Symbiotic design for a resilient urban ecosystem

Abstract

Numerous sources of scientific evidence show that we are currently facing a profoundly serious environmental emergency, mainly due to the repercussions caused by ongoing climatic changes. The climate and environmental challenges are exacerbated in cities: fragile systems faced with extreme climate events where most of the population currently lives and with a sharply increasing trend. One of the strategies with the greatest potential to contribute to the transition of cities towards a more resilient, sustainable, and healthy model is the integration of Nature-based Solutions in built-up environments if applied with clear functional objectives. For this to be possible, urban space and buildings must be imagined as living systems, that is, created based on a symbiotic relationship with nature and designed to generate a positive impact on the surrounding environment.

Keywords

• climate change
• air quality
• heat island effect
• nature-based solutions
• symbiosis