In the context of heightened climate variability, thinking about ways to redesign our urban areas with more sustainable infrastructure solutions is becoming more and more important. Green infrastructure (GI) is emerging as an alternative approach to traditional (‘grey’) infrastructure in urban planning and development. Its emergence can be understood in terms of the growing demand for infrastructure and services, increased concerns over natural resource constraints and climate change, and the negative impacts associated with traditional approaches to designing and building cities. It has been proposed that GI can provide the same services as traditional infrastructure at a similar capital cost, while also providing a range of additional benefits. However, despite the increasing examples of successful urban GI applications, traditional infrastructure continues to dominate due to the lack of systematic evidence to support GI implementation. As a result, there has been an increase in calls from policy- and decision-makers for a greater evidence base on the benefits of GI, as well as for practical guidelines on its implementation. ‘Towards applying a green infrastructure approach in the Gauteng City-Region’ is the GCRO’s third report in its ongoing research into 'Green assets and infrastructure'. The first two reports in this project series were more theoretically grounded and policy-oriented, whereas this third report is more practical in nature. The first report explored the basic principles around GI, assessed the extent of ecological features in Gauteng and the way governments in the province think about planning and maintenance of green assets. The second report responded to some of the challenges identified in the first report, and in particular the importance of government officials and practitioners in exploring how international green infrastructure plans could be applied in the Gauteng context. This third report builds on the findings of the aforementioned reports and the project’s CityLab series, which highlighted the need to build an evidence base as critical for garnering support for and as well as enhancing investment in the GI approach. Unlike the more theoretically grounded earlier reports, this report comprises four technical sections and practical reflections on how a GI approach could be incorporated into urban planning in the GCR and in other similar urban contexts.

As the population, economy and urban built environment in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) expand, government is increasingly under pressure to provide urban infrastructure to support growth. It is increasingly important that this infrastructure is sustainable, minimising the negative environmental impacts often associated with traditional forms of urban development. Green Infrastructure (GI) is the interconnected set of natural and man-made ecological systems, green spaces and other landscape features that provide services and strategic functions in the same way as traditional infrastructure. In harnessing the benefits of ecosystem services, GI has emerged as a more efficient, cost effective and sustainable alternative – and sometimes accompanying approach – to conventional forms of infrastructure. Despite international evidence demonstrating how GI can be used as an alternative to, or in tandem with, traditional infrastructure, the GI approach has so far gained only limited traction in the GCR. In 2013 the GCRO published the State of Green Infrastructure in the GCR report. The report established the principles that underpin GI, used available data to map the extent of GI networks in the region, assessed to what extent municipalities were aware of and applying a GI approach, and demonstrated a possible way to value GI in local government financial systems. The conclusions of the State of Green Infrastructure report were used to guide the next phase of GCRO’s research in support of the adoption of GI approach – a phase focused on better understanding the opportunities for implementing GI in planning and infrastructure development programmes and on addressing some of the challenges associated with shifts towards this approach. A framework for a green infrastructure planning approach in the Gauteng City-Region, GCRO’s fourth Research Report, builds on the foundations laid in the State of Green Infrastructure report. It assembles expert inputs and reflections from collaborative stakeholder discussions in what was known as the Green Infrastructure CityLab to illustrate important considerations for the development of a GI planning approach in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR). The report is divided into three broad sections. Part A introduces the theoretical underpinnings of a GI approach and builds an argument for the importance of incorporating GI into planning and infrastructure development in the GCR. Part B presents three pieces written by external experts. They consider how GI and ecosystem services can be valued by municipalities, and how so-called ‘grey-green’ infrastructure design solutions can be implemented in the GCR. Part C reflects on the stakeholder engagement process that has been undertaken, primarily through the GI CityLab, to deepen understanding of how GI can be embedded in municipal practice. Based on these research findings, this report concludes with a strategy for GCRO’s next phase of work in its ongoing Green Assets and Infrastructure Project.

The aim of this occasional paper is to gain a better understanding of urban agriculture within the green infrastructure network in the City of Johannesburg and to identify the range of ecosystem services that could be delivered when maintaining and investing in these assets. The analysis in this paper adopts a multi-method approach to (1) identify the interlinkages between urban agriculture and social, economic and environmental systems in the City of Johannesburg; (2) validate these critical interlinkages with stakeholder input and ground-level experience of urban agriculture; and (3) visualise these interlinkages through a spatial analysis of food gardens in the City of Johannesburg.

Containing papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, this volume includes latest research providing solutions that lead towards sustainability. The series maintains its strong reputation and contributions have been made from a diverse range of delegates, resulting in a variety of topics and experiences.

In this book, there is a call on built environment professionals to reflect on the role of narrative in shaping space, influencing people and making decisions about technology. It is argued that by changing the narrative and methods of representations, new imaginaries can be generated and the scope of what is possible is significantly broadened. Contextualized narratives, vocabularies and metaphors can evoke new thinking and new practice. This book looks for examples where professionals and communities have jointly worked together from the precinct to the site level. The authors are especially inspired by the ideas of 'tinkering', 'muddling through', 'engaging with the mess' and 'gnarly planning', concepts that encourage experimentation and engagement with real-life contexts, learning through doing, policy change through evolutionary processes and a hands-on approach. This book aims to elevate our understanding of the concepts of people-centred participation and co-production/co-creation by shifting the debate from the esoteric to the applied and contextual. We believe that practice can only be transformed by transforming thinking. Through the development of our own philosophies, emerging from and rooted in context, we may shift thinking and practice towards people, community and care.

Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa comprehensively explores the challenges and potential solutions to key conservation issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Easy to read, this lucid and accessible textbook includes fifteen chapters that cover a full range of conservation topics, including threats to biodiversity, environmental laws, and protected areas management, as well as related topics such as sustainability, poverty, and human-wildlife conflict. This rich resource also includes a background discussion of what conservation biology is, a wide range of theoretical approaches to the subject, and concrete examples of conservation practice in specific African contexts. Strategies are outlined to protect biodiversity whilst promoting economic development in the region. Boxes covering specific themes written by scientists who live and work throughout the region are included in each chapter, together with recommended readings and suggested discussion topics. Each chapter also includes an extensive bibliography. Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa provides the most up-to-date study in the field. It is an essential resource, available on-line without charge, for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a handy guide for professionals working to stop the rapid loss of biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

Against the backdrop of South Africa’s achievements since the fall of apartheid, this Review evaluates measures to position economic development policy and to confront economic inequality in the Johannesburg/Pretoria region.