Green Infrastructure as emerging opportunities for inclusiveness. Complexity and dynamics in Munich northern region

The European landscape, more than any other, has been suffering a significant loss of natural habitats because of landscape fragmentation due to intensive human activities and scattered grey infrastructure. Such processes, resulting in an alarming increase of environmental threats and social conflicts, are likely to jeopardize social integration, and sustainable urban development. Under a planning perspective, new relationships between urban and rural in contemporary territories raise questions about appropriate land use, fragmentation and fragility thresholds, climate change adaptation strategies, and appropriate forms of inclusive governance. This paper aims to address the complexity between urban and rural, analysing peri-urban areas of the Northern Munich Region as potential driver for resilience building. In particular, the area between the rivers Isar and Amper deserves specific attention. Differently from Southern Munich, which enjoys environmental quality and a recognized role in recreation and touristic activities, those territories needs to be conceptually rethought. The on-going hybridizations of functions is generating a vivid debate about ecological and environmental concerns, as well as social paths towards inclusiveness. With this respect, Green Infrastructures are expected to establish new connections among existing natural and semi-natural areas, and to provide opportunities for inclusive growth. The aim of the research is to investigate the frame of layers of the complexity (multiscale in space) and dynamics (multiscale in time) of peri-urban areas of Northern Munich where the GI in peri- urban areas are expected to provide not only ecological services but also social and cultural benefits. The GI and urban forest of the region are investigated, in terms of stratification, landscape quality, environmental issues, accessibility, offer of social ecosystem services, etc., in order to describe the carrying capacity of the existing natural capital.