The notion of green infrastructure brings a new dynamic for dealing with urban problems in a way that responsively addresses urban problems while at the same maintaining the ecological integrity of the natural environment. Key to the notion of green infrastructure is the need to integrate and link green areas with built infrastructure in planning and development processes. Green infrastructure suggests that to achieve sustainable development in urban landscapes, green spaces should be planned for and managed as infrastructure and must be conceived of and understood as a genuinely possible means to improve and contribute to sustainability. Green infrastructure requires an institutional and policy framework that supports practices geared towards planning and managing green assets in the same way in which traditional infrastructure systems are managed. This study explores the planning and management dynamics of green infrastructure in the City of Johannesburg. The study analyses the institutional and policy frameworks of City of Johannesburg to understand these dynamics. One the one hand, the aim is to explore whether green space planning and management is understood in an ‘infrastructural’ sense and on the other, to explore the institutional blockages for green infrastructure planning in the City. The study argues that a number of institutional and implementation challenges for planning and management of green infrastructure exist in Johannesburg. These are the result of an institutional setup which essentially provides fertile ground for some structures to compete against one another rather than work collaboratively in areas that are of common interest. While these challenges exist in the city, it has been established in the study that the City has begun to shift towards green infrastructure practices to address certain urban problems such as flooding and storm-water. For instance, the City is currently deepening its understanding of the concept of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) to explore how this can contribute towards addressing issue of storm-water management. Important to note that is that while there is this gradual shift towards SUDS, the notion of green infrastructure largely remains at the conceptual level, in relation to particular issues, and is yet to be fully implemented and mainstreamed in the City’s planning processes.

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Lee Tsup Chung Anthony. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 1996-97, design report." / Includes thesis report: Sustainable architecture ; mother ship earth (1996) / Includes bibliographical references (leave 42 (1st gp.); leave 41 (2nd gp.)) / INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT / BACKGROUND / Chapter 2.1 --- CLIENT & PROGRAM / Chapter 2.2 --- SITE SELECTION / Chapter 2.3 --- DESIGN OPBJECTIVE / PLANNING / ZONING STRAEGY / Chapter 3.1 --- DESIGN PJILOSOPHY / Chapter 3.2 --- SITE ANALYSIS / Chapter 3.2 --- MICROCLIMATE / Chapter 3.3 --- DESIGN EVOLUTION / LIFE SAFETY / Chapter 4.1 --- "FIRE ENGINEERING," / Chapter 4.2 --- MEANS OF ESCAPE / STRUCTURE / Chapter 5.1 --- SUPERSTRUCTURE / Chapter 5.2 --- ERECTION SEQUENCE / SPECIAL STUDY - SUSTAINABLE ENERGY / Chapter 6.1 --- ENERGY / Chapter 6.2 --- ENERGY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY / Chapter 6.3 --- SOLAR STANDARD / Chapter 6.4 --- ENERGY DESIGN IN PROJECT / Chapter 6.5 --- GREEN CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

As the world's energy demand increases, it is generally known that conventional energy systems will not sustain future civilizations without repercussions to human and environmental health. Transitioning from current energy systems to those with renewable sources will be challenging and will potentially alter landscape aesthetics. However, the design of renewable technology can minimize adverse effects and can even improve the quality of living in addition to producing electricity. Wind turbines located so that landscape quality is preserved, electricity generators embedded in play equipment, or the use of solar panels to shelter people are examples of how renewable technology has been aesthetically used to improve the quality of life. To test these new ideas, this research thesis searched for examples of how landscape architects can use aesthetics to integrate renewable energy into three types of locations: regions, urban areas, and university campuses. In chapter one, analyses of methods from the Western Renewable Energy Zones (WREZ) initiative in the United States and the South Limburg project in the Netherlands reveal examples of how landscape architects can use aesthetics in visual impact studies and scenarios, which help integrate renewable energy into regions. In chapter two, an analysis of urban renewable energy projects resulted in a series of strategies for using aesthetics and amenities that landscape architects can apply to urban projects which utilize renewable technology. Chapter three presents results from a study of a design for the Ball State University campus in Muncie, Indiana, which produced a method for how landscape architects can use renewable energy products as aesthetic and unique sources of energy generation for a campus community. The subject of renewable energy is developing in the field of landscape architecture, and this research asserts that the use of aesthetics and amenities is a viable method for integrating renewable technology into landscapes. Using readily available products or customizing technology to fit the needs of a project are two options for designers who work with renewable energy to provide aesthetics and amenities. The consideration of both regional and urban scales is important to developing reliable renewable energy systems and a better quality of life. / Renewable energy, aesthetics and landscape architecture -- Aesthetics in regional renewable energy planning -- Strategies for aesthetic applications of renewable energy -- Design method for using renewable energy products -- Conclusions on using aesthetics in renewable energy design. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Landscape Architecture