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Maibritt Pedersen Zari is the Deputy Head of School at the School of Architecture. Her research seeks to redefine sustainable architecture and urban design through mimicking ecosystems, changing the goals from sustainable to regenerative development, and integrating complex social factors into sustainable architectural design. Her current research explores how understanding ecosystem services can be used to define tangible ecology-based metrics for sustainability assessment or design goals in the urban built environment with particular regard to how climate change and continued loss of global biodiversity will affect architecture and communities. Her expertise includes biomimicry and architecture, biophilic design, ecosystem services in cities, ecosystem-based adaptation, nature-based solutions, urban climate change adaptation in the Pacific, regenerative design and urban biodiversity.
Academic research has long established that interaction with the natural environment is associated with better overall health outcomes. Notably, the area of therapeutic environments has been borne out of the recognition of this critical relationship, but much of this research comes from a specific Western perspective. In Aotearoa-New Zealand, Māori (the Indigenous people of the land) have long demonstrated significantly worse health outcomes than non-Māori. Little research has examined the causes compared to Western populations and the role of the natural environment in health outcomes for Māori. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between Māori culture, landscape and the connection to health and well-being. Eighteen Māori pāhake (older adults) and kaumātua (elders) took part in semi-structured interviews carried out as focus groups, from June to November 2020. Transcribed interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and kaupapa Māori techniques. We found five overarching and interrelated key themes related to Indigenous knowledge (Mātauranga Māori) that sit within the realm of therapeutic environments, culture and landscape. A conceptual framework for Therapeutic Cultural Environments (TCE) is proposed in terms of the contribution to our understanding of health and well-being and its implications for conceptualising therapeutic environments and a culturally appropriate model of care for Māori communities.
Bruno Marques; Claire Freeman; Lyn Carter; Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Conceptualising Therapeutic Environments through Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Landscape for Health and Well-Being. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9125 .
AMA StyleBruno Marques, Claire Freeman, Lyn Carter, Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Conceptualising Therapeutic Environments through Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Landscape for Health and Well-Being. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9125.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBruno Marques; Claire Freeman; Lyn Carter; Maibritt Pedersen Zari. 2021. "Conceptualising Therapeutic Environments through Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Landscape for Health and Well-Being." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9125.
Adaptation to climate change in small island settlements poses unique issues of access, cost, governance and cultural, historical, and ecological preservation. There is a need therefore to focus research efforts on these small coastal settlements in order to assist and support their communities to develop and implement adaptation. This article is an initial attempt to evaluate and categorise these issues for island settlements, based on case studies and general perspectives on adaptation. Six island settlement case studies are used from around the world: Cocos Islands (Australian territory); Shishmaref, USA; Broad Channel, USA; Samsø, Denmark; Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain; and Port Vila, Vanuatu. This article describes and assesses impacts, adaptations, and capacity within each of the six case studies, and outlines the relationship of the Sustainable Development Goals system to small coastal settlements in general.
David C. Major; Paul Blaschke; Vivien Gornitz; Emily Hosek; Martin Lehmann; James Lewis; Heiko Loehr; Graham A. Major-Ex; Maibritt Pedersen Zari; María José Vásquez Vargas; Evan Watterson; Anja Wejs. Adaptation to climate change in small island settlements. Ocean & Coastal Management 2021, 212, 105789 .
AMA StyleDavid C. Major, Paul Blaschke, Vivien Gornitz, Emily Hosek, Martin Lehmann, James Lewis, Heiko Loehr, Graham A. Major-Ex, Maibritt Pedersen Zari, María José Vásquez Vargas, Evan Watterson, Anja Wejs. Adaptation to climate change in small island settlements. Ocean & Coastal Management. 2021; 212 ():105789.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDavid C. Major; Paul Blaschke; Vivien Gornitz; Emily Hosek; Martin Lehmann; James Lewis; Heiko Loehr; Graham A. Major-Ex; Maibritt Pedersen Zari; María José Vásquez Vargas; Evan Watterson; Anja Wejs. 2021. "Adaptation to climate change in small island settlements." Ocean & Coastal Management 212, no. : 105789.
Tools that spatially model ecosystem services offer opportunities to integrate ecology into regenerative urban design. However, few of these tools are designed for assessing ecosystem services in cities, meaning their application by designers is potentially limited. This research reviews and compares a range of ecosystem services assessment tools to find those that are most suited for the urban context of Oceania. The tool classification includes considerations of type of input and output data, time commitment, and necessary skills required. The strengths and limitations of the most relevant tools are further discussed alongside illustrative case studies, some collected from literature and one conducted as part of this research in Wellington, Aotearoa using the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) tool. A major finding of the research is that from the 95 tools reviewed, only four are judged to be potentially relevant for urban design projects. These are modelling tools that allow spatially explicit visualisation of biophysical quantification of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services assessed vary among tools and the outputs’ reliability is often highly influenced by the user’s technical expertise. The provided recommendations support urban designers and architects to choose the tool that best suits their regenerative design project requirements.
Fabian Delpy; Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Bethanna Jackson; Rubianca Benavidez; Thomas Westend. Ecosystem Services Assessment Tools for Regenerative Urban Design in Oceania. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2825 .
AMA StyleFabian Delpy, Maibritt Pedersen Zari, Bethanna Jackson, Rubianca Benavidez, Thomas Westend. Ecosystem Services Assessment Tools for Regenerative Urban Design in Oceania. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2825.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFabian Delpy; Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Bethanna Jackson; Rubianca Benavidez; Thomas Westend. 2021. "Ecosystem Services Assessment Tools for Regenerative Urban Design in Oceania." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2825.
By 2050, 68% of the world’s population will likely live in cities. Human settlements depend on resources, benefits, and services from ecosystems, but they also tend to deplete ecosystem health. To address this situation, a new urban design and planning approach is emerging. Based on regenerative design, ecosystem-level biomimicry, and ecosystem services theories, it proposes designing projects that reconnect urban space to natural ecosystems and regenerate whole socio-ecosystems, contributing to ecosystem health and ecosystem services production. In this paper, we review ecosystems as models for urban design and review recent research on ecosystem services production. We also examine two illustrative case studies using this approach: Lavasa Hill in India and Lloyd Crossing in the U.S.A. With increasing conceptualisation and application, we argue that the approach contributes positive impacts to socio-ecosystems and enables scale jumping of regenerative practices at the urban scale. However, ecosystem-level biomimicry practices in urban design to create regenerative impact still lack crucial integrated knowledge on ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services productions, making it less effective than potentially it could be. We identify crucial gaps in knowledge where further research is needed and pose further relevant research questions to make ecosystem-level biomimicry approaches aiming for regenerative impact more effective.
Eduardo Blanco; Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Kalina Raskin; Philippe Clergeau. Urban Ecosystem-Level Biomimicry and Regenerative Design: Linking Ecosystem Functioning and Urban Built Environments. Sustainability 2021, 13, 404 .
AMA StyleEduardo Blanco, Maibritt Pedersen Zari, Kalina Raskin, Philippe Clergeau. Urban Ecosystem-Level Biomimicry and Regenerative Design: Linking Ecosystem Functioning and Urban Built Environments. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (1):404.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEduardo Blanco; Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Kalina Raskin; Philippe Clergeau. 2021. "Urban Ecosystem-Level Biomimicry and Regenerative Design: Linking Ecosystem Functioning and Urban Built Environments." Sustainability 13, no. 1: 404.
Redesigning and retrofitting cities so they become complex systems that create ecological and cultural–societal health through the provision of ecosystem services is of critical importance. Although a handful of methodologies and frameworks for considering how to design urban environments so that they provide ecosystem services have been proposed, their use is not widespread. A key barrier to their development has been identified as a lack of ecological knowledge about relationships between ecosystem services, which is then translated into the field of spatial design. In response, this paper examines recently published data concerning synergetic and conflicting relationships between ecosystem services from the field of ecology and then synthesises, translates, and illustrates this information for an architectural and urban design context. The intention of the diagrams created in this research is to enable designers and policy makers to make better decisions about how to effectively increase the provision of various ecosystem services in urban areas without causing unanticipated degradation in others. The results indicate that although targets of ecosystem services can be both spatially and metrically quantifiable while working across different scales, their effectiveness can be increased if relationships between them are considered during design phases of project development.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Urban and Architectural Design: Illustrating and Leveraging Relationships between Ecosystem Services. Biomimetics 2020, 6, 2 .
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Urban and Architectural Design: Illustrating and Leveraging Relationships between Ecosystem Services. Biomimetics. 2020; 6 (1):2.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2020. "Biomimetic Urban and Architectural Design: Illustrating and Leveraging Relationships between Ecosystem Services." Biomimetics 6, no. 1: 2.
The connection the Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa-New Zealand, have to the land is threatened by the effects of colonisation, urbanisation and other factors. In particular, many Māori suffer significant health and wellbeing inequalities compared to the non-Māori population. In an effort to reduce such inequalities, there is a growing consciousness of the need to better understand the cultural and place-specific determinants that affect the health and wellbeing of population groups in different environments. This article explores how environmental and cultural connections to land enable the development of place-specific and culturally-driven principles that promote the health and wellbeing of Māori populations. It argues that concepts of place, belonging, landscape and wellbeing play an important role in linking environment and culture as well as in contributing to creating therapeutic spatial environments that promote both human health and ecosystems. A set of principles is developed that allows for the landscape design of such therapeutic environments while accommodating the socio-cultural and environmental values that promote health and wellbeing of both Māori and non-Māori people.
Bruno Marques; Claire Freeman; Lynette Carter; Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Sense of Place and Belonging in Developing Culturally Appropriate Therapeutic Environments: A Review. Societies 2020, 10, 83 .
AMA StyleBruno Marques, Claire Freeman, Lynette Carter, Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Sense of Place and Belonging in Developing Culturally Appropriate Therapeutic Environments: A Review. Societies. 2020; 10 (4):83.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBruno Marques; Claire Freeman; Lynette Carter; Maibritt Pedersen Zari. 2020. "Sense of Place and Belonging in Developing Culturally Appropriate Therapeutic Environments: A Review." Societies 10, no. 4: 83.
Under the umbrella of biologically informed disciplines, biomimicry is a design methodology that proponents often assert will lead to a more sustainable future. In realizing that future, it becomes necessary to discern specifically what biomimicry’s “promises” are in relation to sustainable futures, and what is required in order for them to be fulfilled. This paper presents research examining the webpages of the Biomimicry Global Network (BGN) to extract the claims and promises expressed by biomimicry practitioners. These promises are assessed using current literature to determine their presuppositions and requirements. Biomimicry’s promises are expressed in terms of potential for innovation, sustainability, and transformation and appear to depend on perceived relationships between humanity and nature; nature and technology; the underlying value judgements of practitioners. The findings emphasize that in order for the communicated promise of biomimicry to be realized, a particular ethos and respectful engagement with nature must accompany the technological endeavors of the practice.
Rebecca Barbara MacKinnon; Jeroen Oomen; Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Promises and Presuppositions of Biomimicry. Biomimetics 2020, 5, 33 .
AMA StyleRebecca Barbara MacKinnon, Jeroen Oomen, Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Promises and Presuppositions of Biomimicry. Biomimetics. 2020; 5 (3):33.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRebecca Barbara MacKinnon; Jeroen Oomen; Maibritt Pedersen Zari. 2020. "Promises and Presuppositions of Biomimicry." Biomimetics 5, no. 3: 33.
Built environment professionals must solve urgent and complex problems related to mitigating and adapting to climate change and biodiversity loss. Cities require redesign and retrofit so they can become complex systems that create rather than diminish ecological and societal health. One way to do this is to strategically design buildings and cities to generate and provide ecosystem services. This is an aspect of biomimicry, where whole ecosystems and their functions are emulated, in order to positively shift the ecological performance of buildings and urban settings. A small number of methodologies and frameworks for ecosystem services design have been proposed, but their use is not wide spread. A key barrier is the lack of translational work between ecology concepts and practical examples of ecosystem services design for a built environment context. In response, this paper presents research underpinning the creation of a qualitative relational diagram in an online interactive format that relates ecosystem services concepts to design strategies, concepts, technologies, and case studies in a format for use by built environment professionals. The paper concludes that buildings and whole cities should be expected to become active contributors to socio-ecological systems because, as the diagram shows, many strategies and technologies to enable this already exist.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Katharina Hecht. Biomimicry for Regenerative Built Environments: Mapping Design Strategies for Producing Ecosystem Services. Biomimetics 2020, 5, 18 .
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari, Katharina Hecht. Biomimicry for Regenerative Built Environments: Mapping Design Strategies for Producing Ecosystem Services. Biomimetics. 2020; 5 (2):18.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari; Katharina Hecht. 2020. "Biomimicry for Regenerative Built Environments: Mapping Design Strategies for Producing Ecosystem Services." Biomimetics 5, no. 2: 18.
Increasing evidence shows that creating and maintaining relationships with nature is important for human wellbeing. Humanity has become a mostly urbanised species where people typically spend most of their time indoors. It is important then that strategies for deliberately bringing aspects of nature into urban spaces are explored. Design that responds to an understanding of people’s innate connection to the living world can be termed biophilic design. This research defines a unique biophilic urbanism framework for analysing and mapping biophilic urban elements. Thirty characteristics of biophilic cities were identified and then used to map Wellington, New Zealand. Observations arising from the research include: 1/while access to wild nature might be an important characteristic of a biophilic city, planned design interventions are also significant; and 2/when identified biophilic elements form part of a larger interconnected spatial experience through time, positive effects may be enhanced. This can enable identification of strategic locations for biophilic interventions in the wider urban fabric to facilitate more effective urban nature experiences. This suggests that biophilic urbanism must encompass a wide range of human sensory information, and should be designed from a four-dimensional (i.e. including time) perspective.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Understanding and designing nature experiences in cities: a framework for biophilic urbanism. Cities & Health 2019, 1 -12.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Understanding and designing nature experiences in cities: a framework for biophilic urbanism. Cities & Health. 2019; ():1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2019. "Understanding and designing nature experiences in cities: a framework for biophilic urbanism." Cities & Health , no. : 1-12.
As the linked impacts of climate change and degradation of ecosystems continue to be felt, particularly in developing countries, it is vital that methods for development that concurrently address adaptation to climate change, rapid urbanisation, and ecosystem degradation be explored. Further development of approaches which are participatory and embedded in an understanding of the importance of symbiotic relationships between socio-cultural and ecological systems is particularly important. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is one such method that is gaining recognition and momentum in areas where developing nations face converging pressures and drivers of change. EbA methodologies to date, are often ill-defined in an urban context and lack consideration of future social and ecological scenarios however. In response, this paper describes a methodology for developing urban EbA projects in a small island developing nation context. The methodology was developed and applied by a multi-disciplinary team working under the auspices of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The application of this methodology in Port Vila, Vanuatu indicated: i) the needs of local people must be at the forefront of project planning, requiring a participatory design process; ii) EbA solutions development must be multidisciplinary and iterative; iii) appropriate quantitative and qualitative data is vital as a basis for EbA project development, requiring adequate time for data gathering; iv) urban and coastal EbA projects must be developed holistically, recognising socio-ecological systems that extend beyond the urban area itself; v) the complex overlapping landscape of governmental and international aid financed projects must inform the development of new EbA projects; vi) potential monetary and non-monetary benefits, costs and risks across multiple factors must be carefully assessed in EbA project development; and vii) project implementation requires ongoing engagement and a readiness to adapt to on-the-ground realities.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Paul M. Blaschke; Bethanna Jackson; Aimée Komugabe-Dixson; Chris Livesey; David I. Loubser; Carles Martinez-Almoyna Gual; Deborah Maxwell; Amin Rastandeh; James Renwick; Sean Weaver; Kelli M. Archie. Devising urban ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects with developing nations: A case study of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Ocean & Coastal Management 2019, 184, 105037 .
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari, Paul M. Blaschke, Bethanna Jackson, Aimée Komugabe-Dixson, Chris Livesey, David I. Loubser, Carles Martinez-Almoyna Gual, Deborah Maxwell, Amin Rastandeh, James Renwick, Sean Weaver, Kelli M. Archie. Devising urban ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects with developing nations: A case study of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Ocean & Coastal Management. 2019; 184 ():105037.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari; Paul M. Blaschke; Bethanna Jackson; Aimée Komugabe-Dixson; Chris Livesey; David I. Loubser; Carles Martinez-Almoyna Gual; Deborah Maxwell; Amin Rastandeh; James Renwick; Sean Weaver; Kelli M. Archie. 2019. "Devising urban ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects with developing nations: A case study of Port Vila, Vanuatu." Ocean & Coastal Management 184, no. : 105037.
This paper employs a unique ecosystem services analysis methodology to evaluate how cities could support or generate ecosystem services. Ecosystem services analysis can provide quantifiable goals for urban ecological regeneration that are determined by the site-specific ecology and climate of an urban area. In this research, the ecosystem service of habitat provision is the key focus. The role of urban green space and urban forests is crucial within this. Setting ambitious targets for urban ecological performance and ecosystem services provision is of great importance due to the large negative environmental impact that cities currently have on ecosystems and, therefore, ecosystem service provision, and because healthier ecosystems enable humans to better adapt to climate change through creating potentials for increased resilience. A comparative case study analysing the ecosystem service of habitat provision in two existing urban environments with similar climates (Cfb according to the Köppen Climate Classification System) but in different parts of the world, namely Wellington, New Zealand and Curitiba, Brazil, was conducted to examine how the ecosystem services analysis concept can used to devise urban habitat provision goals. The paper concludes that, although achieving habitat provision goals derived from ecosystem services analysis in urban areas is likely to be difficult, determining quantitative site- and climate-specific staged goals could enable urban design professionals to increase the effectiveness of conservation and regeneration efforts in terms of ecosystem service provision from urban green and blue spaces.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari; Zari. Devising Urban Biodiversity Habitat Provision Goals: Ecosystem Services Analysis. Forests 2019, 10, 391 .
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari, Zari. Devising Urban Biodiversity Habitat Provision Goals: Ecosystem Services Analysis. Forests. 2019; 10 (5):391.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari; Zari. 2019. "Devising Urban Biodiversity Habitat Provision Goals: Ecosystem Services Analysis." Forests 10, no. 5: 391.
The built environment is responsible for large negative ecological impacts due in part to the vast amount of materials used in construction. Concurrently, construction and demolition activities result in vast amounts of materials being buried, burnt, and dumped. It is essential therefore to analyse the impact of building materials acquisition, use, and transformation on the ecosystems people inhabit and rely upon for wellbeing. Typically, this is examined in terms of material use, energy use, and emission of pollutants including greenhouse gases. The impacts various materials have on complex and interconnected networks of ecosystem services are rarely considered. In light of this, this paper introduces the concept of ecosystem services in relation to selecting materials for the construction of the built environment. A methodology for applying ecosystem services analysis to building materials specification is presented and a series of example matrices are provided that examine a selection of materials that are grown, extracted, or that are made. The paper concludes that the potential for positive change in terms of the ecological impact related to building materials across their lifecycles, and in how built environments and the materials within them are designed, specified, valued, built and used is apparent, if an understanding of ecosystem services is integrated into built environment materials selection.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem services impacts as part of building materials selection criteria. Materials Today Sustainability 2019, 3-4, 100010 .
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem services impacts as part of building materials selection criteria. Materials Today Sustainability. 2019; 3-4 ():100010.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2019. "Ecosystem services impacts as part of building materials selection criteria." Materials Today Sustainability 3-4, no. : 100010.
Climate change is already occurring globally and will continue to in the future, resulting in significant negative impacts on society and ecosystems in general. Given that climate change is largely caused by humans, and in part by the built environments they create, a logical response may be to consider how buildings can address the drivers of climate change while simultaneously adapting to it. The built environment must move towards being able to sequester carbon and transform greenhouse gases in order to mitigate the causes of climate change where possible. This is alongside more traditional responses to climate change such as improving energy efficiency, reducing the use of fossil fuels to build and maintain urban environments, and designing cities to become more adaptable to future change. This chapter explores how the rapidly expanding field of biomimicry, where living organisms and traits of ecosystems are emulated in design, could make contributions to the evolution of built environments that are able to both sequester and transform carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by careful selection and use of specific materials. A number of examples of different biomimetic materials that are able to improve energy efficiencies, generate renewable energy, or sequester carbon are discussed, along with an ecosystem biomimetic method for materials selection based on understanding and mimicking ecosystem services (i.e., what ecosystems actually do).
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Materials for Addressing Climate Change. Handbook of Ecomaterials 2019, 3169 -3191.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Materials for Addressing Climate Change. Handbook of Ecomaterials. 2019; ():3169-3191.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2019. "Biomimetic Materials for Addressing Climate Change." Handbook of Ecomaterials , no. : 3169-3191.
Climate change is already occurring globally and will continue to in the future, resulting in significant negative impacts on society and ecosystems in general. Given that climate change is largely caused by humans, and in part by the built environments they create, a logical response may be to consider how buildings can address the drivers of climate change while simultaneously adapting to it. The built environment must move towards being able to sequester carbon and transform greenhouse gases in order to mitigate the causes of climate change where possible. This is alongside more traditional responses to climate change such as improving energy efficiency, reducing the use of fossil fuels to build and maintain urban environments, and designing cities to become more adaptable to future change. This chapter explores how the rapidly expanding field of biomimicry, where living organisms and traits of ecosystems are emulated in design, could make contributions to the evolution of built environments that are able to both sequester and transform carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by careful selection and use of specific materials. A number of examples of different biomimetic materials that are able to improve energy efficiencies, generate renewable energy, or sequester carbon are discussed, along with an ecosystem biomimetic method for materials selection based on understanding and mimicking ecosystem services (i.e., what ecosystems actually do).
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Materials for Addressing Climate Change. Handbook of Ecomaterials 2018, 1 -23.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Materials for Addressing Climate Change. Handbook of Ecomaterials. 2018; ():1-23.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2018. "Biomimetic Materials for Addressing Climate Change." Handbook of Ecomaterials , no. : 1-23.
This paper presents an ecosystem biomimicry methodology for urban design called ecosystem service analysis. Ecosystem services analysis can provide quantifiable goals for urban ecological regeneration that are determined by site specific ecology and climate of an urban area. This is important given the large negative environmental impact that most cities currently have on ecosystems. If cities can provide some of their own ecosystem services, pressure may be decreased on the surrounding ecosystems. This is crucial because healthier ecosystems enable humans to better adapt to the impacts that climate change is currently having on urban built environments and will continue to have in the future. A case study analyzing two ecosystem services (provision of energy and provision of water) for an existing urban environment (Wellington, New Zealand) is presented to demonstrate how the ecosystem services analysis concept can be applied to an existing urban context. The provision of energy in Wellington was found to be an example of an ecosystem service where humans could surpass the performance of pre-development ecosystem conditions. When analyzing the provision of water it was found that although total rainfall in the urban area is almost 200% higher than the water used in the city, if rainwater harvested from existing rooftops were to meet just the demands of domestic users, water use would need to be reduced by 20%. The paper concludes that although achieving ecological performance goals derived from ecosystem services analysis in urban areas is likely to be difficult, determining site and climate specific goals enable urban design professionals to know what a specific city should be aiming for if it is to move towards better sustainability outcomes.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Urban Design: Ecosystem Service Provision of Water and Energy. Buildings 2017, 7, 21 .
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic Urban Design: Ecosystem Service Provision of Water and Energy. Buildings. 2017; 7 (4):21.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2017. "Biomimetic Urban Design: Ecosystem Service Provision of Water and Energy." Buildings 7, no. 4: 21.
This paper proposes using an understanding of ecosystem services to determine measurable goals for urban regenerative design that are based on site specific ecological reality. This is termed ecosystem services analysis. The usability of the ecosystem services analysis concept is tested through a case study of an existing city. The case study demonstrates how the concept could be used as a tool to evaluate the performance of an existing built environment, and how it could reveal places to intervene in the built environment to create a more robust, adaptable and cohesive system. This is important because more than half of all people live in urban environments, cities have a large negative impact on ecosystems, humans are dependent on ecosystems for survival, and issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss are already impacting on the built environment and people, and continue to become more urgent
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem services analysis: Mimicking ecosystem services for regenerative urban design. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment 2015, 4, 145 -157.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem services analysis: Mimicking ecosystem services for regenerative urban design. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment. 2015; 4 (1):145-157.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2015. "Ecosystem services analysis: Mimicking ecosystem services for regenerative urban design." International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment 4, no. 1: 145-157.
As professionals of the built environment need to solve more urgent and difficult problems related to mitigating and adapting to climate change, it may be useful to examine examples of how the same problems have been solved by other living organisms or ecosystems. Looking to plants or animals that are highly adaptable or ones that survive in extreme climates or through climatic changes may provide insights into how buildings could or should function. Examining the qualities of ecosystems that enable them to be adaptable and resilient may also offer potential avenues to follow. This chapter examines whether biomimicry, where organisms or ecosystems are mimicked in human design, can be an effective means to either mitigate the causes of climate change the built environment is responsible for, or to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Different biomimetic approaches to design are discussed and categorised, and a series of case study examples illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. In light of the conclusions reached during the course of the research, it is argued that design that mimics ecosystems and utilises synergies between mitigation and adaptation strategies in relation to climate change could be a beneficial long-term biomimetic built environment response to climate change. The foundations of the theory to support this are also presented.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Can Biomimicry Be a Useful Tool for Design for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation? Biotechnologies and Biomimetics for Civil Engineering 2014, 81 -113.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Can Biomimicry Be a Useful Tool for Design for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation? Biotechnologies and Biomimetics for Civil Engineering. 2014; ():81-113.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2014. "Can Biomimicry Be a Useful Tool for Design for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation?" Biotechnologies and Biomimetics for Civil Engineering , no. : 81-113.
This research investigates how ecosystems are able to be robust, resilient and capable of adapting to constant change, in order to devise strategies and techniques that could be transferable to an architectural or urban design context. This is to aid the creation, or evolution of urban-built environments that may be better able to integrate with and contribute to ecosystem health. Specifically, this paper examines the processes of ecosystems and presents an integrated set of principles that could form the theoretical underpinnings of a practical ecosystem biomimicry approach to sustainable architectural design. This is significant because although using an understanding of how ecosystems work has been proposed in some biomimicry and industrial ecology literature, as well as in related fields, ecosystem processes suitable for use in a design context have not been thoroughly defined, or mapped to express how these processes may be related to each other. The possibility that employing ecosystem processes in architectural or urban design could lead to built environments able to mitigate the causes of climate change and adapt to the impacts of it is examined. Benefits and disadvantages of such an approach are elaborated upon.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem processes for biomimetic architectural and urban design. Architectural Science Review 2014, 58, 106 -119.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem processes for biomimetic architectural and urban design. Architectural Science Review. 2014; 58 (2):106-119.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2014. "Ecosystem processes for biomimetic architectural and urban design." Architectural Science Review 58, no. 2: 106-119.
‘Neutral’ environmental outcomes in terms of energy use, carbon emissions, waste generation or water use are worthy but difficult targets in architectural and urban design. However, the built environment may need to go beyond efforts simply to limit negative environmental outcomes and instead aim for net positive environmental benefits. This implies that the built environment would need to contribute more than it consumes while simultaneously remediating past and current environmental damage. Such development could be termed ‘regenerative’. The potential for understanding and then mimicking ecosystem services is explored for setting goals for regenerative developments, designing them and measuring their successes or failures as they evolve over time. Key leverage points are identified where the systems of the built environment may be changed in order to move towards a regenerative urban environment. Analysing the urban built environment from the perspective of how ecosystems function could be a significant step towards the creation of a built environment where positive integration with, and restoration of, local ecosystems may be realized. Des résultats environnementaux « neutres » en termes de consommation d'énergie, d'émissions de carbone, de production de déchets ou d'utilisation de l'eau, constituent des objectifs qui méritent d'être poursuivis, mais qui sont difficiles à atteindre dans le domaine de la conception architecturale et de l'aménagement urbain. Cependant, il peut être nécessaire que le cadre bâti aille au-delà des efforts cherchant simplement à limiter les résultats environnementaux négatifs et vise plutôt à obtenir des avantages environnementaux nets positifs. Ceci implique que le cadre bâti devrait contribuer plus qu'il ne consomme tout en corrigeant simultanément les dommages environnementaux passés et actuels. Un tel développement pourrait être qualifié de « régénérateur ». Les possibilités de compréhension, puis d'imitation des services écosystémiques, sont étudiées de façon à fixer des objectifs en matière de développements régénérateurs, à concevoir ceux-ci et à en mesurer la réussite ou l'échec au fur et à mesure de leur évolution au fil du temps. Les principaux points de levier sont identifiés là où les systèmes du cadre bâti peuvent être modifiés de manière à progresser vers un milieu urbain régénérateur. Analyser le cadre bâti urbain du point de vue de la manière dont les écosystèmes fonctionnent pourrait constituer un pas important dans le sens de la création d'un cadre bâti dans lequel il serait possible de réaliser une intégration positive avec les écosystèmes locaux, ainsi qu'une réhabilitation de ceux-ci. Mots clés: cadre bâti écologie services écosystémiques avantages environnementaux lieu conception régénératrice aménagement urbain
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem services analysis for the design of regenerative built environments. Building Research & Information 2012, 40, 54 -64.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Ecosystem services analysis for the design of regenerative built environments. Building Research & Information. 2012; 40 (1):54-64.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2012. "Ecosystem services analysis for the design of regenerative built environments." Building Research & Information 40, no. 1: 54-64.
Maibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Architectural Science Review 2010, 53, 172 -183.
AMA StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Architectural Science Review. 2010; 53 (2):172-183.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaibritt Pedersen Zari. 2010. "Biomimetic design for climate change adaptation and mitigation." Architectural Science Review 53, no. 2: 172-183.