Outi Tahvonen
Scalable green infrastructure and the water, vegetation, and soil system
Scaling-up from Finnish domestic gardens
100425
Does
the garden of a single-family house matter to the whole city? Private
domestic gardens are multifunctional micro-oases that are carefully
landscaped and constantly changed to reflect the preferences of their
owners. Low-density housing characteristically comprises separate plots
and their gardens, which are difficult to manage with the traditional
tools of urban planning. However, this privately produced component of
the urban green is part of the green infrastructure of the entire city.
The
role of low-density housing in city-scale green infrastructure can be
enhanced through integrative design of water and vegetation in
garden-scale details and through the design process of gardens. This
integrative design process requires a balanced understanding of the core
system of water, vegetation, and soil, which forms the basis for green
infrastructure that can be adapted for block, neighborhood, and city
scales.
Outi Tahvonen