The Potential of Greenable Area in the Urban Building Stock

Abstract

In the context of establishing green infrastructure in cities, urban retrofit has presumably larger area potential than ground-based green. To support the large-scale advancement of urban green, the assessment of greenable potential plots in the building stock, both on horizontal and on vertical scale, provides first indispensable indications for decision-making. However, reliable and solid data to the state of the buildings is currently not available. The research study Urbane GmbA explored a new methodological approach, based on publicly available geo-data, and applied it at two study sites in high-density urban quarters in Vienna. The combination of a GIS-based analysis with digital and on-site photos allowed for the creation of a Level of Detail 2 (LOD2) 3D-model and subsequently the estimation of the green retrofit potential of roofs and facades. Comprehensive maps with the data of the 2D building footprints provide valuable information for planners, including building characteristics and greenable area potential. The approach proved to provide more comprehensive information including building characteristics fundamental to the planning and decision-making process. The achieved results are merged with an evaluation matrix generated for attributing available facade and roof greening systems. This allows for more focused decision support for the retrofit of the building stock towards more sustainable and resilient district development.