The Ecological Efficiency of Green Materials in Sustainable Urban Planning—A Model for Its Measurement

Abstract

Urban green planning is crucial in promoting sustainable urban ecosystems through themindful use of vegetation, but few approaches are currently able to account for the ecosystem servicesprovided by urban green planning in ex ante planning applications. The present research proposesa methodological approach to sustainable urban planning that accounts for the ecological role ofvegetation in urban ecosystems. Indeed, by estimating the functions exerted by different vegetationelements in urban ecosystems through a purposely developed set of equations, the procedureallows for the optimization of the development of urban plans by maximizing the contribution ofvegetation to ecosystem dynamics. Specifically, the proposed methodology is articulated in twophases, i.e., the functional role of vegetation is firstly modeled through simple geometric featuresand specific ecological traits accounting for plant interactions with the environment, and then theselected vegetation traits are used in guiding the choice of the species. The approach has beenexemplified through case studies, thereby highlighting its ability to guide planning decisions basedon the type, abundance, and spatial organization of vegetation to promote the sustainability ofurban development.