Littke, H (2016) Becoming biophilic: Challenges and opportunities for biophilic urbanism in urban planning policy. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 5(1), pp. 15-24. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss challenges and opportunities for the implementation of biophilic urbanism in urban green planning policy through a case study of the Green living Spaces plan in Birmingham, UK. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on document analysis and semi-structured interviews as a strategy of qualitative inquiry to identify the key tenets of biophilic urbanism and its implementation in Birmingham’s urban green space planning. Findings – Biophilic urbanism has its strength as an approach to create common visions and understandings of the many benefits of nature in cities, thus strengthening the position of urban green space planning. In Birmingham the potential for integrated policies connected to urban green space are shown and the concept can also be understood as a pragmatic tool to strengthen the position of urban green space policies locally as well as positioning Birmingham globally as a leading green city. At the same time challenges are connected to legal status, path dependency and leadership. Originality/value – Biophilic urbanism has gotten increased attention in academia and practice and this paper contributes with a novel case study discussing how the concept has been used and understood in the Birmingham context to discuss opportunities and challenges for actual implementation.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Birmingham; biophilia; biophilic cities; biophilic urbanism; urban green space; urban planning policy |
| Index terms: | methodology, path dependency, strengthening, strategy, interview, Birmingham, implementation, planning policy, biophilic, urban planning policy, academia, document analysis, green city, urbanism, urban green space, case study, biophilia, becoming |
| Subjects: | human factors and perception, strategic management, data collection methods, contractual arrangements, data science, design incorporating nature, sustainability and resilience, public policy, urban planning, Geography, sustainable design, research methods, structural engineering, cities and urban places, management, philosophical process, educational institutions |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Design Practice, Education, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Governance, Sustainability, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here