The 2020 International Conference on Human Settlements and Future Cities and the 10th Horticultural Summit Forum were successfully concluded on July 11. The conference lasted for eight days, with rich content and heated discussions. Among them, at the Forum on Human Settlements and Future Cities on July 5, Feng Changchun, Director of the Future Cities Laboratory of Peking University, delivered a speech entitled "Discussion on Urban Renewal Based on Natural Solutions", expounding the concept of natural solutions and the empirical analysis of the Eighteen-Mile Dian area in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
Director Feng Changchun's online conference lecture (photo)
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Natural solutions in urban renewal
In the past, urban renewal was mainly based on stakeholders to balance the interests of multiple subjects, resulting in the crowding out of high plot rate, high density and high intensity development space resources, the aggravation of urban carrying capacity load, the destruction of traditional residential cultural circles, and large-scale demolition and reconstruction brought about unsustainable development, affecting the social, environmental benefits and public interests of urban renewal.
Therefore, we should change the thinking of urban renewal. First of all, to meet the needs of residents for high-quality human settlements, provide more high-quality ecological products, build ecological corridors and biodiversity conservation networks, establish a natural protected area system, ensure the safety and health of communities, build a multi-type, multi-level, multi-functional and networked high-quality green space system, and build a "one screen, three rings, five rivers, nine wedges" urban green space structure. Second, introduce the concept of green development and social inclusion to solve urban problems. The theoretical connotation of the Natural Solution Act is mainly reflected in the sustainable and coordinated development of the "Three Lives" space, the enhancement of the value and function of ecosystem services, and the green and healthy community.
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Implementation content and functional effects of natural solutions
Nature based Solutions (NBS): By increasing ecological greening, enhancing biodiversity, improving public services, and building low-carbon healthy communities, adaptive means can be effectively used to address social challenges to improve the resilience of cities and societies, enhance social cohesion, and enable the coordinated development of the economic, social and ecological environment of the renewed city.
The purpose of nature solutions is to help cities respond in a sustainable way to a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges in action that is inspired by nature, supported by nature, and implemented by nature's actions. Under the core goal of protecting ecosystems, attention is paid to the ecological and social issues of urban areas, emphasizing the effectiveness of resources and capital, and focusing on multi-party synergy and sustainability.
The connotation of urban renewal performance should include the following three aspects:
1. Urban renewal needs to coordinate the social, economic and ecological balance under environmental constraints, and achieve a balance between the three through specific governance measures.
2. Urban renewal needs to achieve intensive and economical use of land to improve the carrying capacity and efficiency of the city.
3. As a public policy for the redistribution of social value, urban renewal needs to be allocated fairly and equitably among the participating subjects.
The EU EKLIPSE Expert Working Group (EWG) proposes 10 goals for natural solutions to improve the climate resilience of cities:
Climate mitigation adaptation
Water management
Coastal resilience
Green space management (including enhancing/sustaining urban biodiversity green space management)
Air quality
Urban regeneration
Participatory planning governance
Social justice social cohesion
Public health well being
Creating an Economic Opportunities & Green Jobs
Based on the function of nature-based solutions, it brings multiple benefits, including: enhancing the value of regional ecosystem services, shaping livable urban landscapes, enhancing social inclusion, assisting economic development, and strengthening urban smart management.
The implementation paths of natural solutions are not independent of each other, and there is synergy between different goals, i.e. although the types are different, the same solution can be selected to achieve the desired effect.
Performance evaluation method: Five major factors (ecological value, urban landscape, social inclusion, economic support, planning management), set corresponding evaluation standards for different factors and indicators, which have promotion value.
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Performance evaluation of urban renewal based on natural solutions
Establish a multi-factor evaluation model, assign scores to the data collected through field monitoring and surveys, and then give weight values according to the importance of each indicator to form a comprehensive evaluation system.
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Performance evaluation of urban renewal in Eighteen Lidian, Chaoyang District, Beijing
The Shibalidian area of Chaoyang District in Beijing is located in the urban development and expansion zone, which is also a major area for urban renewal, and has undergone great changes in recent years.
The natural solution is suitable for urban master planning, land use planning, zoning planning three different levels of planning system. According to the requirements of different planning levels, the renewal positioning of the eighteen-mile store area is obtained to guide the implementation of urban renewal.
Based on the above indicator system, the 2018 performance evaluation results of the Eighteen Mile Dian area are analyzed from five aspects: ecological value, urban landscape, social inclusion, economic support, and planning management, and the performance of the planning implementation in the next 1-2 years is estimated.
Adjustment and optimization suggestions: ecological level, further construction of complex vegetation community structure, strengthen the governance of Xiao Taihou River; landscape level, supplement the fiber network green space system, create a tree-lined streetscape; social level, expand the scope of green space services in the north of the research area, improve the construction of supporting infrastructure in the park; economic level, enrich the entertainment function of country parks, introduce cultural activities, layout retail and other formats; management level, implement the concept of sponge city into monitoring and publicity indicators, and innovate green investment and financing mechanisms.