Urban regreeneration: Green urban infrastructure as a response to climate change mitigation and adaptation

This research focuses on how green urban infrastructure contributes to adapt and mitigate climate change consequences. It analyses the benefits derived from an overall green urban regeneration, including green roofs, green façades and sustainable urban drainage. This would contribute to both climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions, including the following: reduction in cooling and heating demand; bio-retention of stormwater and consequently ameliorating risks of floods; reducing hot spots which create urban heat island and improving urban health. This paper first categorizes green urban infrastructure solutions. It analyses a series of case studies conducted in Germany, Spain, Canada and the USA; in order to identify the contribution to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It develops a set of measurable figures which define the contribution of an overall green urban solution intervention. It applies this assessment specifically to an urban space of Amurrio (Araba, Spain) and to an existing building of Balmaseda (Bizkaia, Spain). It finally analyses evaluation tools for governments and planning institutions to improve planning strategies and policy developments. The paper presents the results, concluding that climate change mitigation and adaptation green urban solutions are mainly achieved when applied in the larger scale of a whole city. © 2020 WITPress. All rights reserved.