The current model of suburban development in Canadian cities has serious consequences for the natural environment. The ubiquitous landscape of sprawl consumes excessive amounts of greenfield land and natural resources, while maintaining an artificial relationship with nature that is more concerned with the aesthetics of lawns and trees than with natural ecosystems. This thesis proposes a new planning paradigm that is derived from the ideals of the Garden City, but is steeped in the notion of green infrastructure as the foundation for ecological health. It makes use of greenbelts and greenways as circulation systems for people, plants, wildlife, water, and natural processes. The towns of Newmarket and Aurora, which are situated within a pocket of developable land amid the Greater Toronto Area Greenbelt, are selected as a case study area. An in-depth analysis of the cultural and natural ecosystems that function at various scales across the region provides the framework upon which the design is structure. The design is twofold. First, it is primarily a planning thesis with an ecological approach to design. It provides a working methodology for green infrastructure at the regional scale, and illustrates a schematic plan for a sustainable metropolitan village, “Leslie Village”, that is tied to Newmarket and Aurora’s existing suburban fabric. Secondly, it illustrates the schematic design response to the planning thesis, by providing nominal visualizations of key areas where the proposed greenway intersects public space. Leslie Village challenges the traditional model of development and provides a new planning system whose methods and principles can be transferred to other communities in the GTA, and across the country.

Low impact development (LID), the practice of preserving and restoring natural water cycles in urban development, is considered the next step in stormwater management. Policy and governance play a strong role in the adoption of LID. There has been progress in implementing LID in the Greater Toronto Area but less progress in Southern Ontario in general. This research identifies barriers and opportunities to implementing LID in the context of policy and governance in Southern Ontario. The barriers, opportunities, and policy are identified using a focused literature review, then verified and further explored through key informant interviews. Data are synthesised to produce an Enhanced Governance Model (EGM) for implementing LID. The EGM is evaluated by key informants and further refined. Findings show that public education and provincial-level standards are fundamental to widespread adoption of LID. Five opportunities for jurisdictional integration in stormwater governance are identified and their implications discussed.

As population increases and global climate changes, policy makers are challenged with protecting human and environmental health in the face of extreme precipitation events. Ecosystem based adaptation strategies are increasingly recommended. If ecosystems are relied upon for adaptation, it will be critical to maintain ecosystem health through landscape-level management and planning. To support ecosystem management, Surrey recently mapped its `Green Infrastructure Network' (GIN). This study assessed the value of the GIN for climate change adaptation by quantifying its flood mitigation services under 11 different land management scenarios. ArcGIS was used to show the effect of land management policies on land cover. A hydrologic modelling tool, Win TR-55, was used to simulate the effect of land cover change on peak flows. The study found that different management strategies in the GIN can substantially increase or decrease peak flows. This provides government with information needed to support community resilience to climate change.

Green infrastructure has numerous beneficial ecosystem services which can make a city more sustainable and resilient to the climate change. There are also various of cultural benefits of green areas for the inhabitants of a city, such as the opportunity for recreation. This study has examined which methods and strategies are being used by key people who work with green structure in Örnsköldsvik municipality. Interviews have been made with one local politician, whom is a chairperson for a planning committee, and four civil servants. As well as to scrutinize which prospects and restraints the above-mentioned consider with a reinforcement of the green structure and how an enhanced green structure may improve the social sustainability. Focus is on the city core of Örnsköldsvik. The result was that the primarily used strategies are the green plan, an addition to the comprehensive plan and the detailed development plan process. The prospects of strengthening the green structure are a new more thorough green plan, implementing a cooperation forum between those who possess knowledge about green issues and foremost involve and raise the matter of green structure early in the planning process. The identified restraints are that there is a lack of knowledge and competence regarding green structure and there is an exploitation pressure on these sites in the city. The green areas in Örnsköldsvik have an immense effect on social sustainability and are of great importance for the mobility in time and space for individuals especially children, the elderly and those with a lower socio-economic status.

O conceito de Infraestruturas Verdes, apesar de bastante abrangente em suas aplicações, vem sendo consolidado nos últimos anos no Brasil vinculado principalmente à utilização de soluções técnicas de baixo impacto e alto desempenho para manejo das águas pluviais, com o objetivo de reduzir as taxas de escoamento superficial e retenção da poluição difusa no meio urbano. Essas soluções, integradas tanto às edificações quanto aos espaços livres, possuem matriz orgânica e utilizam os recursos naturais locais para sua construção. As variações na composição de solo, no clima, na composição biótica, na situação urbanística, econômica e social influenciam de forma decisiva a configuração final e aplicação das soluções de infraestruturas verdes. Por esse motivo, a tecnologia exige que seja absorvida e reformulada em consonância aos condicionantes locais, formulando uma técnica própria para cada contexto em que se aplica. A dissertação aqui apresentada faz uma análise do desenvolvimento do projeto de infraestruturas verdes desenvolvido para o Campus da Fiocruz no Ceará, o qual consiste na primeira experiência de aplicação de tais conceitos no contexto do semiárido nordestino. O autor da pesquisa é também o autor do projeto em tela, de forma que a dissertação adquire certo caráter de memorial de projeto, explanando os objetivos desejados, os desafios enfrentados para alcance das metas de projeto e apresenta o projeto das soluções finais para cada um dos componentes do sistema de drenagem proposto. Ao final, fica evidente a dificuldade para a incorporação de conceitos inovadores de drenagem pluvial em um projeto com tantos profissionais envolvidos, mas, ao mesmo tempo, as infraestruturas verdes mostraram, em projeto, sua facilidade em trazer respostas mais simples, eficientes e de menor custo para a resolução de diferentes desafios que surgiram durante o processo de concepção. / The concept of Green Infrastructures, although quite comprehensive in its applications, Has been consolidated in recent years in Brazil, mainly linked to the use of Of low-impact, high-performance technical solutions for water management With the objective of reducing the rates of surface runoff and retention of Pollution in the urban environment. These solutions, integrated with both buildings and Spaces, have an organic matrix and use local natural resources to Its construction. Variations in soil composition, climate, biotic composition, Urban, economic and social situation have a decisive influence on the And implementation of green infrastructure solutions. For this reason, technology Requires it to be absorbed and reformulated in line with local constraints, formulating A technique appropriate to each context in which it applies. The dissertation here Presents an analysis of the development of the green infrastructures project Developed for the Campus of Fiocruz in Ceará, which consists of the first experience Of application of such concepts in the context of the northeastern semi-arid region. The author of the research Is also the author of the project on screen, so that the dissertation acquires a certain character Of project memorial, explaining the desired objectives, the challenges faced To reach the project goals and presents the project of the final solutions for each One of the components of the proposed drainage system. In the end, the difficulty For the incorporation of innovative concepts of rainwater drainage in a project With so many professionals involved, but at the same time, green infrastructures Project, its ease in providing simpler, more efficient and Lower cost to solve the different challenges that arose during the process Of design.

Rapid population growth and urbanization in semi-arid and arid regions has led to alterations in the water, carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) cycles (Gallo et al. 2014), prompting demands for mitigation strategies. Green Infrastructure (GI) is one of the methods used in urban storm water mitigation that delays and attenuates stormwater runoff by storing water in vegetated depressions. In the Southwest these depressions, also called bioswales, have the potential to act as biogeochemical hot spots, encouraging nutrient cycling, infiltration, plant growth, and microbial activity (McClain et al. 2003). An influx of water to GI initiates a combination of physical and microbial processes that result in increased CO2 efflux and N mineralization known as the Birch Effect (Birch, 1958). This study examines GI in Tucson, AZ through inducing an artificial precipitation regime and determining how soil properties, GI design, and biogeochemical characteristics influence the response. In natural systems it has been shown that soil moisture, soil properties, organic matter, length of dry period, nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen, and microbial biomass influence soil respiration and nitrogen mineralization (Borken and Matzner 2009). The purpose of this study is to determine the role that the Birch Effect plays in urban stormwater GI. Additionally we seek to determine how soil and nutrient properties and precipitation regime affect the amplitude of the response. It was found that soils from GI features tend to have higher concentrations of organic matter, total carbon, and total nitrogen, as well as higher water holding capacity and lower bulk density. It was also shown that soils originating from GI features tend to illicit a greater CO2 flux upon rewetting than soils from adjacent areas. The linear relationships found between % clay, pH, bulk density, WHC, SOM, TC, and TN suggest that the reason for the greater response to wetting is due to the altered physiochemical composition. The results of this study can be utilized to increase microbial activity and remediation in urban GI features. This fits into the larger goal of GI to help mitigate many of the issues associated with Urban Stream Syndrome (USS) such as flashier hydrography response, increased nutrient and contaminant concentrations, increased erosion, altered channel morphology and reduced biodiversity (Meyers et al. 2005).

Rising urbanisation, global warming and climate change are posing a threat to the environment. This work is dedicated to green infrastructure as a concept that is helping to mitigate the negative effects on the environment. Focus will be held on Slovakia and its progressiveness in the field of green infrastructure. The aim of this thesis is to find whether there are any obstructions in the process of the development of green infrastructure and also, analyze and evaluate the current and past projects and strategies to reflect how Slovakia has progressed in this field in the past 10 years. As a method, qualitative method of structured interviews has been selected. The interviews were conducted with four experts within the field of green infrastructure in Slovakia. Multiple obstacles have been found that propose negative influences on the implementation of green infrastructure. The major obstacles are the slowly adapting legislation, ownership relations, undersized funding and lack of documentation. The prioritisation of the grey infrastructure instead of green and blue is also present, as well as the insufficient awareness of the general public about the benefits of green infrastructure. Slovakia's progression in the theoretical aspect of green infrastructure could be perceived as positive over the past 10 years. Multiple adapted strategies, either from the European Union or Slovakia's own, represent the improvement as well as the terminology that is more included in the law and policies. From an empirical standpoint, it is not possible to evaluate the progression, due to the complexity of green infrastructure and a lack of documentation. Multiple issues are affecting the state of green infrastructure in Slovakia, however, it seems that Slovakia could be on the right track into the future. By addressing these issues, Slovakia could strive for a more sustainable environment and development in the future.

The purpose of this research is the design of a green infrastructure that allows a regional conservation area to revalue the Ventanilla wetlands to promote ecotourism through spaces for the conservation of natural resources, turning it into a tourist attraction. The proposal considers design and construction criteria with adequate technology, biodegradable, and sustainable materials where environmental impact is minimized in this context. The collection of information through field visits and the use of different software for the topographic survey. Results show that the infrastructure design proposed was validated by a survey of potential users of the place, with 75% of the interviewees agreeing with the design proposal that allows interaction and harmony with nature, giving it a landscape value, generating local, national, and international visitors. The value is in the ecosystem services that the landscape provides to the city due to the design and construction criteria with adequate technology, biodegradable, and sustainable materials minimizing the environmental impact and promoting the cultural exchange, preservation, and ecological awareness wetland. / Revisión por pares

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