support future urban planning, particularly for scenarios where green infrastructures are used to mitigate the impacts of climate change on urban river ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This review updates a systematic review published in 2010 (http://www.environmentalevidence.org/completed-reviews/how-effective-is-greening-of-urban-areas-in-reducing-human-exposure-to-ground-level-ozone-concentrations-uv-exposure-and-the-urban-heat-island-effect) which addressed the question: How effective is 'greening' of urban areas in reducing human exposure to ground-level ozone concentrations, UV exposure and the 'urban heat island effect'? Methods: Searches of multiple databases and journals for relevant published articles and grey literature were conducted. Organisational websites were searched for unpublished articles. Eligibility criteria were applied at title, abstract and full text and included studies were critically appraised. Consistency checks of these processes were undertaken. Pre-defined data items were extracted from included studies. Quantitative synthesis was performed through meta-analysis and narrative synthesis was undertaken. Review findings: 308 studies were included in this review. Studies were spread across all continents and climate zones except polar but were mainly concentrated in Europe and temperate regions. Most studies reported on the impact of urban greening on temperature with fewer studies reporting data on ground-level UV radiation, ozone concentrations (or precursors) or public health indicators. The findings of the original review were confirmed; urban green areas tended to be cooler than urban non-green areas. Air temperature under trees was on average 0.8 °C cooler but treed areas could be warmer at night. Cooling effect showed tree species variation. Tree canopy shading was a significant effect modifier associated with attenuation of solar radiation during the day. Urban forests were on average 1.6 °C cooler than comparator areas. Treed areas and parks and gardens were associated with improved human thermal comfort. Park or garden cooling effect was on average 0.8 °C and trees were a significant influence on this during the day. Park or garden cooling effect extended up to 1.25 kms beyond their boundaries. Grassy areas were cooler than non-green comparators, both during daytime and at night, by on average 0.6 °C. Green roofs and walls showed surface temperature cooling effect (2 and 1.8 °C on average respectively) which was influenced by substrate water content, plant density and cover. Ground-level concentrations of nitrogen oxides were on average lower by 1.0 standard deviation units in green areas, with tree species variation in removal of these pollutants and emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (precursors of ozone). No clear impact of green areas on ground level ozone concentrations was identified. Conclusions: Design of urban green areas may need to strike a balance between maximising tree canopy shading for day-time thermal comfort and enabling night-time cooling from open grassy areas. Choice of tree species needs to be guided by evapotranspiration potential, removal of nitrogen oxides and emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds. Choice of plant species and substrate composition for green roofs and walls needs to be tailored to local thermal comfort needs for optimal effect. Future research should, using robust study design, address identified evidence gaps and evaluate optimal design of urban green areas for specific circumstances, such as mitigating day or night-time urban heat island effect, availability of sustainable irrigation or optimal density and distribution of green areas. Future evidence synthesis should focus on optimal design of urban green areas for public health benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban water managers face numerous challenges, including limited natural resources for maintenance of technical infrastructure, changing demography, and dramatic environmental degradation. Although the vision of the "water-sensitive city" helps to develop tools and strategies toward more sustainable urban water systems, it does not consider biodiversity effects. We therefore aimed to determine habitat provision or habitat services provided by important rainwater management measures (e.g., ponds, swales, rain gardens, green roofs, green walls, permeable pavement), and to highlight how specific design and management practices for such measures enhance urban biodiversity. There is evidence of habitat services provided by rainwater management measures. Nevertheless, the categorization of such measures as civil engineering structures and their related rules limit efforts to optimize the biodiversity friendliness of design and management. The main factors to provide enhanced and more sustainable habitats are shaping design and maintenance according to target species and favoring connectivity by integrating rainwater management measures into the urban bluegreen network. We find that strategic implementation of combinations of rainwater management measures into existing built-up areas allows greater multifunctionality of urban infrastructure. The "biodiversity-friendly and water-sensitive city" implies the efficient integration of ecological design measures in urban planning at building, neighborhood, and landscape scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the potential of green roofs and solar roofs to contribute to sustainable development in cities. While previous research has focused on individual locations and small-scale studies, this study takes a broader approach by comparing the current state of these roof types in 26 global cities. By analyzing the relationship between city development, functions, morphologies, and rooftop technologies, the study identifies correlations and provides insights into the integration of these strategies. The findings reveal an uneven distribution of these roof types, with concentrations in highly urbanized city centers, indicating disparities in resource allocation and opportunities. The study suggests that cities with higher elevations, greater human development, and social sustainability should consider large-scale deployment of these roofs. Areas characterized by mid-rise and industrial buildings are suitable for both green roofs and solar roofs. Additionally, a comprehensive assessment combining building morphology with demographic, economic, environmental, topographical, and meteorological factors is conducted to determine the most suitable roof technology. The results of this study can guide stakeholders, including governments, property owners, developers, architects, and policymakers, in selecting appropriate roofing technologies that improve indoor conditions, reduce energy costs, address urban challenges, and promote sustainable urban development on a global scale. [Display omitted] • Examine the implementation of green roofs and solar roofs across 26 cities globally • A comprehensive indicator system incorporates spatial heterogeneity to analyze the two roofs. • Significant imbalances are found in urban developments, functions, and morphologies. • Insightful decision-making recommendations for the deployment of the two roofs in cities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many factors that need to be considered when planning a city's green economy, so it is difficult to simulate the planning effect through manual models. In order to improve the effect of urban green economic planning, this paper improves the traditional algorithm and combines the principle of machine learning algorithm to build a model that can be used in urban green economic planning. Moreover, this paper considers the measurement of green economic efficiency from the perspective of input, expected output and undesired output. In addition, this paper compares and analyzes the green efficiency calculated by the SE-SBM model, including horizontal comparison analysis and vertical comparison analysis, and conducts model simulation analysis in combination with data simulation research. Finally, this paper sets the simulation area, combines the data to perform model performance analysis, summarizes the data with statistical analysis methods, and draws charts. The research results show that the model constructed in this paper has a certain effect and can be applied to the design stage of urban green planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artigas wrote about Niemeyer's text a few months later, noting that Niemeyer understood "the right way" to avoid the "decorative aspects" ofmodernBrazilianarchitecture.SeeJ.Vilanova Artigas,"Revisãocríticade Niemeyer", Acrópole20, no. 237 (July1958),420. A Building without Doors: Vilanova Artigas and the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism Building at the University of São Paulo. 52 In 1957, Artigas served as Levi's assistant at FAU-USP, and in 1959,whenLevitookleavetoteachattheCentralUniversity of Venezuela, Artigas stepped in for him at FAU-USP. ABuildingwithoutDoors: VilanovaArtigasandtheFacultyofArchitectureand UrbanismBuildingattheUniversityofSãoPaulo décio otoni de almeida Mackenzie Presbyterian University J oão Batista Vilanova Artigas (1915-85) played a fundamental role in the development of the architectural profession in mid-twentieth-century São Paulo, a flourishing economic and industrial center that during this sameperiodsurpassedRiodeJaneirotobecomeBrazil'slargest metropolis. The notions of structure as architecture and architecture as urbanism reached their apex in the late 1960s with the completion of both Bo Bardi's São Paulo Museum of Art (Museu de Arte de São Paulo, 1957-68) and Artigas's FAUUSP Building (Figure 5). [Extracted from the article]