Resilient Systems: How can settlement systems become more resilient?
Settlement can become more resilient when cities integrate ecosystem services in their plans.
Settlement can become more resilient when cities integrate ecosystem services in their plans.
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Urban resilience refers to a city's ability to withstand and adapt to shocks and stresses, such as natural disasters, economic downturns, or social unrest. A resilient city can quickly recover from such events and continue to function and provide essential services to its residents.
Settlement systems can become more resilient by incorporating design principles that enhance walkability and navigability of urban and architectural spaces.
By designing environments that are easy to navigate, and are accessible to a wide range of users, architects and urban planners can create more engaging, inclusive and socially cohesive communities. These design strategies can help promote both social and environmental resilience for the public, and equip communities to better adapt to changing circumstances.
Furthermore, a resilient urban ecosystem is closely linked to the provision of ecosystem services, which are all the benefits that people get from well-functioning ecosystems. For example, in a well functioning urban ecosystem networks of plants and bodies of water, like rivers and lakes, can increase the resilience of cities against floods. Because these ecosystem services are directly related to the needs of city dwellers, it is important to engage with them to understand their needs, in particular, with the most disadvantaged social groups. These are on the one hand the most exposed to risks and on the other hand they are the ones set to benefit the most from increased resilience. For this reason we aim to learn about their needs through participatory science, consisting in collecting their views through interviews, and organizing workshops to engage with them about the future of their city.
When we look at how to reduce the risks from flooding, for example, as we are doing in the capital city of Madagascar, we have to consider flood simulations, local institutions and their rules and policies, the lives and livelihoods of the local population and how the local ecosystems function. We integrate all these aspects by creating a dialogue between inhabitants, designers and experts. In particular, we use the latest technology of LIDAR as a visual language to bring all these dimensions together.
LIDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging and it is a remote sensing method which uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure and examine the surface of the Earth.
Indoor spaces are another critical component in designing resilient settlement systems.
As we witnessed during the pandemic, the layout and quality of building interiors greatly affected our behaviour and psychology. Today certain types of public buildings are become larger and more complex, so it can be difficult for people to understand and navigate them. It is our role as designers and planners to have a better understanding of how design decisions, influence people’s wayfinding behaviour and experience.
Indoor spaces that prioritize accessibility, visibility and inclusivity, with features such as clear visual cues, accessible and visible corridors, ramps and elevators, can help create conditions that promote pedestrian comfort, encouraging physical activity and reducing confusion or stress for users.
Strong visual connections between interior and exterior spaces can help embed and integrate a building in its surroundings, and contributes to a more vibrant urban realm.
In times of crisis or unexpected challenges, clear layout can help crowds respond quickly. In pandemics such as Covid-19, indoor space layout also facilitates the necessary spatial changes which directly influence people’s usage habits of a space.
Sustainable Development Goals
