Green and blue spaces: Integral urban design as a toolkit for climate change adaptation in the case of smaller settlements in Vojvodina Region

Abstract

The urban environment which we inhabit is not built with the intention of being environmentally sustainable and climate responsible. Rather, it facilitates most of the activities that cause climate change. Suburbanization and urban sprawl have resulted in a stimulation of activities such as car-dependent transportation, pollution and the disturbance of natural ecosystems. Therefore, integrated urban design takes an increasingly important role in the strategies and actions of climate change adaptation in the built environment. Urban form characteristics such as density, mixed use, public transport accessibility, urban patterns and application of sustainable materials are shaped by urban design, which is becoming an important tool for the sustainable development strategies and climate change adaptation actions.This paper deals with the special importance and role of green and blue infrastructure as an integral part of the urban design toolkit for climate change adaptation. Sustainable urban design integrates green and blue spaces into a living environment and utilizes them for cooling, protection against solar radiation, maintaining the water supply and the collection of surface water. The main task of the paper is to identify the ways of using green and blue infrastructure when adapting the different elements of urban form (neighborhood, public space, house and lot) to climate change.As part of the research presented in the paper we used a method of case studies of several smaller settlements in Vojvodina, because of their inherited plan-based urban layout and specific infrastructure related to rural ecosystems which have the potential to be successfully 'remodeled'. The result is presented in the form of an urban design toolkit with guidelines for urban form adaptation in the context of solutions that integrate green and blue infrastructure at three levels: neighborhood, public space, and house and lot.