Green infrastructure as an urban design strategy to enhance connectivity in the city of Saida -

Abstract

The thesis addresses connectivity problems in the city of Saida resulting from current zoning regulations and vehicular-based planning. Current zoning practices focused on real-estate evaluation and have resulted in the loss of the historical integration of the city and its surrounding landscape. Roads and streets that have developed since the 1980s have resulted in the loss of an agricultural asset being replaced by neighborhoods that are isolated from one another lacking urban character, identity, and walkable experience. To address this issue, green infrastructure is presented as an urban design strategy to reconnect the city with its surrounding landscape and develop an urban scale network that integrates neighborhoods by providing a cohesive urban experience through walkable connections across the city. Based on the blue-green network strategy proposed by the USUDS (Urban Sustainable Development Strategy) report for Saida, this thesis develops part of this strategy at the urban scale to demonstrate possibilities of pedestrian and natural networks in the city. It proposes an urban design intervention at one of the city’s water streams in the aim of providing a prototype for possible future project implementation. It highlights the historical and natural assets of the targeted area, provides a connected urban space, and enhances the public realm of the city.