The Living Public Space

Introduction

With the growth of our cities, more and diverse public green spaces are essential for a liveable environment. Greener cities are more climate-proof, energy-efficient, nature-friendly, healthier, more exercise-friendly, more social, and safer.

Public spaces are getting busier and busier, and people attach more importance to a green living environment. The (re)appreciation of green neighbourhoods and parks is therefore great. This was further reinforced during the intelligent lockdown in March 2020 due to the coronavirus. Even in a period of recovery from a crisis, greenery remains important for our well-being.

The added value of greenery is becoming increasingly well known. The question is therefore no longer whether we should apply green. It’s all about which greenery we apply in which location and in the right way for the best effect. Given the task of densifying and greening in and outside the cities at the same time, there was a demand from the market for an inspiring publication about living public space. A reference work that is based on scientific research, translated in a practical and integral way into realized projects, applications and experiences from practice. Good for people, climate, nature and the economy.

Foreword – Marc van Rosmalen

Foreword – Bill Hardy

VHG Concepts for AIPH

In a world where sustainability is essential, the design of public spaces plays a crucial role in creating a green and healthier future. Well-planned parks, squares, and streets do more than enhance beauty—they contribute to a more sustainable environment. This handbook aims to inspire and equip professionals, policymakers, and citizens with the knowledge to design public spaces that are sustainable and nature-inclusive.

Green public spaces require more than planting trees and flowers; they demand an integrated approach that prioritises biodiversity, climate adaptation, social cohesion, and residents’ well-being. It’s about making mindful decisions that address climate change, water management, and the preservation of urban ecosystems, while also creating spaces where people can relax, interact, and feel at home.

This handbook provides clear guidelines, practical examples, and scientific insights to the overall and concrete value of greening and help you develop green, future-proof public spaces. Whether you are an urban planner, green professional, policymaker, or contractor, you’ll find the tools needed to contribute effectively to a sustainable living environment. By incorporating greenery from the outset of planning and development, we ensure its benefits are fully realised through professional construction and management.

We hope this handbook inspires you to design, build, and manage public spaces that support the health of our planet and its inhabitants. Together, we can work towards a future where green is the standard, and every square metre of public space has a positive impact on people and the environment.

We are proud to present this handbook, developed by the Royal Dutch Association of Landscapers and Gardeners with AIPH, and thank Audrey Timm and Kim van der Leest for their invaluable contributions. Wishing you much inspiration and determination on your journey towards a greener future

Sincerely,

Marc van Rosmalen,

Director of Royal Dutch Association of Landscapers and Gardeners

AIPH Green City Initiative

In an era marked by rapid urbanisation and escalating environmental challenges, the integration of green city principles has emerged as a pivotal strategy for sustainable urban development. This handbook, “The Living Public Space”, serves as a comprehensive guide for urban planners, landscape architects, environmental scientists, and policymakers dedicated to fostering resilient and liveable cities. It captures the intention of the AIPH Green City initiative to promote evidence-based action in harnessing the power of plants in the urban context.

The handbook describes the multifaceted roles that plants play in urban ecosystems, emphasising their capacity to deliver critical ecosystem services. By leveraging the inherent properties of plants, urban landscapes can be transformed into dynamic systems that mitigate environmental impacts while promoting human well-being.

Structured to facilitate ease of use, this handbook provides a systematic approach to the practical application of green city principles. It offers detailed methodologies for the selection, placement, and maintenance of plant species tailored to diverse urban contexts. Additionally, it underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement in the successful implementation of green infrastructure projects.

The insights presented are grounded in the latest scientific research and best practices, ensuring that readers are equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to effect meaningful change. As cities worldwide grapple with the dual imperatives of growth and sustainability, this handbook stands as an indispensable resource, guiding the integration of nature-based solutions into the urban fabric.

We invite you to explore the transformative potential of plants in urban landscapes and to join us in the pursuit of greener, healthier, and more sustainable cities.

Bill Hardy,

AIPH Vice-President and Green City Committee Chair

This manual is a follow-up and supplement to the successful manuals The Living Garden, published in 2018 and The Living Building published in 2019.

These manuals are widely used by green professionals, (landscape) architects, project developers, clients and by municipalities and water boards that want to apply integrated green solutions for a better living environment. The manuals ‘The Living Garden’ and ‘The Living Building’ have now been included in various courses, from green to grey and from secondary to university education. They are also used abroad as a source of inspiration for liveable cities.

This Living Public Space manual is about greenery in public spaces and semi-public green spaces (such as sports grounds, care grounds or cemetery). New outdoor spaces accessible to the public are also discussed. Because (plot) boundaries between ownership and use are blurring, many kinds of collective spaces are created that are partly used or managed by third parties. The involvement of residents is important for resilient, liveable cities.

The information in this manual is intended to help and inspire provinces, municipalities, water boards, clients, urban planners, managers, landscape architects, project developers and green professionals in the integrated design, construction and management of living public spaces.

Provinces and municipalities that are at the beginning of the process of urban renewal or expansion of an area,

can benefit a lot from this manual. The book provides information and inspiration in determining the strategy and vision. By jointly including and securing green ambitions in advance, for example when it comes to health or sustainability, it is possible to anticipate this further down the chain. This leads to the design and development of feasible and better locations. Suggestions for this can be found under the tab Tendering and integral process steps. Also in the implementation phase in conversations with multidisciplinary teams, the manual with the mind maps is a practical and useful tool to (continue to) work integrally. The entire planning and approval process can then also be more effective.

The three manuals The Living Public Space, The Living Building and The Living Garden can be used together or separately.

The Living Public Space is in line with the defining visions and roadmaps for our country. It brings together the different perspectives, both the hard climate benefits of greenery and the more soft factors from the relationship between greenery and people. These latter factors are very large in their ultimate effect. They are especially important for creating vital and safe environments that contribute to less stress, more social cohesion and more innovation.

By applying the principles of Living Public Space in the designs for renewal and expansion of today’s cities, we also anticipate pleasant and healthy cities for the future. The concept and themes of The Living Public Space are universal and timeless.

The main purpose of this manual is to explain the structure of the concept of Living Public Space. It is a tool to organize the multitude of available (scientific) information and matching examples. This allows you to make your own translation into practice.

You won’t find ready-made recipes in this guide. However, there is a vast selection of ideas that you can use to complement your designs and help and excite your customers.

Success and failure factors in construction, use and maintenance are also discussed. The information is based on proven scientific research, completed projects and user experiences.

You can search for information and inspiration by theme in this guide. Consider water, temperature, circularity, biodiversity, relaxing and meeting or food and flowers. Just what you would like to see in a living public space. These themes can be found under the green tabs.

Many solutions for the urban environment are ‘not green’, for example reducing flooding, reducing the noise nuisance experienced, better air quality, an exercise-friendly working environment, reducing heat stress or saving energy. The solutions for this can be green.

To highlight the added value of green in a very targeted way, you can use the mind maps under the brown tabs. For each type of use function of an area, a separate mind map has been added. This provides an overview of the various added values of greenery. These capital gains are also briefly explained. For more in-depth information, you can find inspiration in the green tabs per theme.

You can read the chapters one after the other or approach them from a chosen green theme or brown area. A number of inspiring integral practical examples can be found in several places. This will allow you to take a closer look at the various green details and green benefits.