Mainstreaming Salutogenic Urban Design for People and the Environment

Urban ecosystems are characterized by rich spatial and temporal heterogeneity: a complex mosaic of biological and physical patches in a matrix of infrastructure, human organizations, and social institutions. Worldwide urban ecosystems are under pressure from competing resource demands, protracted inconsistent land uses and climate change. The need to assess vulnerability and adapt to critical environmental phenomena calls for new ways to understand, interpret, experience, and interact –since the early stages of the design process– with all the components of the urban ecosystem, and primarily with the elements and systems of the Natural Capital. Landscape architects, urban ecologists and planners are linking open space design with ecosystem structure and functions to restore habitats and improve life quality in cities. By providing ecosystem services, the emerging paradigm of urban green infrastructure promotes environmental protection, economic feasibility, health and wellbeing, equity and social inclusion. In particular, Salutogenic design levering on nature-based solutions has become central, introducing in architecture and urban design a focus on metrics and performances, alongside form and aesthetics. The importance of different ecosystem benefits varies significantly with spatial scale and according to stakeholders’ groups. The social benefits related to thermal comfort, in particular, are acknowledged as key outcomes of green infrastructure by local residents and visitors alike, and include recreational opportunities, improvement of the home and work environment, impacts on physical and mental health, as well as cultural and historic values. Integrated approaches can help designers to explore the ideas and concerns core to landscape architecture in the Anthropocene, such as designing with social ecological systems, working with landscapes in flux, or adapting to the extreme weather events caused by climate change.