The Importance of the Holistic View in Urbanism: The Role of Physical Geography in the Sustainable City of the 21st Century

Authors

  • A. M. Rochette Cordeiro University of Coimbra Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8648-3204

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.912.13662

Keywords:

Urban Ecosystems; Physical Geography; future city; Sustainable urban design

Abstract

The need for an interdisciplinary approach to urban planning is an undeniable fact in the 21st century vision of sustainable cities. Although in geography studies urban planning has always been regarded as a field of human geography, resilience to climate change and the importance of ecosystems in increasingly populated territories offer new perspectives to physical supports, in particular in urban design and in its relevance in environmental aspects of sustainable urban planning. This study takes an integrated approach to physical geography in order to understand urban environments through urban landscapes from a socio-natural standpoint. In the last decade, both at global level, through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and at European level, through directives and environmental programmes, such as the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Climate Law, the adaptations of urban climate, air quality, and sustainable land-use contingent to nature-based solutions brought about new challenges and perspectives to the 21st century city. In this framework, the energy efficiency and decarbonisation issues were brought into the equation, being key elements in sustainable urban development. Adapting the sub-areas of physical geography to the different mosaics in urban spaces in a holistic manner by analysing endogenous factors – “morphological system” – and exogenous factors – climate –, as well as all those interconnected thereto downstream – hydrology, natural hazards, or the different environmental management and land-use and occupation instruments provides physical geographers with opportunities for the urbanisation of nature, in a temporal matrix, showing the trajectories of transformation of urban settlements.

References

. Abreu A. C. (1989). Caracterização do Sistema Biofísico do Território com vista ao Ordenamento do Território. (Dissertação de Doutoramento), Évora: Universidade de Évora, (Portugal).

. Alberti M.; McPhearson T. and Gonzalez A. (2018). ‘Embracing urban complexity’, in T. Elmqvist, X. Bai, N. Frantzeskaki, C. Griffith, B. Maddox, T. McPhearson, S. Parnell, D. Roberts, P. Romero Lankao, and D. Simon (eds), Urban Planet: Knowledge Towards Sustainable Cities, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 1-16.

. Alcoforado, M.J., Lopes A, Andrade H. and Vasconcelos J. (2005). Orientações Climáticas para o Ordenamento em Lisboa. Relatório n.º 4. Centro de Estudos Geográficos. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisboa, p. 83.

. Alcoforado M. J. (1999). Aplicação da climatologia ao Planeamento Urbano. Alguns Apontamentos. Lisboa. Finisterra, XXXIV, 67-68: 83-94 doi: 10.18055/Finis1687.

. Angel, S.; Sheppard, S. C. & Civco, D. L. (2005). The dynamics of global urban expansion. In Transport and Urban Development Department. The World Bank, Washington D.C

. Argyros A. J. (1990) Towards a View of Time as Depth. Diogenes, 38 (151): 29-50

. Ashmore P. and Dodson B. (2017) Urbanizing physical geography. The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien, 61 (1): 102–106 - doi: 10.1111/cag.12318

. Benevolo L. (1995) A Cidade na História da Europa. Editorial Presença, 244 p.

. Bowler D. E; Buyung-Ali L. M.; Knight T. M and Pullin, A. S. (2010) A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health, 10:456. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/10/456

. Brears R. (2020) Nature-Based Solutions to 21st Century Challenges, Routledge, 352 p.

. Cabaço L. (2017) Relatório nacional sobre a implementação da Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Portugal. Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros. 89 p.

. Christofoletti A. (2015) Modelagem de Sistemas Ambientais. São Paulo: Blucher (1st ed. 1999).

. Cook E. M. and McPhearson T. (2020) A transdisciplinary urban ecology approach to complex urban systems. In Douglas, I; Anderson, P. M. L.; Goode, D.; Houck, M. C.; Maddox, D.; Nagendra, H. ; Yok, T.P. (eds) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology. Routledge, 2 edition,

. Cordeiro A. M. R. (2005) Corredores Verdes concelhios como plataforma de base para o ordenamento do território nos Planos Directores Municipais de 2ª geração. O exemplo do Município de Coimbra – Centro de Portugal”, in Silva A. N. R.; Souza L.C.L. and Mendes J.F.G. Planejamento Urbano, Regional, Integrado e Sustentável. Desenvolvimentos recentes no Brasil e em Portugal, São Carlos (SP - Brasil): 229-247

. Cordeiro, A. M. R. (2017) As condicionantes biofísicas como potenciadoras de um urbanismo e de um desenvolvimento sustentáveis. in Oliveira F. P. (2017). Ordenamento do território, Urbanismo e Cidades. Que rumo?, Almedina, Coimbra: 421-444. ISBN 978-972-40-7053-7.

. Cordeiro, A. M. R. (2021) Morphological system and urban settlements. Coimbra (Portugal): A city from the Roman times to the present. Cuadernos de Vivienda y Urbanismo, 14. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.cvu14.msus

. Douglas I (2020) Urban hydrology. in Douglas, I; Anderson, P. M. L.; Goode, D.; Houck, M. C.; Maddox, D.; Nagendra, H. ; Yok, T.P. (eds) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology. Routledge, 2 edition,

. Douglas I. (1983) The Urban Environment. Edward Arnold (publishers) Lda., 229 p.

. Douglas I; Anderson P. M. L.; Goode D.; Houck M. C.; Maddox D.; Nagendra H. and Yok T.P. (eds) (2020) The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology. Routledge, 2 edition, 1108 p.

. Ellis E. C. (2015) Ecology in an anthropogenic biosphere. Ecological Monographs, 85(3), The Ecological Society of America: 287-331.

. Emmanuel R. (2016) Urban climate challenges in the tropics: rethinking planning and design opportunities. London, New Jersey: Imperial College Press.

. European Commission (2021) Evaluating the Impact of Nature-based Solutions: A Summary for Policy Makers. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Directorate B - Healthy Planet/Unit B3 - Climate and Planetary Boundaries, Brussells, 34 p. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/2219

. Fabos J. (1991) From Parks to Greenways into the 21st Century, in Proceedings of ASLA Annual Meeting, American Society of Landscape Architects, Washington DC: 155-158.

. Fadigas L. (2007) Fundamentos Ambientais do Ordenamento do Território e da Paisagem. Lisboa: Edições Sílabo.

. Faeth S. H; Saari S. and Bang C. (2012) Urban Biodiversity: Patterns, Processes and Implications for Conservation. eLS, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester. doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0023572.

. Farr D. (2013) Urbanismo Sustentável. Desenho urbano com a natureza. Bookman, Porto Alegre.

. Fidelis T. (2001) Planeamento Territorial e Ambiente. O caso da envolvente à Ria de Aveiro. Ed. Principia, Cascais, 315 p.

. Fortuna C. (2016) Velhas, novas e novíssimas narrativas do mundo urbano. in Amaro, A. R: Garrido, A. and Nunes, J.P.A. (2016). Interdisciplinaridade e Universidade, Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra: 153-176.

. Francis L. F. M. and Jensen, M. B. (2017) Benefits of green roofs: A systematic review of the evidence for three ecosystem services. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 28: 167-176.

. Francis, R. A., J. Lorimer & M. Raco (2012) Urban ecosystems as ‘natural’ homes for biogeographical boundary crossings. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 37(2): 183-190.

. Gago J.; Coopmanb R. E.; Cabrera H. M; Hermida C.; Molins A.; Conesa M. A.; Galmes J., Carbo M. R. and Flexas J. (2013) Photosynthesis limitations in three fern species. Physiologia Plantarum, Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society, ISSN 0031-9317

. Ganho, N. (1998) O clima urbano de Coimbra: estudo de climatologia local aplicada ao ordenamento urbano. Dissertação de Doutoramento, Instituto de Estudos Geográficos, Universidade de Coimbra, p. 551.

. Gaspar, J. (1996) O Novo Ordenamento do Território: Geografia e Valores, in Dinamismos Sócio-Económicos e Reorganização Territorial: Processos de Urbanização e Reestruturação Produtiva, IEG, Coimbra: 707-718.

. Gill S. E.; Handley J. F.; Ennos A. R. and Pauleit S. (2007) Adapting Cities for Climate Change: The Role of the Green Infrastructure. Built Environment, 33 (1): 115-133 doi10.2148/benv.33.1.115

. Gregory K. J. (2000) The changing nature of physical geography. London: Edward Arnold.

. Grimmond C. S. B.; Roth M.; Oke T. R.; Au Y. C.; Best M.; Betts R.; Carmichael G.; Cleugh H.; Dabberdt W.; Emmanuel R.; Freitas E.; Fortuniak K.; Hanna S.; Klein P.; Kalkstein L. S.; Liu C. H.; Nickson A.; Pearlmutter D.; Sailor D. and Voogt J. (2010) Climate and more sustainable cities: Climate information for improved planning and management of cities (Producers/Capabilities Perspective). Procedia Environmental Sciences, 1(1): 247-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2010.09.016

. Grimmond C.S.B. (2020) Climate of Cities. In Douglas, I; Anderson, P. M. L.; Goode, D.; Houck, M. C.; Maddox, D.; Nagendra, H. ; Yok, T.P. (eds) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, Routledge, 2 ed.: 129-140.

. Gromke C.; Blocken B.; Janssen W.; Merema B.; van Hooff T. and Timmermans H. (2015) CFD analysis of transpirational cooling by vegetation: case study for specific meteorological conditions during a heat wave in Arnhem, Netherlands. Building and Environment. 83: 11–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.04.022.

. Grove J. M.; Childers D. L.; Galvin M.; Hines S.; Muñoz-Erickson T. and Svendsen E.S. (2016) Linking science and decision making to promote ecology for the city: practices and opportunities, Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, 2 (9), https://doi.org/10.1002/ehs2.1239

. Hathway E.A. and Sharples S. (2012) The Interaction of Rivers and Urban Form in Mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect: A UK Case Study. Building and Environment, 58: 14-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.06.013

. Higueras E. (2006). Urbanismo Bioclimático. Editorial Gustavo Gili, SL, Barcelona, 242 p.

. Imhoff M. L.; Bounoua L.; Ricketts T.; Loucks C.; Harriss R. and Lawrence W. T. (2004) Global patterns in human consumption of net primary production. Nature, 429: 870–873. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02619

. Jamei E.; Rajagopalan P.; Seyedmahmoudian M. and Jamei Y. (2016) Review on the impact of urban geometry and pedestrian level greening on outdoor thermal comfort. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 54, Elsevier Ltd.: 1002-1017

. Kabisch N.; Korn H.; Stadler J. and Bonn A. (eds) (2017) Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change in Urban Areas: Linkages Between Science, Policy, and Practice, Cham: Springer.

. Lalosevic M. D.; Komatina M. S.; Milos M. V. and Rudonja N. R. (2018) Green roofs and cool materials as retrofitting strategies for urban heat Island mitigation - Case study in Belgrade, Serbia. Thermal Science: 86-86, doi: 10.2298/TSCI171120086L

. Lemos L. J. L. (2007) “Natural and man-made causes for the “Elísio de Moura” earth flow in Coimbra, Portugal, Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 66 (1), Springer-Verlag: 35-43.

. Little C. (1990) Greenways for America. Johns Hopkins, Baltimore.

. Lourenço, L. and Lemos, L. J. L. (2001) "Considerações acerca da movimentação em massa ocorrida na vertente poente da Av. Elísio de Moura, em Coimbra", Territorium, 8: 93-108.

. Machado J. R. and Ahern J. (1997) Environmental Challenges in an Expanding Urban World and Role of Emerging Information Technologies, CNIG/MEPAT, Lisboa, 521 p.

. Magalhães M. R. (2001) A Arquitetura paisagista. Morfologia e complexidade., Lisboa: Editorial Estampa.

. MAOTE – Ministério do Ambiente e Ordenamento do Território e Energia (2015) Estratégia de Cidades Sustentáveis 2020. Direção Geral do Território, Lisboa, 123 p.

. Marques D.; Ganho N. and Cordeiro A.M. R. (2008) Clima local e ordenamento urbano - O exemplo de Coimbra. Cadernos de Geografia, FLUC, 26-27: 325-332.

. Marshall S. (2011) Urban Coding Planning. Routledge, 272 p.

. McDonnell M. J. (2011) The history of urban ecology, in Niemelä J.; Breuste J.H.; G. Guntenspergen G.; McIntyre N.E.; Elmqvist T and James P. (eds), Urban Ecology: Patterns, Processes, and Applications, Oxford: Oxford University Press: 5-13.

. McHarg I (1961) Proyectar com la Naturaleza. Editorial Gustavo Gili, (ed. 2000), SA, Barcelona.

. McHarg I. (1969) Design with Nature, New York: Natural History Press.

. McIntyre N. (2020) Urban areas and urban ecology. In Douglas I; Anderson P. M. L.; Goode D.; Houck M. C.; Maddox D.; Nagendra H. and Yok T.P. (eds) (2020) The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, Routledge, 2 ed: 129-140

. McPhearson T.; Haase D.; Kabisch N. and Gren A. (2016) Advancing understanding of the complex nature of urban systems, Ecological Indicators, 70: 566-573.

. McPhearson T.; Parnell S.; Simon D.; Gaffney O.; Elmqvist T.; Bai X.; Roberts D., and Revi A. (2016b) ‘Scientists must have a say in the future of cities’, Nature, 538: 165-166.

. McPhearson, T., Pickett, S.T.A., Grimm, N., Niemelä, J., Alberti, M., Elmqvist, T., Weber, C., Haase, D., Breuste, J., & Qureshi, S. (2016a) ‘Advancing urban ecology toward a science of cities’, BioScience, 66 (3): 198-212.

. Meneguetti K. S (2007) De cidade-jardim a cidade sustentável: potencialidades para uma estrutura ecológica urbana em Maringá – PR, São Paulo, 205 p.

. Moniz G. C. and Ferreira I. (2019) Healthy Corridors for Inclusive Urban Regeneration, Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica, 158: 51-59.

. Montazeri H.; Toparlar Y; Blocken B. and Hensen J. L. M. (2016) Simulating the cooling effects of water spray systems in urban landscapes: A computational fluid dynamics study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Landscape and Urban Planning

. Nastran M.; Kobal, M. and Eler, K. (2019) Urban heat islands in relation to green land use in European cities. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Elsevier, vol. 37: 33-41, doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.01.008

. Nicoletti, M. (1978). El ecossistema urbano.

. Oke T. R. (1989) The micrometeorology of the urban forest. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Séries B, 324: 335-351. doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1989.0051

. Oke T.; Mills G.; Christen A. and Voogt J. A. (2017) Urban Climates. Cambridge University Press, p. 525.

. Partidário M. R. (1993) A integração da Componente Ambiental no Planeamento Urbano. Sociedade & Território, nº 18: 8-12.

. Partidário M. R. and Pereira P. (2015) Cities and sustainability assessment: resilience and sustainability thinking about the future of cities. In Angus Morrison-Saunders, Jenny Pope and Alan Bond. Handbook of Sustainability Assessment”, Elgaronline: 183–212. ISBN: 978 1 78347 136 2

. Perini K. and Magliocco A. (2014) Effects of vegetation, urban density, building height, and atmospheric conditions on local temperatures and thermal comfort. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. Vol 13: 495-506. doi:10.1016/J.UFUG.2014.03.003

. Pickering C. and Hermy M. (2020) Landscaped Parks and Open Spaces. In Douglas, I; Anderson, P. M. L.; Goode, D.; Houck, M. C.; Maddox, D.; Nagendra, H.; Yok, T.P. (eds) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology

. PNUD (2015). Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento, ONU.

. Reis C. and Lopes A. (2019) Evaluating the Cooling Potential of Urban Green Spaces to Tackle Urban Climate Change in Lisbon. Sustainability, 2019, 11, 2480; doi:10.3390/su11092480

. Rita D. and Häuber C. (2015) The smart city develops on geology: Comparing Rome and Naples. GSA Today, 4. doi: 10.1130/GSATG222A.1

. Romero M. A. B. (2007). A arquitetura bioclimática do espaço público. Editora Universidade de Brasília, Brasília.

. Rosenzweig C.; Solecki W.; Romero-Lankao P.; Mehrotra S.; Dhakal S. and Ibrahim A. (eds) (2018) Climate Change and Cities: Second Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

. Rossas W. (2001) Divercidade. Urbanografia do espaço de Coimbra até ao estabelecimento definitivo da Universidade. Dissertação de Doutoramento em Arquitetura. FCTUC, Coimbra, 897 p.

. Rossi, A. (1965) A Arquitetura da cidade, (ed. 1966) Lisboa: Cosmos.

. Roth M. (2020) Understanding urban heat islands. in Douglas I; Anderson P. M. L.; Goode D.; Houck M. C.; Maddox D.; Nagendra H. and Yok T.P. (eds) (2021). The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, (142-154), Routledge, 2 edition.

. Santamouris M. (2013) Using cool pavements as a mitigation strategy to fight urban heat island—A review of the actual developments. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Elsevier, Volume 26: 224-240.

. Stewart I. D. and Oke T.R. (2012) Local Climate Zones for Urban Temperature Studies. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 93, 1879-1900. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00019.1

. Swyngedouw E. and Kaika M. (2014) Radical Urban Political-Ecological Imaginaries: Planetary Urbanization and Politicizing Nature. Derive, Vol. 55: 15-20.

. Thornbush M. (2015) Geography, urban geomorphology and sustainability. Area, 2015, 47.4: 350–353. doi: 10.1111/area.12218

. UAEU (2016) Urban Agenda for the EU. Pact of Amsterdam. Agreed at the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers Responsible for Urban Matters on 30 May 2016 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

. United Nations (2014) World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York: United Nations.

. United Nations (2018) World Urbanization Prospects 2018. Population. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Dynamics, New York: United Nations.

. Waller E. and Waterman T. (2010) Desenho Urbano, Porto Alegre: editora Bookman.

. Yu Z.; Yang G.; Zuo S.; Jørgensen G., Koga M and Vejre, H (2020) Critical review on the cooling effect of urban blue-green space: A threshold_size perspective. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 49, 126630

Downloads

Published

2022-12-27

How to Cite

Cordeiro, A. M. R. (2022). The Importance of the Holistic View in Urbanism: The Role of Physical Geography in the Sustainable City of the 21st Century. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(12), 380–397. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.912.13662