Ecosystem Services Analysis for the Design of Regenerative Urban Built Environments

<p>Humans will need to mitigate the causes of, and adapt to climate change and the loss of biodiversity, as the now inevitable impacts of these changes become more apparent and demand urgent responses. The built environment cannot solve these issues alone. Because it contributes significantly to these problems however, and because it is the main site of cultural and economic activities, it could potentially make a contribution to addressing these problems. Typical built environment focused responses to climate change and biodiversity issues are inadequate given the urgency and scale of the predicted impacts. They tend not to take advantage of the interconnected nature of the causes and effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Aiming for ‘neutral’ environmental impact buildings in terms of energy, carbon, waste or water sets worthwhile and difficult targets. It is becoming clear however, that built environments may need to go beyond having little negative environmental impact in the future, to having positive environmental benefits. Regenerative design could be useful in this regard because it works to mitigate the causes of climate change and ecosystem degradation (and therefore biodiversity loss). Regenerative design ideally increases the health of ecosystems and resilience to change by utilising the mutually reinforcing aspects of mitigation, adaptation and restoration strategies. The goal of the research is to identify whether regenerative design is possible in urban settings, and to determine where key leverage points for system change may be within the built environment. Regenerative design is in need of further definition and exploration, and lacks quantitative evidence of its potential either by monitoring of built examples, or basic theoretical measurements. Regenerative design literature suggests that mimicking organisms or ecosystems could be an important part of such an approach to design. This is often termed ‘biomimicry’. The concept and practice of biomimicry is also in need of critical investigation for its potential contribution to increased sustainability outcomes. Different kinds of biomimicry exist in terms of type, underlying motivation, and environmental performance outcomes. The thesis examines current understandings of ecological systems in relation to the built environment, and aims to define an ecosystem biomimetic theory for the practical application of regenerative design in urban environments. In order to do this, ecosystem services are examined and potential key ecosystem services that are applicable to a built environment context are identified. The research primarily investigates one area of human knowledge (ecology and biology) for its transferable applicability to another (the urban built environment). Finally, the research determines how such theory could be practically applied to urban and architectural design and tests this through conducting a case study of an existing urban environment. It is posited that the incorporation of an understanding of the living world into architectural and urban design may be a step towards the creation of a built environment that is more sustainable or potentially regenerative, and one where the potential for restoration of natural carbon cycles is increased. Practical examples of this are given in chapter five. The outcome of such an endeavour depends on the wider context that the built environment is situated in, including the time left for action to be taken before the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss become extreme, and the inability of the dominant global financial system to allow rapid and widespread action to occur that effectively addresses these issues.</p>

Rise, Ruin & Regeneration: An Examination of the Regeneration of Post-War Suburban State Housing in New Zealand

<p>Over 70 years since it was completed, the house at 12 Fife Lane, Miramar, New Zealand’s first state house, looks unchanged. However, the intervening years have seen the failure of some state housing models, the deteriorating condition of others, as well as shifting and increasing housing demands. This thesis examines the urban and architectural design, and the subsequent redevelopment, both private and state-initiated, of post-war suburban state housing in New Zealand. The objective of this thesis is to understand through analysis of existing literature, case study fieldwork, and redevelopment examples, the evolving urban and architectural design of these areas and dwellings, which have arguably shaped the residential face of the nation. The outcomes of this thesis are a series of design strategies for the regeneration of post-war suburban state housing in New Zealand. The purpose of these regenerative design strategies is to address a range of significant issues that the Housing New Zealand Corporation faces, while acknowledging the remaining value of the original investment in post-war suburban state housing. The regenerative design strategies are developed from the earlier research, and are broken into three distinct, but inter-related topics. These are suburban environments, state properties, and state houses, and are examined through a specific design case study. The design case study articulates the potential of regeneration to address a number of issues which became apparent through the research. This thesis concludes that while state housing may never again signify in every sense the ‘very heart of the New Zealand dream’ (Ferguson, 1994, p.117), through regeneration it can, once again, be a certain benchmark for housing generally, and can continue to provide for the nation for at least another 70 years.</p>

Ecosystem Services Analysis for the Design of Regenerative Urban Built Environments

<p>Humans will need to mitigate the causes of, and adapt to climate change and the loss of biodiversity, as the now inevitable impacts of these changes become more apparent and demand urgent responses. The built environment cannot solve these issues alone. Because it contributes significantly to these problems however, and because it is the main site of cultural and economic activities, it could potentially make a contribution to addressing these problems. Typical built environment focused responses to climate change and biodiversity issues are inadequate given the urgency and scale of the predicted impacts. They tend not to take advantage of the interconnected nature of the causes and effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. Aiming for ‘neutral’ environmental impact buildings in terms of energy, carbon, waste or water sets worthwhile and difficult targets. It is becoming clear however, that built environments may need to go beyond having little negative environmental impact in the future, to having positive environmental benefits. Regenerative design could be useful in this regard because it works to mitigate the causes of climate change and ecosystem degradation (and therefore biodiversity loss). Regenerative design ideally increases the health of ecosystems and resilience to change by utilising the mutually reinforcing aspects of mitigation, adaptation and restoration strategies. The goal of the research is to identify whether regenerative design is possible in urban settings, and to determine where key leverage points for system change may be within the built environment. Regenerative design is in need of further definition and exploration, and lacks quantitative evidence of its potential either by monitoring of built examples, or basic theoretical measurements. Regenerative design literature suggests that mimicking organisms or ecosystems could be an important part of such an approach to design. This is often termed ‘biomimicry’. The concept and practice of biomimicry is also in need of critical investigation for its potential contribution to increased sustainability outcomes. Different kinds of biomimicry exist in terms of type, underlying motivation, and environmental performance outcomes. The thesis examines current understandings of ecological systems in relation to the built environment, and aims to define an ecosystem biomimetic theory for the practical application of regenerative design in urban environments. In order to do this, ecosystem services are examined and potential key ecosystem services that are applicable to a built environment context are identified. The research primarily investigates one area of human knowledge (ecology and biology) for its transferable applicability to another (the urban built environment). Finally, the research determines how such theory could be practically applied to urban and architectural design and tests this through conducting a case study of an existing urban environment. It is posited that the incorporation of an understanding of the living world into architectural and urban design may be a step towards the creation of a built environment that is more sustainable or potentially regenerative, and one where the potential for restoration of natural carbon cycles is increased. Practical examples of this are given in chapter five. The outcome of such an endeavour depends on the wider context that the built environment is situated in, including the time left for action to be taken before the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss become extreme, and the inability of the dominant global financial system to allow rapid and widespread action to occur that effectively addresses these issues.</p>

Rise, Ruin & Regeneration: An Examination of the Regeneration of Post-War Suburban State Housing in New Zealand

<p>Over 70 years since it was completed, the house at 12 Fife Lane, Miramar, New Zealand’s first state house, looks unchanged. However, the intervening years have seen the failure of some state housing models, the deteriorating condition of others, as well as shifting and increasing housing demands. This thesis examines the urban and architectural design, and the subsequent redevelopment, both private and state-initiated, of post-war suburban state housing in New Zealand. The objective of this thesis is to understand through analysis of existing literature, case study fieldwork, and redevelopment examples, the evolving urban and architectural design of these areas and dwellings, which have arguably shaped the residential face of the nation. The outcomes of this thesis are a series of design strategies for the regeneration of post-war suburban state housing in New Zealand. The purpose of these regenerative design strategies is to address a range of significant issues that the Housing New Zealand Corporation faces, while acknowledging the remaining value of the original investment in post-war suburban state housing. The regenerative design strategies are developed from the earlier research, and are broken into three distinct, but inter-related topics. These are suburban environments, state properties, and state houses, and are examined through a specific design case study. The design case study articulates the potential of regeneration to address a number of issues which became apparent through the research. This thesis concludes that while state housing may never again signify in every sense the ‘very heart of the New Zealand dream’ (Ferguson, 1994, p.117), through regeneration it can, once again, be a certain benchmark for housing generally, and can continue to provide for the nation for at least another 70 years.</p>

Bioclimatic and Regenerative Design Guidelines for a Circular University Campus in India

To transform the negative impacts of buildings on the environment into a positive footprint, a radical shift from the current, linear ‘make-use-dispose’ practice to a closed-loop ‘make-use-return’ system, associated with a circular economy, is necessary. This research aims to demonstrate the possible shift to a circular construction industry by developing the first practical framework with tangible benchmarks for a ‘Circular University Campus’ based on an exemplary case study project, which is a real project development in India. As a first step, a thorough literature review was undertaken to demonstrate the social, environmental and economic benefits of a circular construction industry. As next step, the guideline for a ‘Circular University Campus’ was developed, and its applicability tested on the case study. As final step, the evolved principles were used to establish ‘Project Specific Circular Building Indicators’ for a student residential block and enhance the proposed design through bioclimatic and regenerative design strategies. The building’s performance was evaluated through computational simulations, whole-life carbon analysis and a circular building assessment tool. The results demonstrated the benefits and feasibility of bioclimatic, regenerative building and neighbourhood design and provided practical prototypical case study and guidelines which can be adapted by architects, planners and governmental institutions to other projects, thereby enabling the shift to a restorative, circular construction industry.

Urban Ecosystem-Level Biomimicry and Regenerative Design: Linking Ecosystem Functioning and Urban Built Environments

By 2050, 68% of the world’s population will likely live in cities. Human settlements depend on resources, benefits, and services from ecosystems, but they also tend to deplete ecosystem health. To address this situation, a new urban design and planning approach is emerging. Based on regenerative design, ecosystem-level biomimicry, and ecosystem services theories, it proposes designing projects that reconnect urban space to natural ecosystems and regenerate whole socio-ecosystems, contributing to ecosystem health and ecosystem services production. In this paper, we review ecosystems as models for urban design and review recent research on ecosystem services production. We also examine two illustrative case studies using this approach: Lavasa Hill in India and Lloyd Crossing in the U.S.A. With increasing conceptualisation and application, we argue that the approach contributes positive impacts to socio-ecosystems and enables scale jumping of regenerative practices at the urban scale. However, ecosystem-level biomimicry practices in urban design to create regenerative impact still lack crucial integrated knowledge on ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services productions, making it less effective than potentially it could be. We identify crucial gaps in knowledge where further research is needed and pose further relevant research questions to make ecosystem-level biomimicry approaches aiming for regenerative impact more effective.

Ecosystem services assessment tools for regenerative urban design in oceania

Tools that spatially model ecosystem services offer opportunities to integrate ecology into regenerative urban design. However, few of these tools are designed for assessing ecosystem services in cities, meaning their application by designers is potentially limited. This research reviews and compares a range of ecosystem services assessment tools to find those that are most suited for the urban context of Oceania. The tool classification includes considerations of type of input and output data, time commitment, and necessary skills required. The strengths and limitations of the most relevant tools are further discussed alongside illustrative case studies, some collected from literature and one conducted as part of this research in Wellington, Aotearoa using the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) tool. A major finding of the research is that from the 95 tools reviewed, only four are judged to be potentially relevant for urban design projects. These are modelling tools that allow spatially explicit visualisation of biophysical quantification of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services assessed vary among tools and the outputs’ reliability is often highly influenced by the user’s technical expertise. The provided recommendations support urban designers and architects to choose the tool that best suits their regenerative design project requirements.