In rapidly urbanising Seoul, the next battle is saving green spaces:
“Korea is a country that does not value greenery,” professor of landscape architecture at Pusan National University, Hong Suk Hwan, told Bloomberg CityLab. It “only acknowledges the value of property.”
Samgmi Cha writes about South Korean local, 34-year-old Baik SooHye inspiring the shift of devaluing green spaces in South Korea to saving these spaces. SooHye’s ‘Plant Kindergarten’ project encourages the protection of hundreds of plants that are often destroyed at construction sites across Seoul.
Cha meets SooHye in her outdoor garden in western Seoul with the many plant species that she’s saved from these sites. The rescued plants are ‘adopted’ out to others who are also passionate about green spaces in Korea. SooHye says, “I see ‘Plant Kindergarten’ as my own way to save greenery.”
With the astounding data from the Seoul city government that Cha shares – only 3.7% of green spaces covering downtown Seoul – many like SooHye are finding ways to support the revival of green spaces in South Korea.
Cha describes a ‘Tree Orphanage’ established in 2000, “Individuals could donate large trees from construction sites and re-plant them, at a personal cost of up to 1 million won ($700) per tree.” This is also driven by expert knowledge of how trees can alleviate the impact of extreme weather conditions.
Read more about how Seoul can bring back green spaces on CityLab.
Photograph: Woohae Cho/Bloomberg.
‘It was like an apocalyptic movie’: 20 climate photographs that changed the world:
The Guardian’s writer Gabrielle Schwarz says, “They are the images that made us sit up and take notice.”
From dust storms to an iceberg drifting in Greenland; to blazing fires and the rawness as a family clings onto a wharf in hope of survival; to foreign minister of an island nation of the Pacific addressing the summit in knee deep waters; these images are “like an apocalyptic movie” and evidence of the climate emergency.
Schwarz writes about conservationist photographer Cristina Mittermeier with her controversial image of the starving polar bear. “Mittermeier stands by the photograph and video because they prompted a bigger conversation about the climate crisis. “Photography is one of the most effective and powerful tools we have to tell complex stories, like the story of climate change,” she says.
Be warned, these images aren’t pretty – though it’s the truth – view the 20 photographs that got the world noticing, finally….
Photograph: Jason Davies/Severe Weather Australia.
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Sydney landscape architects and friends gathered at The Mint in the CBD on May 10, 2023 to celebrate the launch of new products and a design book with Street Furniture Australia and AILA NSW. A highlight of the evening was introducing ‘… creating a sense of place,’ a book by founding directors Darrel Conybeare and Bill Morrison, which tells the story of two young architects successfully launching their public furniture design and manufacturing business. The book will be available from July 2023 on Book Depository, Amazon and select bookstores. The Linea VT collection and Linea Curved Seat were also unveiled, providing dynamic options for curved aluminium and timber seating. The event was filled with live jazz music, delicious food and drinks, and lively conversations among our guests. We would like …
What a ‘sponge city’ designed to withstand extreme flooding looks like: After extreme flooding in cities of China in 2012, urban designer Yu Konjian coined the term ‘sponge city’ as one solution to climate change. Lisa Abend writes for Time: “Instead of paving over the land with impermeable concrete and asphalt, he proposed adding green spaces that could act like sponges and absorb excess rain water.” Abend writes that cities aren’t built for extreme weather conditions; that building with asphalt and concrete increases heat and gives water nowhere to go. Konjian’s alternative would allow the natural flow of water in green spaces. In Australia the term ‘water sensitive urban design’ is more commonly seen than ‘sponge city’, associated with techniques to ease flooding or “filtering and storing rainwater so that …
Strategic green spaces: How to make the most of their cooling effects We’re all aware of the cooling effects of green spaces for mitigating the climate crisis in cities. However ArchDaily’s writer Maria-Cristina Florian writes that greening and cooling strategies should consider how to improve climate outcomes beyond simply achieving ‘green coverage’. Strategic planning is a prerequisite in ensuring green spaces create the most impact for urban environments. Florian explores three strategies to optimise cooling effects: Green corridors and climatological planning Florian emphasises the importance of understanding, protecting and harmonising with the natural world surrounding a city. She references a meteorological study from 1939 in Stuttgard, Germany, which found that the city’s position in a valley basin with low wind speeds, combined with heavy industrialisation, were causing poor air quality. …
“Grassy parks no longer viable in the face of global heating”: British parks can no longer be modelled on ‘long-dead aristocrats’ with lawn-heavy landscapes due to soaring temperatures, writes Phineas Harper for Dezeen. He proposes planting urban forests to help control city heat and keep green spaces green during summer. Harper writes that there are 150,000 hectares of urban green spaces in Britain, and by turning these large open lawns into small urban forests, the ground temperature will reduce. This would also ensure the urban spaces are habitable even in scorching summer heat. According to research published last year, he writes, “Not only do trees stay green in dry weather, trees can bring down urban temperatures by between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius, providing shade and reducing local evaporation. Which is …
