MAKING SMART URBAN DECISIONS: THE NICHE OF A PARAMETRIC SPATIAL MODEL TO BALANCE THE NEEDS OF URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN WELLBEING

Abstract

Rapid urbanization has resulted in high-density construction, more impervious area and with increasing threats of urban stormwater, drought and negative influences on human wellbeing. Although there has been progress in sustainable stormwater management and the promotion of human wellbeing with green space, the research has been conducted from a mono-disciplinary perspective and has brought potential conflicts in the utilisation of green space in an urban area. Since smart city proposed, researchers are exploring informational and integrated urban management to face this type of development conflicts and achieve a harmonious and sustainable future. This research proposes a parametric spatial model to integrate stormwater management and human recreation needs based on the understanding of the relationship between them on the same urban green space. We expect that this integrated parametric spatial model will help residents to interact with functional green space and provide options to organize the urban green space smarter and more effectively. This paper presents: (1) A review of the main sustainable stormwater management measures with principles, models and facilities to reveal an overlooked but important relationship between space and stormwater management. (2) Investigation of the research on the benefits of green space on human wellbeing. The study argues that the participation of green space cannot be effectively and accurately analysed with the current main analysis measures which relying on satellite-based vegetation indices or land-use database. This research is intended to set smarter decision making on urban green spaces which connects sustainable stormwater management with human wellbeing via visualised parametric spatial model.