AQUAlive
AQuatic Urban ecosystems Alive
- Category
- Project
- Call
- DUT Call 2024
- Duration
- –
- Project coordinator
- University of Antwerp
Floodable parks are a holistic solution which provide multiple ecosystem services, from water-hazard mitigation and microclimate regulation to leisure and habitat creation for biodiversity. The overall challenge of this project is to correctly assess the necessity, interest and performance of floodable parks based on the ecosystem services and co-benefits. Therefore, the research question we are aiming to answer is: “Are floodable parks an effective and accepted solution for the needed urban transition?”.
The goals of this proposal are to:
1) identify current challenges which can leverage the implementation of floodable parks,
2) develop a framework to promote biodiversity in floodable parks,
3) study the co-benefits,
4) promote the co-creation of floodable parks and
5) create a road-map for the successful implementation of floodable parks.
Concrete actions to answer the research question include document analysis of current strategies and legal frameworks, surveys with experts and public authorities, mapping, modelling and quantification of ecosystem services and benefits, co-creation workshops and development of design scenarios for floodable parks. The work will be done via desktop study (both at a regional and international level), fieldwork (in each selected case study), workshops with focus groups (for every partner city) and dissemination events. These actions will help to understand the current and future need of floodable parks and the benefits they can offer to the citizenship and nature.
The focus will be on the production of knowledge, analysis of data, the better understanding and modelling of floodable parks and their benefits, and the development of expertise and tools that will be useful to stakeholders, practitioners and policy makers. Qualitative and quantitative data will be gathered in order to understand the application potential of floodable parks, having a direct impact on end-users. This will create tools and produce knowledge that can be used straightforwardly. Not only experts (i.e., scientists, local authorities) but also citizens will participate on the process of improving the city, bringing their perspective to co-produce the required knowledge for user stakeholders (i.e., park designers and managers, water companies, urban landscape architects). Apart from publishing on academic journals, this project aims for the implementation of floodable parks and to affect local and national policies and decisions through the communication of the results at national events.
Contact
Jan Staes
jan.staes@uantwerpen.be