earticle

한국어

Urban greenspaces could help reduce significantly the level of atmospheric carbon, a major agent of climate change. They directly sequester atmospheric carbon in the process of photosynthesis and also decrease carbon emissions through savings of building cooling and heating energy. Urban ecosystems include different types of greenspaces such as gardens, parks, streets, riparian corridors, and suburban zones. This presentation suggests desirable design strategies to enhance effects of carbon reduction by urban greenspace type. In Korean cities, residential, commercial and institutional lands, in which hardscapes are dominant, have small or no gardens and poor tree planting. Urban parks have a great potential for carbon reduction through tree planting in cities with limited area for greenspaces. However, they are represented by large grass and impervious areas, single-layered structures of planting, and dominance of a small tree population. Street greenspaces limit carbon sequestration due to planting of inappropriate tree species, poor conditions for root growth, and severe pruning. This study explored design strategies of urban greenspaces to improve these limitations and create low-carbon ecosystems. They included a proper layout of landscape trees around buildings in gardens to maximize building energy savings through shading, evapotranspiration, and cold wind reduction. Decrease of unnecessary grass areas and multilayered ecological planting with larger trees were recommended as a desirable park design. The design strategies also included planting of tree species fit for a growth space and creation of multilayered greenways in streets, and nature-friendly development in suburban zones to reduce carbon emissions from the damage of existing trees and soils and uses of heavy equipments.