Great metropolitan forestry parks as a bridge to sustainable urban development
We need to break boundaries and expand our conception of ecological networks in order to create a sustainable future.
Headwater system areas are often neglected in urban planning, hosting situations of environmental degradation. Designed as great metropolitan parks, they could generate bridges and connections where barriers previously existed.
Forestry is the key, as it provides ecological benefits, economic opportunities and social cohesion, reconnecting people to nature.
Cross-border/international
Portugal
Italy
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The project involves three municipalities in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area: Amadora, Sintra and Oeiras.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
The project is based on the valorisation of an element that is poorly considered in the practice of territorial management: the headwater system areas.
The idea is based on the enrichment of the theoretical and practical approach regarding the ecological network concept, that is essentially founded on the fragile wetland ecosystems composing the river basin. In this proposal the design has as its starting point the headwater system areas, encompassing the frontiers between watersheds.
These areas, often constituting barriers of all kinds (physical, economic, social, political, ..), are frequently marginally considered within urban plans, becoming unconnected lost areas that end up hosting situations of environmental neglect.
As the source for rivers and streams, headwater areas are crucial in the balance of the hydrologic cycle as they are one of the main areas where rainfall contributes to surface and groundwater. Another fundamental ecological value of headwater areas is the production of soil associated to forestry, which is particularly important when considering the need to enrich the national fertility fund alongside the contemporary urgency for carbon capture.
The proposed solution consists of designing such areas with four different types of forestry configured as a great metropolitan park as well as an ecological infrastructure, generating bridges and connections where barriers previously existed. A new public space system that further integrates elements of territorial value, historic buildings, archelogy, and existing infrastructures, so that to also re-establish the lost identity and sense of place.
Forestry
Public Space
Ecosystem restoration
Decarbonization
Social cohesion
Urban forests to restore can play a dramatically important role in the development of a more sustainable model of urbanization. Forests are crucial in the preservation and restoration of the natural water cycle, as they contribute to soil production and water infiltration, as well as they are the more sustainable and economically convenient tool to store carbon. Morover, we can benefit from biomass for energy production.
Urban forests are the perfect combination of nature and technology - they can be designed to provide a healthy environment for both wildlife and people.
A problem associated to urban forestry is often the lack of space and the competition for the use of the soil, especially in the more urbanized contexts.
As said, the headwater system areas are often urban voids, because of the lack of consideration into the planning activities.
Despite this, those areas have been suffering from deforestation since long time in Europe, to provide resources and make space for cattle, resulting nowadays in neglected spaces of boundary between urban and rural.
From those considerations has born the idea to use those areas as sites for the plantation of new forests. This means acting simultaneously on multiple dimensions of sustainability, a core factor when designing the transition towards a more sustainable future for urban areas.
By converting urban leftovers into forest parks, we can not only reduce carbon emissions but also improve public space and increment the urban connections throught low-carbon mobility.
Furthermore, by planning those areas properly, is possible to re-establish the physical continuty of the space, which is an intrinsic property of headwater areas, often endangered by urban spread. This feature is important for the ecosystem's health, restoring habitat continuty and connection, helping biodiversity conservation at all levels.
As cities continue to grow, it is important to consider how cities can include forest areas. What is hard is how the transition between forested areas and urban fabric should be. This requires a carefull balance of different landscape typologies. By creating a mix of high-charge capacity landscapes and soft-landscapes, this transition can be achieved.
Being a large-scale concept, the aesthetic that fuels it is based on the nature-culture dualism, playing with the transitions between different types of spaces, in search of a balance. This is sought through the juxtaposition of semi-natural forest areas, including elements of the agro-forestry landscape typical of peri-urban areas, with typical elements of the built city environment, this means, parks and public spaces with equipments and corridors dedicated to mobility.
The forest surrounding the city will be natural, alive and interesting for the urban dwellers. A place to discover, to conduct explorations that transport you away from the urban frenzy, where you can slow down the pace and train the senses, dormant from the routine to which urban life has accustomed us. The forest environment will naturally, softly, drive people to re-connect with nature. Immersing the urban fabric in the forest, is possible to smooth the abrupt borders that normally exist between the city and the natural enviroment, not perciving them as two separetd kingdoms.
In the end the urban forest, as conceived in the proposed concept, will become the main feature the urban outskirts. Once composed by fiscally separated parts, not interacting with each other, leading to a loss of sense of identity for the inhabitants.
The proposal offers a new way to think of urban planning, where accessibility is an implicit concept. We can create a territorial system that redefines the interface between city and nature, providing better integration and improved quality of life for all. Structuring this interface as a succession of different typologies of public spaces, as described, people can benefit from better access to green spaces while also preserving the environment.
The proposed concept works in depth on the human-nature relationship, aiming to establish new relations with it. This, because it is necessary to change the way nature is perceived and experienced in everyone's daily life if one intends to pursue a true model of sustainable development. It is in exactly in this way that the concept goes when considering citizens an active part in the realization of the project. In this way, it is possible to re-establish a deeper link between people and their home-landscape and, not least, between individuals. The idea of carrying out the project in phases is central, starting with the establishment of forest nurseries that will be used to produce the plants necessary for reforestation. In these institutions, citizens are invited to take part in the work, involving every segment of the population and, in collaboration with the institutions, also the categories that are traditionally considered disadvantaged or protected. This approach also allows the activation of economies which, in addition to increasing the overall sustainability of the project, can generate local development opportunities, in the idea of acting in one place but trying to have a global resonance.
A plan of this magnitude implies the ambition to stimulate a process of social change. Change which, as mentioned, is necessary to achieve sustainability in its many aspects.
Due to the large extension of the forest surfaces to be planted, it will be necessary to create forest nurseries in the area where the concept is to be implemented, also to make the project more sustainable. Producing plants directly on site, starting from seeds coming from the same area, cancels the negative effects due to genetic mixing, which often occurs when using plants produced elsewhere, causing the general health of the ecosystem to decrease. It also avoids the need for long-distance transport, limiting negative externalities such as Carbon emissions and helping to contain costs. Morover, desgined in this way, those activities could be included into the Carbon Market as a governament program, generating carbon credits and contrubuting to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.
Hence, the idea of involving civil society in these operations. Especially in suburban contexts, phenomena of social marginalization and conflict are frequent, also due to the inability of the urban system to support activities for social inclusion.
The focus on the nurseries is due to the potential for those to be more than just a workplace. They could be seen as a sort of open and participatory neighborhood laboratory. These structures could be inserted in degraded places, revitalizing them. People would be called upon to carry out a practical activity, on a volountary base, aimed at the regeneration of their territory. The shared effort, for a common purpose, would increase the sense of identity and help consolidate the local community, with positive impacts on the vitality of society and the success of the final reforestation project.
In conclusion, the shifting point of view associated to the proposed concept is to consider marginal areas as the core for the plantation of new forests, that will not only provide ecological benefits but also act as bridges across communities, in the form of great metropolitan parks, accessible and equipped.
Stakeholder involvement is crucial in any architecture project as it ensures that the needs and perspectives of all affected parties are taken into account. In the case of this concept, a variety of stakeholders have been involved to provide different perspectives and expertise.
University researchers, at a national level, have been involved to give the conceptual framework of the problem analyzed. They have provided valuable insight and knowledge that has helped to shape the overall project. Their academic expertise has been instrumental in ensuring that the project is grounded in solid theoretical foundations and that it addresses the key issues and challenges related to the project.
An architecture atelier, which works internationally, has been responsible for giving practical suggestions and inspiring innovative ideas. With their diverse experiences and global perspective, they have been able to provide new and exciting points of view that would not have been considered otherwise. They have also been able to bring a level of creativity and design excellence to the project.
The municipality, at a local level, has supported by explaining the necessities of that territory directly on site. They have been able to provide valuable insight into the specific needs and concerns of the local community. This has ensured that the project is responsive to the unique characteristics of the site and that it is sensitive to the needs of the local residents.
In conclusion, the involvement of a diverse group of stakeholders has been essential in ensuring that this concept can be successfull in a variety of cases and conditions. The inputs and expertise shared have all been instrumental in shaping the project and ensuring that it is responsive to the needs of all affected parties. With the active involvement of stakeholders, this project is able to deliver sustainable and high-quality results.
The concept works exactly on the integration between different fields as the project proposal aims to mitigate multiple problems. The choice has been defining a methodology that explores those aspects step by step, to understand the local conditions and the needings for intervention imposed by the context. This methodology thus proceeds by enlargement, until it reaches the project scale, through a highly logical process.
The starting point is to carry out an analysis of geographical and environmental nature, which make it possible to establish which are the priority areas for intervention, as we are speaking of a re-forestation plan, and to define in which environmental and landscape context we are moving.
Subsequently, urban planning studies are carried out, aiming to discover the relationships between the elements that make up the urban and territorial mosaic. To link those analyses, therefore, intervene the history, a crucial discipline in the study of human settlements, capable of providing reasons for the phenomena that are observed in the present, putting themselves in a diachronic perspective. Being aware of the past is also essential if you want to propose a design solution that has concrete and measurable effects in the future.
Through these phases, a general intervention strategy is defined, which is followed by architectural and aesthetic investigations, to define which may be the most suitable design choices for the site thus identified. this part of the process is based on the physical presence in the place, its exploration, and the use of tools such as drawing and photography, as well as direct interviews with citizens and the collection of materials from the site.
The integration of all these elements reflects the author's background. Doing so, the will is to propose a flexible but also solid and functional concept.
What distinguishes the proposed concept is the wide range of results expected from its application. We don't want to limit ourselves to proposing a specific intervention but to develop an adaptive methodology, which takes into consideration multiple aspects related to the transformations of the contemporary city.
Often when reforestation is carried out, much attention is paid to the strictly environmental aspects. This is not a mistake, however, in imagining a solution that aims to improve the livability of our cities many aspects must be taken into consideration. It is necessary to rethink the system of relationships that link the city to the territory and those within the city itself, between individuals. For this reason, the concept envisages linking the theme of urban forestation, crucial in the transition to more sustainable cities, with social inclusion and identity. The project program revolves around these factors. It do not start immediately from the design of the territorial reorganization but foresees an initial phase of triggering and involving the citizens. In this phase, the goal is to make people aware of the need to take important actions to combat climate and environmental degradation and at the same time offer tools that connect citizens and institutions, to increase awareness of the importance of the commons. This strengthens the sense of identity, of belonging to a community, which is essential for building a more cohesive and inclusive social fabric, while at the same time strengthening the relationship of trust between citizens and institutions. Furthermore, having participated in the implementation of such an ambitious plan will guarantee greater respect for what has been achieved, which is fundamental in the management of conflicts, which inevitably arise when ambitious projects are implemented.
The concept was developed precisely to study a methodology, rather than intervening punctually on a specific area. Large-scale reforestation is an important global issue in the fight against climate change, and this is how it should be thought of to obtain concrete positives. The approach to the work was not to identify an area and develop an ad-hoc strategy but the opposite, that is to think of the project as a flexible process, to be completed over time. This methodology was then applied to a case study, which is the one presented in the attached images.
For this reason, the proposed concept is particularly suitable for being replicated elsewhere, with the aim of not remaining an end in itself but of being able to contribute to achieving far more far-reaching objectives.
In particular, the forest nursery-laboratory can be replicated elsewhere, adapting the activities to the environmental and social context. The technologies required to be able to produce this element are available with relative simplicity. The structure itself is a flexible element, as the hypothesis is to re-use existing buildings but in a state of decay.
The next step involves a planning phase, together with the city community itself, of the forest park. This can be done both with professionals residing in the area and by external teams, if such professionals are not available on site. These should be present in the area to carry out field operations and to acknoledge the locals but could also continue to follow the work remotely, thanks to the many possibilities of remote working that have emerged in recent years, even in the architecture field.
In this way, the concept could also be replicated in less developed countries, where it is more difficult to find professionals, confirming the desire to propose a local solution to global problems.
Following the path undertaken by the United Nations through the adoption of the 2030 agenda, any solution that aims at achieving a development that can be defined as sustainable must aim to be broad, including multiple dimensions within it. The three pillars of sustainability foresee the integration of three spheres: economic, ecological, and social. These are the foundations on which the thought behind the methodology proposed in the concept moves.
The first and most important action is to seek solutions to the problem of the contemporary, post-modern and post-industrial city. Human settlements need to transform to be more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. In this sense, the theme of public space is crucial, as a common and shared good. Therefore, the proposal revolves around the creation of large metropolitan forest parks, a common heritage of humanity and the binding substance of now disconnected territories.
Consequently, the other dimension on which the proposal is centered is the ecological challenge. Climate, biodiversity, and sustainable use of resources are even more crucial issues for the transition towards more sustainable socio-economic, and consequently urban, models.
Planting a forest means revitalizing the soil and restoring ecosystems. Soil is a fundamental resource for our society and consequently, its protection must be at the heart of sustainability strategies. Through these actions, it is possible to reduce the loss of biodiversity, a phenomenon dramatically taking place on our planet. Furthermore, forests are the most efficient tool for capturing and storing carbon and therefore for fighting climate change.
The concept, therefore, wants to investigate the relationship that the city of the future will have with the surrounding area, imagining a new one, no longer based only on production logics but on harmony between the parts and identity for those who live there.
