IMECOGIP: Implementation of the Concept of Ecosystem Services in the Planning of Green Infrastructure to Strengthen the Resilience of the Metropolis Ruhr and Shanghai
IMECOGIP combines professional expertise, cutting-edge international research, and practical expert knowledge to develop sustainable green infrastructure planning in metropolitan areas. It has developed the EnhancES digital toolbox for evaluating ecosystem services in urban landscapes.
Ideally, green spaces are connected throughout the city and link open areas. In planning and scientific contexts, all biologically active areas and bodies of water are considered ecosystems. Examples include parks, green residential and industrial areas, avenues, forests, nature reserves, meadows and agricultural areas. These ecosystems provide services that benefit human health and wellbeing.
But what benefits do green and open spaces in cities provide in terms of climate adaptation, water management, reducing pollutants, education and recreation? How effective are they for people and for preserving biodiversity? Where is room for improvement, and where are opportunities for optimization? What are the (dis)advantages of different planning options?
These questions are addressed by the IMECOGIP project, which is part of the BMFTR funding initiative SURE ('Sustainable Development of Urban Regions'). During the research and development phase (2021–2025), the IMECOGIP project team developed the EnhancES digital toolbox. The aim is to take greater quantitative account of ecosystem services in the planning of 'green infrastructure'. IMECOGIP brings together scientists with expertise in various disciplines and fields of research, including biogeography, geomatics, governance, landscape architecture, urban ecology and urban sociology. The project systematically addressed shortcomings in the recording and integrated assessment of individual ecosystem services. EnhancES was developed in close collaboration with experts from science, business, and administration in the pilot areas of Shanghai and the Ruhr metropolitan area. This continuous exchange ensured that knowledge and methods were transferred into planning practice while taking into account the climatic, social and planning culture conditions of both countries.
The conceptual basis for assessing ecosystem services in EnhancES is the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES), developed by the European Environment Agency. EnhancES is an open, GIS-based software package. It uses existing geodata maps as the basis for spatially differentiated assessments of individual ecosystem services. During the two-year implementation phase, the focus is on practical application and knowledge transfer. This is supplemented by training courses and the establishment of an application community.
Project lead:
Prof. Dr. Harald Zepp
Ruhr-Universität Bochum - Fakultät für Geographie und Geowissenschaften
Geographisches Institut (Raum IA 6/113)
44780 Bochum
Phone: +49 234 32 23313
E-Mail: harald.zepp@rub.de
Project partner:
Ralf Zimmer-Hegmann
ILS - Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung gGmbH
Brüderweg 22–24
44135 Dortmund
Phone: +49 231 9051 100
E-Mail: ralf.zimmer-hegmann@ils-forschung.de
Further project partners:
- Chinese-German Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CDZNS) at Tongji University, Shanghai
- Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute Co. Ltd. (TJUPDI)
- Qingdao Surveying and Mapping Institute (QSMI), Shandong, China
- Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR)
- City of Bochum
- City of Gelsenkirchen
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