Today, 53% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and according to the United Nations, this number is expected to rise to 68% by the year 2050. The increase in urban populations and the concentration of their activities signal a growing impact on the environment. One indicator of human impact on the environment is the amount of hazardous pollutants produced by human activities, mainly from industry and related forms of production. It is estimated that, globally, the number of potentially contaminated sites exceeds five million. Governments have taken action to mitigate the negative environmental impact as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” is one of the goals (SDG 11) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, transforming brownfield sites into clean and safe environments has become one of the most important issues for governments, involving two separate but related fields of brownfield regeneration: landscape design and remediation. Spatial planners and designers have an ethical responsibility in the regeneration process of contaminated environments, such as postindustrial landscapes. Poor design choices can spread contamination through multiple pathways and pose threats to human and environmental health, or create spaces where people may be easily exposed to contaminants.Designers can employ precautionary design strategies and tactics that integrate appropriate remediation methods to provide safe environments and protect human and ecosystem health. As remediation methods have evolved, new approaches in landscape design have also developed. In addition to conventional remediation methods, there is a growing interest in incorporating process-based remediation techniques in the form of soft remediation options and/or phytoremediation or nature-based solutions to create a continuous green infrastructure system with economic, environmental, and social outcomes. In this way, isolated contaminated sites can become integral parts of the human-dominated environment and contribute to the development of green infrastructure systems with associated environmental functions such as mitigating air pollution, regulating water regimes, creating habitats for urban fauna, contributing to biological diversity, and providing aesthetically pleasing and attractive spaces. This chapter uses case studies to explore the relationship between landscape design and remediation, demonstrating various ways to integrate remediation for a landscape-safe environment. “Remediated Landscapes” is offered as a conceptual framework to express the multipurpose structure of remediated sites with four integration modes: ecological, spatial, historical-cultural, and socioeconomic.

Landscape-Safe Environment and Remediation

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发表日期：

2025年

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Meltem Erdem Kaya

摘要

Today, 53% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and according to the United Nations, this number is expected to rise to 68% by the year 2050. The increase in urban populations and the concentration of their activities signal a growing impact on the environment. One indicator of human impact on the environment is the amount of hazardous pollutants produced by human activities, mainly from industry and related forms of production. It is estimated that, globally, the number of potentially contaminated sites exceeds five million. Governments have taken action to mitigate the negative environmental impact as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” is one of the goals (SDG 11) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, transforming brownfield sites into clean and safe environments has become one of the most important issues for governments, involving two separate but related fields of brownfield regeneration: landscape design and remediation. Spatial planners and designers have an ethical responsibility in the regeneration process of contaminated environments, such as postindustrial landscapes. Poor design choices can spread contamination through multiple pathways and pose threats to human and environmental health, or create spaces where people may be easily exposed to contaminants.Designers can employ precautionary design strategies and tactics that integrate appropriate remediation methods to provide safe environments and protect human and ecosystem health. As remediation methods have evolved, new approaches in landscape design have also developed. In addition to conventional remediation methods, there is a growing interest in incorporating process-based remediation techniques in the form of soft remediation options and/or phytoremediation or nature-based solutions to create a continuous green infrastructure system with economic, environmental, and social outcomes. In this way, isolated contaminated sites can become integral parts of the human-dominated environment and contribute to the development of green infrastructure systems with associated environmental functions such as mitigating air pollution, regulating water regimes, creating habitats for urban fauna, contributing to biological diversity, and providing aesthetically pleasing and attractive spaces. This chapter uses case studies to explore the relationship between landscape design and remediation, demonstrating various ways to integrate remediation for a landscape-safe environment. “Remediated Landscapes” is offered as a conceptual framework to express the multipurpose structure of remediated sites with four integration modes: ecological, spatial, historical-cultural, and socioeconomic.