Urban Green&Blue infrastructure and global warming
Summary
The course introduces the concept of green and blue infrastructure in the context of global warming. It presents practical methods for planning, developing, and maintaining an efficient network of green and blue infrastructure in urban areas.
Content
With more than 60% of the world's population living in cities by 2030, global warming is a major challenge for urban development. Through their positive impacts on the environment, "green" (vegetable) and "blue" (aqueous) infrastructures strengthen adaptation and resilience of cities to face climate change.
Green & blue infrastructures contribute to improving living conditions in the city: mitigation of heat islands, control of runoff water, air filtration, water depollution, soil protection, reinforcement of biodiversity. They provide essential services for the physical and mental well-being of the population and urban communities. They have a generally advantageous cost-benefit ratio compared to conventional grey infrastructures.
The course is an introduction to the development of green & blue infrastructures in the urban space. It allows students to familiarize themselves with the following topics:
- Urban challenges related to climate change.
- Ecosystem services provided by green and blue infrastructure.
- Evaluation and strategic planning of green and blue infrastructures in urban areas.
- Design, implementation, and maintenance of green and blue infrastructures
- Functional monitoring and cost-benefit assessment of green and blue infrastructure projects.
The course places great emphasis on practical experiences and case studies. It identifies key concepts and best practices for urban green and blue infrastructure planning and design. It involves experts recognized at the national or international level.
Keywords
Green and blue infrastructure, Nature-based solutions, Ecosystem services, Climate change, Resilient cities, Biophilic design.
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
The course does not require any prerequisites. It is aimed at people who want to understand and integrate the concept of green and blue infrastructure in urban development.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Define the concept of green and blue infrastructures and their contributions to climate change adaptation in cities
- Analyze nature, density, and distribution of green and blue infrastructures in an urban territory.
- Design strategic plan to develop urban green and blue infrastructures networks that are ecologically, economically, and socially effective.
- Describe good practices for designing, building, maintaining, and evaluating green and blue infrastructure.
- Assess / Evaluate state and availability of ecosystem services provided by green and blue infrastructures in a given area.
- Develop projects using transdisciplinary methods.
Teaching methods
Interactive course mixing theoretical approaches, case studies analysis and practical exercises.
Expected student activities
Active participation in class, reading of course material, individual or group exercises and présentation.
Assessment methods
Continuous assessment during the semester:
- 2 exercises or individual projects = 50%
- 1 group project = 50%
Supervision
Others |
Resources
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
No
Bibliography
EBP, 2012: Adaptation aux changements climatiques dans les villes suisses. Rapport final du 16 août 2012 sur mandat de l'Office fédérale de l'environnement (OFEV). Ernst Basler + Partner (EBP), Berne, 79 p. Disponible en ligne : https://www.are.admin.ch/are/fr/home/media-et-publications/publications/villes-et-agglomerations/anpassung-an-die-klimaaenderung-in-schweizer-staedten.html
House, E., C. O'Connor, K. Wolf, J. Israel, & T. Reynolds. 2016: Outside our Doors: the benefits of cities where people and nature thrive. Seattle, WA: The Nature Conservancy, Washington State Chapter, 28 p Retrieved from: https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Outside_Our_Doors_report.pdf.
Metro Vancouver, (n.d): Connecting the dots. Regional green infrastructure network resource guide. Diamond Head Consulting Ltd, Ecoplan International and Calypso Design, for Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Retrieved from: https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/Documents/connecting-the-dots.pdf
New York City, 2005 (October). High Performance Infrastructure Guidelines: Best Practices for the Public Right-of-Way. New York City Department of Design and Construction, Design Trust for Public Space. 229pp. Retrieved from: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/ddc/downloads/Sustainable/high-performance-infra-guidelines.pdf.
OFEV (éd.), 2018 : Quand la ville surchauffe. Bases pour un développement urbain adapté aux changements climatiques. Office fédéral de l'environnement, Berne. Connaissance de l'environnement, No 1812 : 109 S. Disponible en ligne : www.bafu.admin.ch/dam/bafu/fr/dokumente/klima/uw-umwelt-wissen/hitze-in-staedten.pdf.download.pdf/uw-1812-f.pdf
Notes/Handbook
Course materials
Documents, articles, cases study and exercises will be distributed along the semester.
In the programs
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Urban Green&Blue infrastructure and global warming
- Lecture: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Urban Green&Blue infrastructure and global warming
- Lecture: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Urban Green&Blue infrastructure and global warming
- Lecture: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Urban Green&Blue infrastructure and global warming
- Lecture: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
Reference week
Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | |
8-9 | |||||
9-10 | |||||
10-11 | |||||
11-12 | |||||
12-13 | |||||
13-14 | |||||
14-15 | |||||
15-16 | |||||
16-17 | |||||
17-18 | |||||
18-19 | |||||
19-20 | |||||
20-21 | |||||
21-22 |
Légendes:
Lecture
Exercise, TP
Project, other