European Action Plan for the CITY and the EARTH
Presented at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Barcelona, 4 October 2022

The future of the earth, its ecosystems, and our own civilization will be decided in and by our cities. Only if we ensure that the material, means, and methods with which we build and manage our cities are primarily drawn from regionally available and sustainably managed biological resources can we transform our urban settlements from culprits of climate change to catalysts of eco-systemic healing. The vision for a regenerative built environment has been described in the 2022 Charter for the City and the Earth, presented in Rome. Now is the time to put this vision into reality. The Barcelona Protocol calls on European cities to take a lead

SHORT-TERM MEASURES:

CO2 CENSUS – stage one & two

Stage 1: “Conduct a city-wide census of greenhouse gas emissions from all existing public and private buildings to establish a baseline assessment and benchmark. Institute investment strategies and establish a critical time frame for the drastic reduction of emissions from existing building stock and the elimination of all future building emissions.”
Stage 2: “Refine the precision of the stage one census and expand its scope to include infrastructure and construction waste emissions, as well as carbon stocks of bioregional land areas.”

The diagram’s aim is to communicate the key concept of conducting a city-wide census of existing buildings to establish a baseline which is the first of two stages. The next stage is to incorporate the stage two portion of the protocol through further labeling of the bracket, which is to refine the precision of that census. The items listed for future inclusion are infrastructure, construction waste and bioregional land areas. By establishing a critical time frame we create a sense of urgency which is crucial for our fight against climate change. Delaying action to reduce emissions is negligence for human well being. A limited time frame can help increase decarbonisation significantly, because when left to their own devices, countries rather delay their attempts in fighting climate change. There are several reasons for this such as the long-term nature of the climate threat and political resistance based on perceived short-term risk of economic, distributional or competitiveness impacts of climate policies. Such a delay would simply increase the transition costs and require a more abrupt adjustment when action does finally start.
The strategies should be implemented in a systematic manner in order to see a dramatic reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions. It is only through the deliberate and governmental application that these strategies will see fruition and can finally lead up to future with zero GHG emission. Achieving climate-compatible growth will require governments to pursue structural reforms that support low-emission, resilient investments, backed up with efficient, cost-effective climate policies.

These strategies are:
1- Optimize embodied and operational energy and emissions
2- Promote the reuse of existing buildings and materials and further circularity
3- Substitute high-emissions materials with bio-based materials
4- Develop nature-based value chains
5- Internalize and assign value to climate impacts (e.g. carbon taxation)

DEMOLITION MORATORIUM

“Halt the destruction of existing buildings to allow for assessments of alternatives such as upgrades, retrofits, adaptations or expansion/densification.”

How do you go about reducing the carbon footprint/energy utilization of a giant building? Do you tear it down and hire a green construction team to rebuild a smarter variant? Or do you revamp it by using cutting-edge software and hardware, giving it a new life? Certainly, reconstructing huge buildings at scale isn’t a sustainable strategy. However, retrofitting old buildings and making them more energy-efficient sounds like a better (albeit tricky) idea. Researchers hypothesize that if historically significant, medieval buildings were retrofitted, energy consumption can decrease significantly. This would mean that a country could potentially save billions in energy consumption over years, while also decreasing CO2 emissions by millions of metric tons.

Retrofit

Retrofitting, in the context of buildings, can be defined as adding new components (hardware and/or software) to a property, to make it perform better. There are different kinds of retrofits old buildings can benefit from; seismic retrofits that strengthen a building and increase its resistance against earthquakes; insulation retrofits which help in moderating a building’s temperature; or smart energy retrofits, which use energy-efficient systems and automation to make even the oldest buildings consume lesser energy.

• Adding new shear wall
• Adding steel bracing
• Wall thickening technique
• Mass reduction technique
• Jacketing method

Adaptive reuse

Adaptive reuse is the process of converting obsolete buildings into new uses while maintaining elements of the original design and structure. This technique preserves the character of time and place while accommodating changes in demand, technology, tastes, and uses. Reuse is not merely a conservatory act. Reuse is design. Reuse is to prolong a building’s life cycle, by providing new functions and new meaning. Reuse is sustainable.

• Expanding buildings to accommodate more uses
• Densifying buildings
• Shared, sustainable commons
• Adding more uses in one space
• Expanding and connecting buildings

NEW BUILDING GUT CHECK

“Pass regulations requiring emissions declarations by all construction projects seeking building permits that quantify their production and operational stage carbon footprint. Establish a critical transition period in which future lifecycle emissions must be zeroed out.”

The New Building Gut Check process is considered as a short term measure within the Barcelona protocol. It is emphasized for the local citizens and municipalities to take a stand and create more stringent criteria for new buildings and renovations. In the context of a buildings’ lifecycle, the permitting process is usually a small percentage of time. Although considered small in time, the adaptation of the process is vital in reaching climate stability. The first step in adapting the permit process to be aligned with environmental goals is passing regulations for buildings to declare emissions. The data gathered as well as de-stigmatization of public knowledge sharing would lead to municipalities and local governments to require sustainable building techniques in future projects. Ultimately, this will lead to approvals with only that which meets the emissions criteria.

On a macro level, it is important for the local governments to establish a critical transition period in which all buildings reach the net 0 emissions. As we work through these processes, we expect our collective carbon footprint will slowly diminish, as displayed with footsteps throughout the diagram.

MICROCLIMATE MONITORING

“Monitor, measure, and publish air temperature and air quality of the city and impact assessment of urban heat island effects and their mitigation. Encourage citizen participation, shared risk assessment and management through crowd-sourced, application-based reporting programs.”

The Microclimate monitoring is a crucial component of the Barcelona Protocol’s action plan for cities. It is a process of measuring and analyzing the environmental factors that affect the microclimate of a city, such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and air quality. By collecting and analyzing data on these factors, cities can gain a better understanding of the microclimate and identify areas of concern.

The data collected from the sensors and citizen reports can be visualized and mapped, providing a clear and meaningful representation of the microclimate. This can help city officials identify “hot spots” or areas with high levels of pollution and other environmental issues. They can then use this information to develop targeted mitigation strategies that address these specific issues, such as planting more trees in a particular area, or installing green roofs on buildings to reduce the urban heat island effect.

Citizen participation and engagement is also an important aspect of Microclimate monitoring as it helps to gather information from the local population and increase awareness about the microclimate and its impact. The data collected from citizens can be used to supplement the data from the sensors, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the microclimate.

Overall, the goal of Microclimate monitoring is to provide cities with the information they need to make informed decisions and take effective action to improve the microclimate and the overall sustainability of the city. It is a key step in the Barcelona Protocol’s vision of transforming cities from being culprits of climate change to catalysts of eco-systemic healing.

PUBLIC GREEN PROCUREMENT

“Tie the tendering and approvals of all public construction and renovation projects to specific carbon targets and reward regional building products that promote low carbon solutions.”

As quoted in the Barcelona Protocol under the short-term measures, Public Green Procurement aims at connecting the society & varied stakeholders with the governing bodies to cater the public infrastructure & redefine the carbon targets to achieve low carbon solutions to eventually have a carbon negative urban scenario.   

The cartesian representation speaks about the relation of carbon emissions & storage against the timeline of present & predicted future. The exploitation of space crunch in the urban realm with conventional materials, namely RCC & steel leads to an exponential rise in carbon emissions. A lack of response & consideration of the context & its resources adds to the same. Construction industry being one of the leading carbon emitters, can effectively negate these emissions with proper measures & certain changes in the policies governing the industry.  

Public infrastructure is a zone that brings multiple portfolios like the society, governance, economics & design under one umbrella. Redefining the interlinks between these portfolios with a common agenda of carbon storage is seen as a quick solution to initiate the process. Irrespective of the final product being ecological or not, the manufacturing processes can be carbon emissive & hence certain regional producers need to rethink their production strategies. Considering the mass acceptance towards the conventional materials, the society needs to rethink the same & accept the ecological materials & products. Public transit can be further enhanced & promoted with ecological solutions & hence is the role of governance to rethink urban transit. As urban designers, one can have a liberty & rethink the streets as green corridors for example or work towards revival of waterbodies & urban forests which further naturally adds to carbon storage. 

Economics & monetary factors play a vital role in implying such drastic changes. Incentives can act as a catalyst to these changes for a positive impact. Economics can be perceived in a broader perspective to decide upon the types & ways of incentives that can be provided, be it monetary, a certain kind of leeway or a payback. Carbon storage can be directly proportional to the incentives & accordingly charts can be followed to keep a track of the same. 

To summarise, a cohesive approach with a common goal & set agenda is seen as a positive way to initiate thinking & implementing carbon storing production & consumption.

CAREFUL CITY REPAIR (existing buildings and infrastructure):

CARBON TRIAGE

“Identify the most significant emission sources within existing urban building stock, set reduction targets and establish subsidy programs that incentivize biomaterial and circular renovation and upgrade in the repair of poorly performing building assemblies, and the substitution of low emission heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.”

The Barcelona Protocol pays attention to the existing urban stock and its conditions to tries and reduce the emissions and to repair existing building typologies.The diagram firstly explains by identifying significant carbon emission sources in the urban building stock. Countries report their emissions through what is known as a ‘bottom up’ approach, where national emissions are estimated by combining data on types of activity with the emissions typically produced by those activities. So, if you know how much carbon dioxide steelmaking produces, and you know how much steel is produced in the country, you can estimate the total quantity of emissions from the steel sector.Following this method we can classify carbon emission sources based on major and minor producers. 

Major Sources by sector-

-Energy (Electricity, Heat and Transport)

-Direct Industrial Processes

-Waste

-Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use

There are agreed guidelines developed by the a panel on Climate Change that specify how this kind of accountancy should be done.The next step after identifications comes strategies and policies on how to reduce emissions by setting reduction targets.By setting realistic targets based on the emission produced by the sector we are stopping from further production of carbon and regulating the future emissions.This will lead to innovation of systems and industries that produce less emission.Promoting these industries will play a vital role for more industries to follow. Creating policies for the benefit of upcoming innovation industries and for the regulation emission will play a vital role. The diagram shows by promoting subsidy programs and incentivising biomaterial and circular renovation we can achieve the the emission targets.Furthermore by upgrading poorly performing building typologies and substitution of low emission heating cooling and ventilation systems improves in reducing the emissions.The systems will make industries and companies rethink their methods of production and be mind-full of carbon emission.Many can benefit from the subsidy programs to improve their business module.By repairing the existing systems can we prepare for a carbon free future.

CO2 BUDGETS

“Based on the results of the CO2 census, establish strict budgets for the emissions of urban and suburban buildings and construction sector activities with progressive annual targets that achieve net zero emissions within an established timeframe. Review and adapt building regulations to require the decarbonization of existing buildings through regulatory restrictions and requirements.”

The diagram aims to represent how a strictly enforced progressively decreasing CO2 budget, which is the amount of CO2 emissions that ongoing constructions as well as new and existing buildings can produce within a given period, can – and should – eventually reach its goal for zero overall emissions in a strict timeframe.

The top part of the diagram shows a skyline view of a city, in which we can observe:

• The relevant subjects, which for the intent and purpose of this work are:
  • Ongoing constructions, depicted as a crane.
  • Urban buildings depicted as tall buildings.
  • Suburban buildings, depicted as houses.
• The CO2 budget as an overlaying grey fog, and its actual decrease in time due to the conscious implementation new technologies, strategies, and regulations in order to stay compliant with the budget.
• The result of sticking to the budget and the implementation of the above mentioned compliance mechanisms.
  • Reaching net zero emissions.
  • Having access to clean energy.
  • Having more natural spaces within the cities.

The bottom part of the diagram shows the need for active policy making and general educational content, through regulatory restrictions and requirements both, for the construction of new projects and the decarbonization of existing buildings.

But the restrictions and requirements can’t be set and forgotten. Instead, they need to be constantly revised and improved in order to maximize their efficacy and regulate the use of the newest (at the time) construction and/or reform methods, systems and technologies.

These regulations are marked with the “R.R.R” caption and each iteration is given an additional “+” sign to show how they are improvements over the previous ones.

Finally, the top and bottom parts of the diagram are connected through vertical lines depicting momentous instances in the timeline, in which the issuing and iteration of the regulatory restrictions and requirements are non-coincidentally related to both, sharp declines in CO2 emissions for the top part and important increases in building decarbonization on the bottom part, depicted also as a descending grey fog in the interior of the buildings, showing how sticking to the budget and regulating for enforcement have to go hand in hand in order to achieve the overall goals.

NET ZERO CARROTS

“Create, develop and promote incentives through public and private financial investment programs and land-use instruments such as zoning exceptions and bonuses for low or no carbon projects.”

CARBON POSITIVE CONSTRUCTION (new building and infrastructure):

NO WASTE CONSTRUCTION

“Eliminate construction waste by adopting a regulatory framework that favors stringent design strategies capable of demonstrating material optimization and prefabrication techniques. This includes industrial manufacture of building components that direct manufacturing byproducts into second uses.”

Construction sector is one of the largest contributors in global waste generation and it is now essential to establish strategies to first reduce and ultimately achieve no waste construction. No waste construction can only be achieved by collaboration of all stakeholders in the construction sector- Designers, manufacturers, general public and government bodies, in all phases:

1. Design strategy:

Stringent design strategies are crucial to achieve no waste construction as these are the drivers of all phases of construction. Smart planning can reduce the built-up area without compromising the efficiency of the spaces. Decisions of standardizing building elements to allow repetition and Optimum use of materials by using standard sizes of mass-produced elements will also help to reduce waste during the construction process. Digital tools like Building information modeling (BIM) can be used to analyze the lifecycle of materials and plan accordingly to maintain a circularity and prepare proper management strategy.

• Material extraction:

Materials should be analyzed before extraction- for e.g., when cutting trees for timber extraction, criteria can be prepared to select the trees that give the maximum number of lumbers with least amount of waste generation. Any waste generated in this process can be used to make byproducts– Bark of the tree can be used for making corkboards, Sawdust can be used to make lightweight fiberboards and smaller branches can be used to make smaller elements for joints, furniture, etc.

• Processing & mass production:

Mass production strategy with the innovatively growing technologies like glulam and CLT have allowed maximum utilization of raw extracted products with minimum amount of waste. Standard sizes of elements like plywood, lumber posts, CLT panels, glulam beams etc. can be produced to cater to the need of the construction sector along with the byproducts from the waste. In this phase, reclaimed materials from demolition sites can also be reprocessed for reuse.

• Construction process:

The construction phase can ideally become a complete zero waste process if the design strategies match with the mass-produced standards of all building elements. Proper coordination of dimension with modular materials can reduce cuts and wastes. Mechanical fixings that allow easy deconstruction should be used.

• Dismantle & degrade

The concept of Urban mining: utilizing the waste generated on dismantling sites for construction of new buildings in an interesting approach of maintaining circularity and optimum utilization of the material. The dismantled elements can either be reprocessed or used as they are for new construction. After multiple reuses, after its lifecycle ends, it can be used as a biofuel or put in a landfill to give back to the nature.

In conclusion, no waste construction can ideally be achieved by a collaboration of all the stakeholders in different stages of construction. Smart design strategies, optimum use of materials focusing on mass production and reuse of the waste to make byproducts can be used to eliminate the construction waste.

LIFE CYCLE DESIGN

“Require cradle to cradle life cycle assessments for demonstrative building project with net zero or carbon positive results from raw or reused material and energy sourcing to end-of-life.”

Diagram made by Raffaele Schiavello

”Global building floor area is expected to double by 2060”. That means that we must radically change the way to design buildings, How materials are selected and How projects are designed. Achieving zero carbon new buildings today is not as complicated as it may once have seemed. The knowledge and technology are available in all climates, and the health, economic, and environmental benefits are well documented.

To Assess a building’s footprint in terms of energy use, resource use and CO2 contribution it’s fundamental identifying it according to its Life Cycle Stages:

A. MATERIAL PRODUCTION & CONSTRUCTION
This LCA’s stage (A1-A5) includes raw material extraction (cradle), transportation of these materials to the manufacturing location, manufacture of finished or intermediate materials, building product fabrication, and distribution of building products to the project site. It accounts for activities relating to the use of power tools and equipment during construction on-site fabrication, and energy used for site work. Building with reuse structures could represent a fundamental reduction of the main contributor of CO2 emissions.

B. USE & MAINTENANCE
This stage (B1-B7) refers to the building operation or uses phase, which includes energy consumption, water use, and environmental waste generation. The transport and equipment used for the repair and replacement of building assemblies and systems are also considered in this stage. The major contributor to CO2 emissions comes from energy usage (tenant energy use). Quantifying, assessing and understanding the percentage of energy usage to the site
depending on non-renewable energy sources instead of renewable energy sources could reduce emissions exponentially.

C-D. END OF LIFE & BEYOND
These stages (C1-C4 & D) include energy consumed and environmental waste produced due to building demolition and disposal of materials to landfills (grave). It’s counted in this stage also the transport of waste building material. The design of building materials to be considered aligned with the perspective of recovering, recycling and reusing (circular economy) in terms of demolition waste, at the end of life, needs to follow the design of systems and components during its systems life cycle that requires the ability like flexibility, adaptability, modifiability, scalability, and robustness.

DESIGN FOR DURABILITY, DISASSEMBLY, and REUSE

“Require all new buildings seeking regulatory approvals to demonstrate a minimum 75-year lifespan, end-of-life disassembly methods, and scenarios for system, component, and material reuse and recycling. Require building product manufacturers to support end-of-waste objectives through product recovery and reuse programs.”

To create a structure capable of durability, disassembly and reuse, thought to these factors must be considered in Stage 1 Design. To conclude the design stage, one must first ensure that the design demonstrates to achieve a minimum 75-year lifespan if this criterion is fulfilled, the design can move to the next stage else, it must go back to the drawing board. Second, the design must demonstrate to have an end-of-life disassembly method, if the design fulfils this criterion, it can progress into the final stage of the design, or else it goes back to the drawing board. Lastly, if all the earlier criteria are met the design proposals can proceed to receive the final regulatory approvals. 

Following the completion of the design stage, the structure moves into the next stage of its life span. Stage 2 Construction, at this stage it is of utmost importance to ensure that the building is built to the standards of the design to ensure that all the criteria are met. Additionally, construction plays a vital role in the building’s life as it governs the quality of construction and hence the durability and the ability to disassemble at a later stage. 

Stage 3 is Maintenance and Durability this stage looks into whether the building is well maintained and whether all necessary repairs are being carried out timely to ensure the health of the building and the safety of its residents. This stage plays the biggest role in ensuring that the building is able to achieve the minimum of a 75-year lifespan. 

Lastly, when the building is no longer habitable it reaches Stage 4, Disassembly. At this stage, all the thought put in during design and construction comes to fruition. The disassembly needs to happen carefully to make certain that all members and parts that will be reused are handled carefully. The various materials should be categorised into their respective piles allowing for easy reuse and recycling. Following this stage, the materials can be reintroduced back into the cycle through the creation of a new design. 

This allows for materials to meet their fullest potential throughout the life of the building, reducing waste and allowing for this matter to continue being a part of the cycle without any additional impact on the environment to produce new raw materials. 

CARBON BANKING

“Promote whole life cycle decarbonization strategies that favor construction based carbon storage through biogenic material substitutions across the building assembly to include primary structure, interior partitioning, finishing and fixtures, insulation and cladding systems. Create scenarios for the transfer of those bio-material storages into second building or similarly durable product lifecycles.”

The 13th pointer of the Barcelona Protocol “Carbon Banking” highlights prospective strategies for Carbon Positive Construction of New Buildings and Infrastructure of the city through Whole Life Cycle Processes. This call of action primarily suggests a bottom-up approach to reduce embodied emissions and relies on improvisation in Bio-Based Material Technologies and Carbon Storage capabilities of matter.

It proposes decarbonizing built environment through biogenic material substitutions at different phases of the building assembly (Primary Structure, Interior Partitioning, Finishes, Fixtures, Insulation and Cladding Systems) enabling the components to become ‘Carbon Storage Units’ themselves and keep out the atmospheric carbon.

These Carbon Storage Units of the building would become a part of the Regenerative Ecosystem of Buildings of having repeated usage cycles of energy; components recycled or downcycled into either secondary buildings or alternative durable product life cycles (Biofuel, Urban Infrastructure elements such as Paver Blocks,etc). This system of ‘crediting’ energy to temporarily built structures and re-using energy through the proposed carbon storage units would allow maintanence of energy traceability in the system.

OPEN SPACES and BIODIVERSITY:

CITY AS A FOREST

“Infiltrate the city with nature. Identify former brownfield sites and decommissioned infrastructural corridors to incorporate and promote urban photosynthesis of large plant biomass for carbon storage and oxygen generation, shading, vapor transpiration, and cooling.”

Cities all across the world are addressing the environmental imperatives such as climate change with a diverse range of initiatives such as ecologically inspired design, water re-engineering, habitat restoration, and urban reafforestation. Although,  Cities and forests are frequently perceived as distinct entities, but the truth is that they are inextricably intertwined, and co-dependent. On the surface, cities appear to be self-sufficient, but a significant portion of their resources such as energy, wind, water supply, rainfall, wood etc. derived directly from adjacent forests. The city of the future should coexist with forests, with trees planted primarily in urban areas and dense forest cover surrounding them.

The Key Features of a City as a forest:

A. URBAN PHOTOSYNTHESIS- Climate change is mostly driven by unrestrained CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which is the very component that trees absorb in order to generate more oxygen.   Global reforestation and present forest cover conservation are the only immediate and feasible options to reduce CO2 emissions and slow the effects of climate change.

B. URBAN FORESTS –  The selection of the best adapted plants and trees to the severe conditions of the city may lead to the selection of non-native or even non-natural species or variations, which can supply as many ecosystem services as native vegetation. Due to human-driven inputs of water and nutrients, as well as the replacement of natural predators with domestic or feral ones, we must be realistic and settle for relatively simplified ecosystems with defined operating criteria. These ecosystems are frequently dominated by generalist species with a wide geographical distribution, including numerous non-native species that have proven critical in the maintenance of many trophic networks. This is referred to as biotic homogeneity, a process that is particularly connected with metropolitan areas, similar to that which occurs in the sociocultural domain.Thus, there is a need to introduce bio-diversity in the urban areas also.

C. REGENERATION OF LAND – Reusing the underused and neglected land which may previously have been developed for commercial or industrial usage and reassigning it for public spaces, parks etc.Example : creating a Nature Park on a Brownfield Site with all possible precautions, in doing so the land which had no use , is revitalized and brought to new life.

D. ACTIVATING PUBLIC SPACE – Trees can invariably bring down temperatures in urban areas, especially in summers. By offsetting the CO2 content in the air, tree covers reduce the ‘greenhouse effect’ and bring in cooling winds that bring down temperatures. Urban vegetation absorbs gases in the air. This improves air quality and improves the respiratory health of inhabitants.

To summarize, Urban Forests are becoming a great test-bed for adapting urban life patterns to today’s environmental concerns at a time when environmental science and management are experiencing unprecedented democratization. However, we should be less dogmatic than usual and take advantage of its special nature while attempting to restore and sustain local biodiversity and ecological function to the greatest extent possible.

TALKING TREES

“Establish a continuously updated inventory of urban tree, forest, and green spaces, making use of innovative digital and IoT technologies, to implement effective long-term monitoring and planning for planting, managing, and protecting city trees.”

The 11th point of the protocol suggests creating a digital twin of trees and forests in urban areas to create an online inventory for the long-term management of trees. Using remote sensing, panoramic imagery, and artificial intelligence, it is possible to extract relevant structural, ecological, and economic information about trees and store it in an up-to-date inventory of the urban forest. Panoramic images and hyperspectral images are collected through high-resolution cameras, mobile laser scanning (MLS), terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and airborne laser scanning (ALS). 

After gathering data about each tree in an urban forest, it is possible to quantify their local impact and provide insights into their ecological and economic value. We can learn about the tree’s health, growth, and distribution through regular inventory updates. This way we can monitor and enhance the economic, social, and environmental benefits of your urban forest. For example, the economic value of a tree can be calculated in terms of the amount of carbon sequestration the tree provides. This technology is being used to determine the amount of carbon storage in forest ecosystems.

The online inventory can be used to design a tree management plan to decide budgeting for tree maintenance. The trees can be strategically planned to reduce heat islands, air pollution and stormwater runoffs. It would also be possible to avoid accidents from tree branches falling during storms and limit other such surprises by analyzing the structure of the tree. This step would be a significant endeavor toward building resilient urban ecosystems.

BIO-SUBSTITUTIONS for CONVIVIAL URBAN MOBILITY

“Replace impervious surface areas devoted to the use of automobiles with permeable surfaces and biologically productive soils and living plant biomass to reduce heat island effects, increase storm water filtration, and create inhabitable, walkable spaces and wildlife corridors.”

Through transforming city´s impervious surface areas for automobile use into permeable walkable surfaces; cities and citizens can benefit and improve their quality of living.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

“At both the zoning and building design scale, create frameworks and recommendations for the optimization of natural systems of energy generation, passive heating, cooling, and ventilation by maximizing the opportunities of building and district context (winds, solar orientation, etc.)”

As an integral part of the ecosystem, humans have always had an impact. Certainly taking advantage of the many benefits that ecosystems provide, as well as affecting the ecosystem negatively. In terms of energy generation, the status quo has been one of extraction and exploitation, relying heavily on fossil fuels. A more fruitful approach would be to rely on more regenerative systems of energy generation such as solar, wind, and biomass. Implementation of these forms of energy generation must be highly contextual, only implementing them in regions and in ways that optimize their benefits according to the conditions of a specific region and site. In addition to utilizing these regenerative forms of energy generation, synergies may be found by utilizing passive cooling measures at a zoning scale. For example, by maximizing the area of trees via naturally occurring forests or through parks, a cooling effect will be realized and in turn reduce the demand of energy needed to cool buildings in the summer. Another passive cooling method may be to plan urban areas to maximize the benefit of prevailing summer winds by having corridors that the wind may travel through and be dispersed throughout the urban area.

At a building design level, similar energy generation methods may be utilized, although solar power is the most practical in most applications. Passive design considerations must become the standard for all building projects. By orienting a building to optimize the benefits of wind for cooling in the summer, for the sun to provide heat in the winter, and for the sun to be blocked from the interior in the summer, significant energy savings will be obtained. 

In order for passive design and regenerative systems of energy generation to become more prevalent, policy makers must incentivize developers to execute these types of projects. The incentives from policy makers will bleed down the development and construction chain and in turn create a greater demand on architects and designers to implement passive design strategies and regenerative energy generation systems into their designs. Additionally, if a larger number of architects and designers push their clients to implement these strategies, pressure will build in the direction of making passive design and regenerative energy generation the standard of practice.

ENRICHING BIODIVERSITY

“Promote the eco-systemically rich and sustainable distribution of tree and other plant species within urban and peri-urban areas of the city as habitat and green infrastructure, reserving an ample representation of native flora capable of adaptation to changes in local climate and environmental conditions.”

Planting native trees and plants capable of adjusting to a changing climate is a simple and effective way to increase biodiversity in urban and peri-urban areas. Native species are adapted to the local environment and ecosystem and can provide food and habitat for a wide range of wildlife, including pollinators like bees, butterflies, and Birds.

One way to maximize the benefits of native plantings is to create corridors of green space that connect parks, greenbelts, and other natural areas. These corridors can provide critical habitats for wildlife and help to sustain populations of native species by allowing them to move freely between different locations.

In addition to providing habitat for wildlife, native plantings can also have many other benefits for cities. They can improve air quality and reduce stormwater runoff. Native plants are adapted to the local climate; they are often more resistant to pests and diseases, which can save money on maintenance costs.

Overall, planting native trees and plants is a simple and effective way to increase biodiversity and improve the environmental health of urban and peri-urban areas.

BIOREGIONS:

CARBON SINK RESTORATION

“Develop regional land use strategies and forest and agricultural management plans to increase by at least 30% Carbon sequestration capacity across working farm and forest lands, forest and wetland preserves that surround the city.”

A Carbon sink is a storage house that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. – Forests, oceans, and soil deposits can all be considered carbon sinks when they meet such criteria. (“What is a carbon sink? | Client Earth”). The term coincides with a process known as “carbon sequestration,” in which man-made or organic deposits store carbon for extended periods of time, depending on the circumstances. Forests play a crucial role in carbon sequestration by capturing carbon from the atmosphere and transforming it into biomass through photosynthesis . The antithesis (or opposite or contrast) to this process would be the combustion of fossil fuels or volcanic activity, which releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs. Similarly, a forest can also become a net emitter of carbon due to natural processes like respiration and oxidation as well as deliberate or unintended results of human activities (i.e., harvesting, fires, deforestation).

Today, the carbon emissions in a city arise mainly from fossil fuel combustion in power generation, industrial, residential, and transformational sectors. The increase in carbon emissions negatively affects the ecosystem. Hence, it is important to create more carbon sinks that would improve carbon sequestration in cities. All natural processes that accumulate and store carbon in the form of biomass, deadwood or soil are considered carbon sequestering practices. Reforestation, blue carbon initiatives (such as the restoration of mangroves and seagrasses), wetland restoration, and regenerative agriculture to increase soil organic carbon content are few examples of carbon sequestration.

The Barcelona Protocol aims to increase carbon sequestration capacity of cities by at least 30%. They plan to do so by planting more trees, increasing agricultural land, protecting wetland areas, and rewilding (Bauhaus Earth, IAAC, EFI, Barcelona City Council, 2022). The diagram highlights a 30% incremental growth in the carbon sink. The plan would target pivotal factors such as wetlands, rewilding , forests, and farmlands which will help the local, demi-regional, and regional bioregions by creating more carbon storage houses. “Step by step increases in the amount of carbon sequestration both locally and globally will create beneficial outcomes in the long run by reducing carbon emissions and combating the current climate crisis.”

References

Bauhaus Earth, IAAC, EFI, Barcelona City Council. (2022, Oct 4th). Barcelona Protocol. European Action Plan for the CITY and the EARTH, 01.

NATURAL ECOSYSTEM ACCESS

“Advance closer-to-nature management strategies for at least 50% of the forest area in the region to ensure biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health benefits across society, using innovative technologies for monitoring and planning of forest ecosystem resources that promote and sustainably generate wood building products for application in dense urban construction.”

Advance closer-to-nature management strategies aids  biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health benefits across society by using  technologies for monitoring and planning of forest ecosystem resources to promote and generate wood building products for application in the city.

Advanced closer to nature management strategies include:

1. Selecting a region of the forest.
2. Assemble existing knowledge about the forest and its entire ecosystem with the help of cameras, sensors, drones.
3. Developing a long term vision.
4. Implementing these strategies using technologies
5. Identify silvicultural methods that would benefit the forest biodiversity and health while continuing to provide sustainable timber supplies.
6. Monitoring the growth and effects on the forest for future use and surveying the health keeping indicators like climate change and rain into consideration.
7. Reviewing progress by reviewing the management plan at regular intervals
8. Using the monitored information for guidance and adjust the management plan and silvicultural measures as appropriate.

In order to successfully implement these strategies technology plays a very important role. It helps us to understand the needs and weaknesses of the forest so that we can take steps to plan the forest resources well. 

Trees are studied and judged using four parameters:

a.Location-Accessibility from the roads(should not be farther than more than 10 meters )

b.Orientation-Clear fall path so it does not harm other trees when felled.

c.Value- The dimensions for extractable timber

d. Ecology-Checking the species and the size of the canopy in order to prevent total light or dark spots after the tree is felled.

Cameras, drones, sensors should be used for analyzing and monitoring the forest.

Once the trees are studied and marked, They can be felled using a chainsaw.Traceability is  equally important as analyzing the forest. This is done so that the wood products can be traced back to the tree of their origin.

The logs are then carried to the saw mill using a tractor. The saw mill produces the lumbars which can be further processed before being used on site according to the requirements of size.

These wood products can then be transported to site using a crane for further use. This system helps in maintaining the forest and its ecosystem and in return wood products are made accessible to the city. This promotes promotion and generation of wood construction along with biodiversity conservation and improves the ecosystem health.

NATURAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT

“Develop industrial infrastructure through regulation and incentives based on LCA carbon targets that encourage the use of wood sourced from regional forests. Close the virtuous supply cycle that prioritizes the restoration and expansion of bioregional forests, utilizes agricultural by-products, and builds the biomaterial value chain to help form the carbon-positive city.”

Under the Barcelona Protocol, countries are encouraged to invest in natural capital, such as forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems, to protect their environment and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. According to this Protocol, we must ensure that the material, means, and methods used to build and manage our cities are sourced from regionally available and sustainably managed biological resources. This will help to transform our urban settlements from contributors to climate change to catalysts of eco-systemic healing. Natural capital investment should be encouraged through regulation and incentives based on LCA carbon targets that use wood sourced from regional forests.

Wood can be a great natural capital investment because it is a renewable resource. It has many uses, from building materials and fuel to paper production and furniture. It also has many environmental benefits, such as storing carbon and providing habitat for wildlife. Investing in wood can help maintain and restore forests, which can improve air and water quality, reduce soil erosion, and protect biodiversity. Additionally, investing in wood can help create jobs in the forestry sector and provide economic opportunities for rural and remote communities.

To develop industrial infrastructure through regulation and incentives based on Life Cycle Assessment carbon targets that encourage the use of wood sourced from regional forests, governments should incentivize the production and use of wood, such as through tax credits, subsidies, or other forms of financial assistance.

We should also encourage the conservation and restoration of regional forests, for example, by providing grants for sustainable forest management. Additionally, we should invest in research and development to develop innovative wood-based products and technologies, such as bio-based building materials, renewable energy from wood, and biomass-based chemicals.

Finally, we should ensure that the production and use of wood are regulated and monitored to ensure responsible practices and prevent deforestation. This virtuous cycle will prioritize the expansion and restoration of bioregional forests, use agricultural by-products and build the biomaterial value chain to form a carbon-positive city.

CROSS-CUTTING ACTIONS:

CREATIVE GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

“Form inter-departmental management teams to coordinate public spending on actions and launch experimental trans-sectoral pilot projects to form feedback loops, gather data, and promote effective and durable examples of climate positive action.”

The current industrial building standard is as an unstoppable avalanching snowball. Beyond our personal will to act and have a positive impact on today’s climate crisis, one of the most effective approaches is to change laws and regulations that function as climate change mitigators. Thus, policy that supports and encourages funding for collaborative, interdisciplinary work between public sectors is an effective way to create durable examples of climate positive action and initiatives. These may be local departments of education, urban planning, public transportation, waste management, culture, health, etc. that work together as autonomous bodies, foundations, associations and public business entities.

Creative governance implies these innovative approaches to managing and funding projects, programs and organizations. An example comes from political economist Elinor Ostrom who coined the term “polycentric governance”, which as it suggests, emphasizes a decentralized government and supports local management of common resources. Other alternatives are found in green economy, circular economy and what Kate Raworth coined as doughnut economy; in essence, these models are aware of the earth’s limited resources and suggest a deviation from abusive capitalism in order to alleviate and balance our current climate crisis. Fomenting partnerships and collaborations by using creative finance not only supports effective and efficient problem-solving but also nourishes the acceptance and celebration of diversity that eventually echoes out of the work environment and into the broader respect and protection of all species and environments.

EXPERIMENTATION

“Support technical and social innovation and learning through fast permit processes and exemptions from planning rules to promote nature-based approaches.”

CARBON POSITIVE KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AND EXCHANGE

“Promote and expand interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing among all stakeholders and peers. Ensure access to professional education and/ or workforce and post-professional skills programs that highlight the value and mainstream the use of biogenic material assemblies and circular economic construction, repair, and deconstruction/reuse techniques, and carbon impact assessment tools.”

Creating a cycle of knowledge is an essential part of the Barcelona Protocol. Interdisciplinary approaches in the workspace are becoming more popular in all industries today.Interdisciplinary collaboration refers to the practice of bringing together people from different fields or disciplines to work together on a common project or goal. In order to fully realize the potential of biogenic material assemblies and circular economic construction, repair, and deconstruction/reuse techniques, it is important to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among all stakeholders and peers. By bringing together experts from a variety of fields, we can foster a more comprehensive understanding of these technologies and how they can be effectively implemented. To facilitate this collaboration, it is crucial to provide access to professional education and/or workforce and post-professional skills programs that emphasize the value of these techniques and help to mainstream their use. Additionally, tools for carbon impact assessment can be used to measure the environmental benefits of using biogenic materials and circular economic approaches, further promoting their adoption. By promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing, and providing access to education and skills training, we can help to drive the use of biogenic material assemblies and circular economic techniques in the construction industry.

ACTIVE AND INFORMED GREEN COMMUNITIES

“Implement life-long learning programs to diffuse awareness about benefits of urban forests and their risk management. Establish a Municipal Tree Board that ensures the ongoing care of trees, forests, wetlands, and other green spaces within municipal boundaries by encouraging public-private partnerships.”

The 24th call to action of the Barcelona Protocol encourages Municipalities and City governments to strive towards creating active and informed green communites. In order to achieve this goal, the protocol suggests for the Municipalities to establish a body of knowledge about their green spaces, such as urban forests, wetlands and individual city trees. Furthermore, the protocol stresses the importance of making the collected knowledge easily accessible to citizens of all ages through life-long learning programs. In this way awareness abouts benefits and risk management of the green spaces would be spread throughout the community and citizens would be encouraged to discover and care for them on an ongoing basis.

As the main body in this process the protocol suggests to establish a Municipal Tree Board which serves as an interface between the human and non-human actors. On the one hand it would map trees and collect data on all the green spaces within the municipality and on the other hand kick off Public-Private-Partnerships with companies in order to involve the private sector in the care for these spaces.

A digital platform could help in the collective and constant updating of the data about the green spaces by both the municipality and the citizens. Besides, it could make the data visible to and easily accessible for the community. A similar platform was started by an initiative supported by the City of Berlin called Gieß den Kiez (translated loosely to Water the Neighbourhood) which maps all the trees in the city and offers citizens to participate in discovering, caring and connecting with fellow citizens to coordinate their actions through the platform.