Nowadays, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) are developing as innovative multifunctional tools to maximize urban ecosystem services such as storm water preservation, reduction of runoff and flood protection, groundwater pollution prevention, biodiversity enhancement, and microclimate control. Gdańsk is one of the first Polish cities to widely introduce rain gardens (one example of an NBS) in different areas such as parks, city center, main crossroads, and car parks. They involve different technical innovations individually tailored to local architecture, including historic buildings and spaces. Gdańskie Wody, which is responsible for storm water management in the city, adopted a pioneering strategy and started the construction of the first rain garden in 2018. Currently, there are a dozen rain gardens in the city, and this organisation's policy stipulates the construction of NBSs in new housing estates without building rainwater drainage.Various types of rain gardens can be created depending on location characteristics such as geo-hydrology, as well as local conditions and needs. Furthermore, each of them might be equipped with specific technical solutions to improve the rain garden's function – for example, an oil separator or setter can be included to absorb the initial, most polluted runoff. During winter, the large amount of sodium chloride usually used to grit the roads may pose the greatest threat to biodiversity and plants. These installations have been included in a large rain garden in Gdańsk, located in the central reservation of the main streets in the city center.This work presents various technical considerations and their impact on ecosystem functions, and the urban circularity challenges provided by rain gardens operating in different technologies and surroundings. The precipitation quantity and the following infiltration rate were estimated by installing pressure transducers. Furthermore, mitigation of the urban heat island was analysed based on remote sensing images.
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The rain gardens at Bryggen in Bergen, Western Norway, is designed to collect, retain, and infiltrate surface rainfall runoff water, recharge the groundwater, and replenish soil moisture. The hydraulic infiltration capacity of the Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), here rain gardens, has been tested with small-scale and full-scale infiltration tests. Results show that infiltration capacity meets the requirement and is more than sufficient for infiltration in a cold climate. The results from small-scale test, 245–404 mm/h, shows lower infiltration rates than the full-scale infiltration test, with 510–1600 mm/h. As predicted, an immediate response of the full-scale infiltration test is shown on the groundwater monitoring in the wells located closest to the infiltration point (<30 m), with a ca. 2 days delayed response in the wells further away (75–100 m). Results show that there is sufficient capacity for a larger drainage area to be connected to the infiltration systems. This study contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of infiltration systems such as how a rain garden interacts with local, urban water cycle, both in the hydrological and hydrogeological aspects. The results from this study show that infiltration systems help to protect and preserve the organic rich cultural layers below, as well as help with testing and evaluating of the efficiency, i.e., SuDS may have multiple functions, not only storm water retention. The functionality is tested with water volumes of 40 m3 (600 L/min for 2 h and 10 min), comparable to a flash flood, which give an evaluation of the infiltration capacity of the system.
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Effects of climate change in cities are evident and are expected to increase in the future, demanding adaptation. In order to share knowledge, raise awareness and build capacity on climate adaptation, “ClimateCafés” have been utilized since 2012 in over 50 global events. ClimateCafé is a field education concept involving different fields of science for capacity building in climate adaptation depending on the specific needs of stakeholders. This chapter describes the need, method and results of two ClimateCafés performed in North America in 2022. In North America, there was a clear demand for proof of the long-term efficiency of small-scale urban nature-based solutions (NbS), since the hydraulic capacity of rain gardens and swales is often questioned in low permeable soils and high groundwater tables. The main research question in the ClimateCafés is: Which variation of the (un)saturated infiltration capacity can be expected under conditions with low permeable soil and high groundwater tables (under sea level)? To answer this research question, participative monitoring of NbS has taken place on swales and rain gardens implemented in New Orleans (under sea level) and Vancouver (bed rock). The ClimateCafés aimed at generating context-specific data on nature-based solutions by using open-source tools and cost-effective data collection techniques. The results of the workshops show that relevant, multidisciplinary data can be gathered in a short period of time with limited resources. As example, over 500 individual NbS projects are mapped in both cities from which a selection is made for field research with several stakeholders. The method of the conducted research consisted of a full-scale testing method, measuring the long-term infiltration capacity of rain gardens and swales installed in the last two decades. The results show a high variation of empty times for rain gardens and swales (26–300 mm/h) with fast decreasing infiltration capacity after saturation of the soil (second test showed a decrease in the order of 35%). The ClimateCafés stimulated accelerated climate action and support for national and international knowledge exchange in adaptation solutions for a climate resilient future. Besides raising awareness and capacity building, the evaluation of the outcomes of the ClimateCafés Vancouver and New Orleans lead to practical guidelines and cost-effective interventions to optimize the performance of existing NbS and a strategy for implementing optimized NbS in the near future.
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Urban planning will benefit from tools that can assess the vulnerabilityto thermal stress in urban dense cities. Detailed quick-scan heat stressmaps, as made in this study for Johannesburg, have proven valuable inthe decision-making process on this topic. It raised awareness on theurgent need to implement measures to tackle the effects of climatechange and urbanization. Awareness on heat stress has led to theimplementation of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.As in other countries, nature-based solutions (e.g. green roofs and walls,swales, rain gardens, planting trees etc) are considered in urban areasin South Africa for various reasons. The awareness of the effect ofnature based solutions on heat stress is still low, which can be improvedby the use of heat stress maps. Some of these measures are alreadymapped on the open source web tool, Climate-scan(www.climatescan.nl) for international knowledge exchange aroundthe globe.
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Malmö is well known within the field of urban hydrology, as the city was a pioneer in integrated water management (Stahre 2008). In 1998 the Augustenborg neighbourhood was refurbished due to its reoccurring problems with flooding anddamage caused by water (Niemczynowicz 1999). The project “Ekostaden” (Eco-city) included many initiatives implementing nature-based solutions (NBS), such as swales and rain gardens for infiltrating surface (storm) water into the ground (Climate Adapt 2016) (Figure 1). International stakeholders want to know if these NBS still function satisfactorily after 20 years and what we can learn from the “Augustenborg strategy” and apply in other parts of the world. To quote the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, “we learn from history that we do not learn from history.” Augustenborg is an ideal location to demonstratethe sustainability of NBS, test the functionality for infiltration of surface water in swales, map the build-up of potential toxic elements (PTE), and test the water quality after 20 years operation. This evaluation is done in 2019 with theinternational, participatory and multidisciplinary method ‘ClimateCafé and the results are presented at the international seminar Cities, rain and risk,June 2019 in Malmö (Boogaard et al. 2019). ClimateCafé is a field education concept involving different fields of science and practice for capacity building in climate change adaptation. Over 20 ClimateCafés have already been carriedout around the globe (Africa, Asia, Europe), where different tools and methods have been demonstrated to evaluate climate adaptation. The 25th edition of ClimateCafé took place in Malmö, Sweden, in June 2019 and focussed on the Eco-city of Augustenborg. The main research question - “Are the NBS in Augustenborg still functioning satisfactorily?”- was answered by interviews, collecting data of water quality, pollution, NBS and heat stress mapping, and measuring infiltration rates (Boogaard et al. 2020).
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The first part of this paper provides a series of conceptual critiques to illustrate how the recent move to inaugurate a “post-nature” world works to vindicate anthropocentric perspectives and a techno-managerial approach to the environmental crisis. We contend with this premise and suggest that troubling nature has profound implications for education. In the second part, we provide case studies from nature-based programs in The Netherlands and Canada to demonstrate how anthropocentric thinking can be reinscribed even as we work towards “sustainability”. Despite the tenacity of human hubris and the advent of the Anthropocene, we suggest these troubled times are also rich with emerging “post-anthropocentric” perspectives and practices. As such we offer “rewilding” as a means to think about education that moves beyond the romantic vestiges of “Nature” without lapsing into delusions of human exceptionalism. http://dx.doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/2334 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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It is of utmost importance to collect organic waste from households as a separate waste stream. If collected separately, it could be used optimally to produce compost and biogas, it would not pollute fractions of materials that can be recovered from residual waste streams and it would not deteriorate the quality of some materials in residual waste (e.g. paper). In rural areas with separate organic waste collection systems, large quantities of organic waste are recovered. However, in the larger cities, only a small fraction of organic waste is recovered. In general, citizens dot not have space to store organic waste without nuisances of smell and/or flies. As this has been the cause of low organic waste collection rates, collection schemes have been cut, which created a further negative impact. Hence, additional efforts are required. There are some options to improve the organic waste recovery within the current system. Collection schemes might be improved, waste containers might be adapted to better suit the needs, and additional underground organic waste containers might be installed in residential neighbourhoods. There are persistent stories that separate organic waste collection makes no sense as the collectors just mix all municipal solid waste after collection, and incinerate it. Such stories might be fuelled by the practice that batches of contaminated organic waste are indeed incinerated. Trust in the system is important. Food waste is often regarded as unrein. Users might hate to store food waste in their kitchen that could attract insects, or the household pets. Hence, there is a challenge for socio-psychological research. This might also be supported by technology, e.g. organic waste storage devices and measures to improve waste separation in apartment buildings, such as separate chutes for waste fractions. Several cities have experimented with systems that collect organic wastes by the sewage system. By using a grinder, kitchen waste can be flushed into the sewage system, which in general produces biogas by the fermentation of sewage sludge. This is only a good option if the sewage is separated from the city drainage system, otherwise it might create water pollution. Another option might be to use grinders, that store the organic waste in a tank. This tank could be emptied regularly by a collection truck. Clearly, the preferred option depends on local conditions and culture. Besides, the density of the area, the type of sewage system and its biogas production, and the facilities that are already in place for organic waste collection are important parameters. In the paper, we will discuss the costs and benefits of future organic waste options and by discussing The Hague as an example.
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This chapter examines some of the challenges of unlearning anthropocentrism - i.e. the deep-seated cultural, psychological and enacted prejudices of human specialness - in nature-based early childhood education programs. We begin with a critical exploration of recent trends in environmental philosophy and the conservation sciences that seek to move beyond the so-called archaic notions of “wilderness” and “nature” towards more managerial models of human dominion over planetary “ecosystem services.” We suggest the trouble with these discursive moves is that they shirk from the courageous conversations required from environmental education in a time of ecological emergency. We conclude by drawing on research at nature-based schools in the Netherlands and Canada to illustrate the tenacity of anthropocentric “common-sense” and suggest the beginnings of pedagogy of childhoodnatures guided by notions of rewilding and ecological humility. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_40-1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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This study theorizes on the sociomateriality of food in authority-building processes of partial organizations by exploring alternative food networks (AFNs). Through the construction of arenas for food provisioning, AFNs represent grassroots collectives that deliberately differentiate their practices from mainstream forms of food provisioning. Based on a sequential mixed-methods analysis of 24 AFNs, where an inductive chronological analysis is followed by a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we found that the entanglements between participants’ food provisioning practices and food itself shape how authority emerges in AFNs. Food generates biological, physiological and social struggles for AFN participants who, in turn, respond by embracing or avoiding them. As an outcome, most AFNs tend to bureaucratize over time according to four identified patterns while a few idiosyncratically build a more shared basis of authority. We conclude that the sociomateriality of food plays an important yet indirect role in understanding why and how food provisioning arenas re-organize and forge their forms of authority over time. Pascucci, S., Dentoni, D., Clements, J., Poldner, K., & Gartner, W. B. (2021). Forging Forms of Authority through the Sociomateriality of Food in Partial Organizations. Organization Studies, 42(2), 301-326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620980232
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Human and plant relationships are described within the rich tradition of multispecies ethnography, ethnobotany, and political ecology. In theorizing this relationship, the issues of functionalism, and interconnectivity are raised. This article aims to re-examine the position of plants in the context of contemporary urban spaces through the prism of environmental ethics. Despite conceptual plurality and socio-cultural complexity of human–plant relationships, social scientists fail to note how the perception of ‘greenery’ has objectified plants in urban environment. Without seriously considering bioethics, theories of human–plant relationship might fail to note exploitive anthropocentric relationship between humans and plants in urban spaces. The article is inspired by reflections of urban flora in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2013.01.007 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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