THOUGHTFUL PLACEMENT OF GREEN SPACE FOR RESILIENT LANDSCAPE

Under the influence of global warming, sea level rise and abnormal climate threaten the coastal areas all over the world. Sea level rise causes a series of impacts on coastal habitats, species, and ecosystems. Heavy rainfall caused by abnormal climate has triggered intensive floods storm that affects the life of coastal residents.

Our site is located on the southern coast, and the previous industrial zone has 68.5% impervious surface the existing green space which covers only 18.3% of the site. According to the planning scenarios, our site will become a new residential area in the future. The rapid-growing population brings opportunities and challenges of the site development. My design starts from the green space, through reserving significant space for natural habitat and transforming the grey spaces to create additional functional green spaces. The design establishes a variety of ecological resilient, water resilient and social resilient landscape to cope with the changing climate and hydrology conditions with the rapidly growing population.

According to different site conditions and users’ needs, I use different design control to thoughtful place five kinds of green spaces. Firstly, biotic research, conservation areas, wildlife preservation and observation area are integrated to provide eco-resilient green space to supply sufficient riparian zones for existing species and potential species which increases the mangrove habitats from 9ha to 12ha.

Secondly, roadside green areas and buffer zone areas are mainly used for creating water-resilient green space to defence against the effects of sea level rise and intensive flood storm. Thirdly, recreation areas & urban development areas are used to establish activity spaces for people.

By thoughtfully placing the green spaces, the site will become more resilient to cope with issues regarding rising of sea level and abnormality of climate conditions. Also, under the impact of high population density, the site can provide more open spaces for people to have an intimate connection with nature.