| project background
The interdisciplinary project “Emerging Megacities: Open spaces
in megacities – potential for nature orientated living”
follows a holistic research approach, based on a spatial concept. It
is postulated that open spaces have a high value in expanding megacities.
Future planning must therefore aim for sustainable development and to
protect valuable resources and the various ecological functions of such
areas. It is assumed that uncoordinated development measures
will lead as a rule to a deterioration of the current “good”
situation.
With the exception of recultivation of areas, the development processes
of a city mostly bring about irreversible changes in natural qualities
and functions. Open spaces such as forests, gardens, parks, agricultural
land, disused land, bodies of water or beaches provide a large number
of important positive functions and benefits within a city. In addition
to important ecological functions for climate, water supply and soil,
the spaces are used in a variety of ways by urban inhabitants. Open
spaces therefore make a substantial contribution to the quality of life
especially in large cities.
In fast growing cities and in the emerging megacities open spaces are
coming increasingly under pressure. As a consequence of urbanisation,
urban sprawl and the increasingly dense building of inhabited areas
the existence and effectiveness of open spaces is declining. On the
other hand the improvement of open spaces can make a considerable contribution
to sustainable urban development.
The increasing concentration of population in urban regions, the fast
and uncontrolled city growth, especially in less developed countries
put open spaces in emerging mega cities at risk. The need for housing
by growing population, inefficient public transport systems associated
with long distances to labour market make the expansion of the cities’
peripheries less attractive, increasing the pressure on open spaces
in more central areas. Political and social concerns lead finally to
the legalisation of occupied areas and hence to the loss of open spaces.
A large series of environmental, cultural and social problems follows
the uncoordinated use of land resources, the destruction of ecological
buffer zones and the dense implantation of highly profitable high-rise
buildings. A lack ob management leads to the degradation of open spaces,
which is followed by high costs if long term damages are to be compensated
afterwards.
Because of their special importance for
the city development, open spaces are in the focus of the interdisciplinary
research approach.
general Project Objective
The overall objective of the project is the creation of interdisciplinary
and integrated methodologies for the analysis and valuation of development-,
vulnerability-, risk-, resilience- and conflict-potentials and -dynamics
of open spaces on different spatial scales what allows to elaborate
scenarios, models and tools for the use in planning processes.
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