Nature Inspires the Urban;

The Urban Ecology Theory and Solving Issues Innovatively

Margaret Hane

URBNST 1500

April 21, 2015

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Table of Contents

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Methods ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Creativity, Success, and All the Rest .............................................................................................. 6

The Urban Ecology Theory ................................................................................................................ 7

Approach 1: The City is an Ecological System ................................................................................... 7

Approach 2: Studying Ecological Systems in the City ................................................................. 11

Approach 3: The Human Ecology Approach .................................................................................. 12

Current Views on the Urban Ecology Theory ................................................................................ 11

Paris and Singapore ........................................................................................................................ 13

Paris ....................................................................................................................................................... 13

Parasitic Housing .................................................................................................................................. 15

Pod City .................................................................................................................................................... 22

Algae Energy ........................................................................................................................................... 27

What Does This Mean? ......................................................................................................................... 34

Singapore and a City in a Garden ................................................................................................. 34

Gardens By the Bay ............................................................................................................................... 35

Marina Bay Sands .................................................................................................................................. 39

What Does This Mean? ......................................................................................................................... 41

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 41

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Abstract

The urban environment and natural ecosystems are typically not considered to have much

in common with each other. This is actually not true. The urban ecology theory reveals the

perimeters of the connections between both the natural and urban spheres. The theory shows how

the city can learn from the natural environment, as well as, studies the effects of the natural

environment on the urban. The urban ecology theory sets up tools for planners, architects,

designers, and innovators to use to solve urban issues. This innovative problem solving is

essential to the survival and success of any urban environment, as discussed in Charles Landry’s

creative cities theory. This paper works to prove the existence of these tools and the practicality

of employing them. Paris and Singapore are used as case studies on the practicality of the urban

ecology theory and to show how this theory can shape the urban environment.

Key Words

Urban Ecology Theory, Singapore, Paris, Creative Cities, Innovation

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Introduction

The city and nature are two completely separate entities that have nothing in common.

The city is a manmade environment that is created, manipulated, and controlled by its human

leaders. It is shaped by the cultures, wants, focuses, and conflicts of the society that inhabits it.

The natural environment is not the city. The natural environment was created by the trajectory of

nature and the inherent rules and processes found within it. These two spheres have nothing more

in common than the fact that the city is built upon the natural environment and takes resources

from it. Right? Wrong.

The urban environment and the natural environment have a multitude of very valuable

parallels. The urban ecology theory is the study of these connections. The urban ecology theory

not only functions as a study of this, but can also be used in a practical way. Urban planners,

architects, designers and innovators can use the urban ecology theory to find examples of how to

solve urban issues. This unique way of solving problems can open an almost infinite amount of

opportunities for the future of cities.

This uniqueness has been found to be vital to the success of cities. Using the urban

ecology theory to solve problems is an example of innovation. This innovation can be a key

factor to the urban environment’s survival. The creative cities theory supports this, as,

historically, the cities that are able to survive and adapt to problems are able to remain influential

cities. These cities use creativity and innovation to do this. The urban ecology theory is a theory

that can be used within the creative cities theory.

There are a few cities that have been employing the urban ecology theory to innovatively

problem solve. Two of these cities are Paris and Singapore. These cities are global cities that

have a strong influence over world standard for what exactly a city is. When Paris and Singapore

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use the urban ecology theory to solve problems, they prove that the theory is not only practical,

but also serve as a concrete example of the successfulness of the theory. They will be looked at

in this paper by showing how current and future projects within the cities imitate the natural

processes.

Methods

This paper uses a combination of different sources of literature to explain the urban

ecology theory, its practical uses, and its connection to innovation within cities. This connection

is made by using literature on the creative cities theory, especially examples from within Charles

Landry’s book, The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators. The urban ecology theory is

defined, described, and analyzed using literature from C.S. Holling, Gordon Orians, Johan

Hultman and others. These researchers are the largest proponents for this theory. This researched

focus mostly on the aspect of the definition that the paper’s main argument stems from.

Using the theories explained in the literature, this paper uses Paris and Singapore as case

studies to dissect their usage of the urban ecology theory. For both cities, there is a discussion of

current and future architectural endeavors that use the urban ecology theory to solve urban issues

on both a small and large scale. These problems are defined by statistics and discussions on city,

national, and international levels. These endeavors are explored using information from the

architect, the government, photographs, and outside, first-hand sources. These sources are to

serve in place of the author’s first hand experience, since the author has never traveled to these

cities.

The purpose of this paper is to show different possibilities that can occur when urban

problems are looked through with a lens created through the urban ecology theory. Beyond this

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argument, this paper uses the urban ecology theory to create examples of the importance of

innovation to the successfulness of the city. The urban ecology theory is an example that could

be replaced with a variety of other theories to fulfill the creative cities model.

Creativity, Success, and All the Rest

Charles Landry uses his life’s research to connect the successfulness of a city with its

ability to use creativity within its overall plan and purpose. His book, The Creative City: A

Toolkit for Urban Innovators, Landry formulates his research into a model the describes the

necessary creative aspects that a city requires to become and maintain a prosperous city that

creates a suitable atmosphere for a fruitful economic, environmental, social, and cultural urban

entity. Whether this creativity comes from creative individuals within the city or through creative

actions by parties acting on the city, Landry finds and proves that there needs to be creativity

present in the urban environment for it to be truly successful.

This creativity is closely tied with innovation. Innovation stems from necessity. The

urban environment is plagued with many complex layers of problems and, for a city to survive,

there needs to be, at the very least, a strong attempt at finding a solution. This solution becomes

innovative when it is based within a new way of dissecting the problem leading to a unique way

of solving it. Landry sums idea up in the beginning of his book, “The Creative City argues

above all that changes in mindset can generate will, commitment and energy which allow us to

look afresh at urban possibilities (xiv).” This different way of considering urban issues can come

in the form of using different urban theories as the framework for solution. One of these theories

is the Urban Ecology Theory.

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The Urban Ecology Theory

According to Johan Hultman, urban ecology involves three central approaches (Hultman,

1993):

I. Looking at the city as an ecological system, i.e. to draw parallels between the

city and ecosystems as living organisms.

II. Studying ecological systems in the city, i.e. to evaluate how nature functions

in characteristically urban environments.

III. Elucidating the role of urban environment at the service of human

development, i.e. a human ecological approach (42).

The urban ecology theory is used to cover all of these aspects. This paper’s argument is centered

in the first approach, but to make sure the urban ecology theory is fully defined, each one will be

explained further.

Approach 1: The City is an Ecological System

The first approach mentioned, the ability to look at the city as an ecological system and

draw parallels between the natural and the urban is the basis for this paper’s view on the practical

results of the urban ecology theory. This approach is, classically, the main definition of the urban

ecology theory. The theory stemmed from the revelations found within this approach. These

parallels can be drawn both on ecosystems as a whole and individual organisms themselves. The

examples to follow within this paper extent on this idea that the city can be related to single

organisms. The city relates to the single organism because of the complexity of parts. Both cities

and organisms work and function because of this complex relationship. Every part has a purpose

and job, with the failure of a part to do the job affects other parts within the system in a multitude

of surprising and intricate ways (Rebele, 1994, 174). A simple metaphor of describing the city as

a human body highlights this. Imagine the city in the form of a body, within the veins being

roads and the organs beings structures and functions. The heart and the brain are the governing

bodies and the kidneys are the garbage municipal services. If the brain does not direct the rest of

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the body what to do or what can and cannot be done, there will be major glitches in function.

This is similar to what would happen if the city’s governing body does not do its job. If the

garbage services of a city stop functioning, then the city will become dirty and odorous, which

will lead to a string of effects. The same would happen within the body if the kidneys stop doing

their job of removing “garbage” or waste from the blood.

The connections between the natural ecological environment and the urban environment

stems from the similarities the separate realms share. Holling, in his article Toward an Urban

Ecology, discusses four specific properties that ecological systems and urban systems share:

By responding not just to present events but to past ones as well they show a

historical quality. By responding to events at more than one point in space they

show a spatial interlocking property. By encompassing many components with

complex feedback interactions between them, they show a systems property. And

through the common appearance of lags, thresholds, and limits they present

structural properties (Holling, 1971, 2).

These four properties, historical, spatial interlocking, systems, and structural, will be dissected

further in this section, but, not only are these present in both systems, they are critical factors in

their creation and maintenance.

The historical property refers to the process by which the cities and the natural

environment. Neither environment is created statically, they are direct results and continuations

of their past trajectories. Both are direct results of what has happened before. The natural

ecological environment exist because of the changes and evolution of past ecological

environments. The city exists in much of the same way. The city is a sum of its history and

defined by it. An example of this would be how the city changes and adapts to the present

situation of the current society. The city follows human experience and provides focus, altering

and evolving to suit their needs (Holling and Orians, 1971, 2-3).

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The second property is the existence of a spatial element. This property is tied to the

history property and can be understood in much of the same way. The urban environment is

spatially grounded. As its built environment and its physical place within the larger physical

environment typically define it, the city is clearly tied to the state and geography of the land in

which it exists. The city represents the physical aspect of the human urban experience having

specific spatial elements to provide for the human needs. These elements are considered to be

significant, as a change in the spatial would affect other facets of the physical and social city.

This is reflected in the ecological world for the same reasons. The natural world has significant

spatial elements that are connected to the functions and existence of the parts that inhabit it

(Holling and Orians, 1971, 3).

Ecological and urban systems are both considered complex because of the intense amount

of aspects and parts that make up the systems and how they are intertwined. Each aspect of the

ecological system is vital to the sustentation of the system as a whole. If a part of the system fails

to exist or conduct its rightful duty, other parts of the system will be affected as well. A clear

example of this would be how climate changes can affect the state of living organisms within the

larger ecosystem. The city reflects this in much the same way. All the parts of the city do not

exist separately, but function completely interchangeably. When an aspect of the city fails, the

rest of the city is affected. If the city is economically based around one specific industrial

product, and that fails, there will be an effect felt through the whole city (Holling and Orians,

1971, p. 3).

The final component of the relationship between the urban and the ecological is the

structural element. There are a variety of structural components that make up and complicate the

existence and way of life in both systems. This structural component adds to the complexity

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found within both systems. This additional complexity is based within the added difficulty that is

created for both systems because of the functions that the structures serve. This added function

within the overall umbrella of the city or ecosystem causes mathematical predictions and

formulas to become increasingly difficult to implement. These structures, in a city, can be as

large as a skyscraper and as small as a singular person. In a natural ecosystem, this can be as

large as an ocean and as small as a single-celled organism (Holling and Orians, 1971, 3).

These four components show the four possible categories of connections between the

urban environment and natural ecosystems. These components create logical perimeters that can

be used as a guide for which comparisons are valid. The natural environment and the urban

environment have one important difference that reveals the natural environment as one that the

urban environment can use as a reference for solution. The natural environment is created and

sustained within itself, therefore, they have built in solutions that could be relayed to solve urban

issues. By using these above four connections to discover and analyze parallels between the

urban and the natural, these components can follow the lead of natural processes to find plausible

solutions for urban issues.

Of course, urban and ecological systems do differ in dramatic and important ways. The

articles by Holling and Orians and Hultman, also, discuss how these ecosystems differ and why

this causes scholars and researchers to doubt the validity of the theory. In the Holling and Orians

article, one major factor of difference is based in the situation of cities after the industrial

revolution. This difference stems from one of the overarching effects this revolution had. The

industrial revolution led to all of the constraints on what a city can be or become to be removed.

Technology has rapidly increased and industry has become remarkably efficient. This has led to

typical rules of growth and effect of the city to no longer exist. There is no such equivalent

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revolution within the natural ecological world (Holling and Orians, 1971, 3). The Hultman article

shows a difference that is based around the same industrial ideal, but focuses more on how

resources are used. When resources are taken out of nature and put within the urban industrial

realms to be altered for human use, the resource is changed or “upgraded” removing the natural

resource from the natural world. In nature, this can never happen because nature does not have

the overall altering hand that humans in numbers do (Hultman, 1993, 43).

Approach 2: Studying Ecological Systems in the City

The second approach with the urban ecology theory is the study of ecological systems

present within the environment. At the most basic level, this refers to researching and

quantifying the changes and processes present within natural ecosystems found in green spaces

and larger natural environment of the city. The health and prospering of these spaces is directly

connected to the health and prospering of the larger city. This connection needs to be studied to

allow for a total understanding of both the natural and urban environments (Hultman, 1993, 42).

This approach developed relatively recently as a result of the environmental impacts of

urban pollution that came to a head during the late 1960’s and continuing on into the 1970’s. The

research centered around the effects of the automobile on the green spaces and natural

ecosystems present within the larger city environment. The research continues on to be used to

create perimeters and quantifications of what is needed for the urban environment to sustain a

natural ecosystem. The city is traditionally seen to be at odds with nature, therefore, this research

is important because it proves where nature and the urban environment are compatible (Hultman,

1993, 42).

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Approach 3: The Human Ecology Approach

The final approach is the human ecology approach. This approach varies from the other

two approaches because the urban environment is not what is being compared to the natural

environment. Specifically, it is the study of how urban residents relate to their natural

environments and green spaces. The study centers around the idea that the city alters and controls

how its residents view and experience nature. This research also reveals the health strains that the

human made and controlled city place on its residents because they are altering and polluting the

natural environment. This research is important because it shows that the city alters the idea of

what nature is and its importance (Hultman, 1993, 43).

Current Views on The Urban Ecology Theory

Since the new millennium, the urban ecology theory has been used as an approach to

planning and architecture. The theory has been used as a way to quantify the importance and

health of ecosystems within the urban environment. This is used in planning to decide when,

where, and why there should be natural ecosystems placed within the larger urban environment.

This study also takes into account the benefits of having these places to the overall success of the

city. This refers mostly to the second two approaches of defining the theory (Pickett et al., 2008,

150).

Beyond this, the first approach can be used within the spheres of planning and

architecture, as well. By using the four connections between cities and natural ecosystems,

planners, architects, and designers can have a natural, proven guideline for how to solve urban

issues that have parallels in the ecosystems. These “blueprints” can lead to innovative cities that

go beyond the classical definition of how a city can function. This is what this paper’s case

studies on Paris and Singapore center on.

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Paris and Singapore

Paris and Singapore are the cities that will be explored through the lens of the urban

ecology theory in this paper. These two cities were chosen because they set themselves up to be

seen this way. In Paris, multiple issues have been solved by outside architects and innovators

turning to inspirations found with natural ecosystems. In Singapore, the city has set itself up to

be looked at through the urban ecology theory because they are attempting to create a city within

a garden. The city within a garden implies that the city of Singapore is attempting to remain

seamlessly with a natural ecosystem.

Both cities have a strong global impact and reputation, as both have used and are

currently using international competitions to find sustainable solutions to their problems. These

cities have all of the best minds working for them to compete for amazing solutions to their

largest issues. Some of the solutions that have won or reached the last level of competitions are

ones that follow the urban ecology theory. These solutions follow the urban ecology theory

because they follow connections between the two types of environments to find solutions within

the natural world that can be replicated within the urban world.

Paris

Paris is currently a breeding ground for innovation and new ideas. The city is a historic

and global one that has a multitude of problems and issues that it needs to overcome to continue

being a successful city and global force. Even though Paris is not a city that is looking to be

viewed as a natural ecological system, designers, architects, and innovators are using the urban

ecology theory to better the experience of Parisians and visitors alike. This paper will now focus

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on 4 current and upcoming projects within Paris and analyze their successfulness and place as an

example of the practicality of the urban ecology theory.

Paris is a historic city that prides itself and is almost defined by its skyline. Throughout

its history, there has been restrictions on heights of new buildings within the city limits. As Paris

is the most visited city every year on the planet, maintaining the character and look of the skyline

was important to its tourist and travel economy. There is a fear that the Eiffel Tower, which is

possibly the most famous and iconic building in Paris, will get overshadowed by the new larger,

modern skyscrapers. This is something neither the residents of the city, nor its visitor, want

(Cordova, 2012).

In the 1960s, these height restrictions were weakened in zoning laws, leading to the

building of the Tour Montparnasse at 51 stories in 1973. This building was met with almost

immediate outrage and the height restrictions were put back into place in 1977. The building has

left a bad taste in the mouth of Parisians when it comes to skyscrapers as the building is still,

after 40 years, considered to be the 2nd ugliest building in the world. The new law required

building is the central area to remain under 10 stories, but buildings in the peripheral areas could

go up to 12 stories. These laws were altered when the Socialist City Council gained power in

2008 and changed the standards in the peripheral area to 16 stories for housing buildings and

surprising 50 stories for commercial and office buildings (Cordova, 2012).

As is the case for most global cities, especially ones with the universal reputation that

Paris has gained, the cost of living is extremely high. This can make it difficult for affordable

housing to be found and maintained. The height restrictions have forced this problem to become

even more extreme. How can new families find affordable housing when buildings have to

remain at such a small scale? That was the apparent reasoning behind the increase of 4 stories for

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residential buildings in 2008. The claim was the city council was focusing on the residential

expansion and then shifting focus on creating more office building. This does not seem to be

what is coming to fruition (Cordova, 2012). Therefore, to accommodate for the housing needs of

the lower economic classes of the city, there needs to be creative solutions found.

Before solutions are discussed, the housing problem within Paris needs to be explained

further. The population of France currently sits around 65 million residents. Of this 65 million.

10 percent are either homeless or without appropriate housing. That makes there to be roughly

6.5 million homeless in the country as a whole. In Paris, the population in 2008 was roughly 2.2

million with around 13 percent living under the poverty line (Driant et al., 2012). Without new,

affordable and larger scale housing projects where will these people even hope of living?

Parasitic Housing

If there is no room for taller buildings and the current focus in on the building of new

commercial buildings, what can be done to aid in the housing shortage? Architects and designers

are turning to different inspiration to solve this problem, nature, more specifically parasites.

Parasites are defined, according to the New England Complex Systems Institute, as being an

organism that “lives off of another organism, the host, harming it and possibly causing death.

The parasite lives on or in the body of the host. (1)” This means that the parasite creates its own

space, or home, within another standing organism. This concept can be, and in Paris has been,

adapted to fit as a solution to housing issues. There are two housing projects, one completed and

one that has not begun yet, that take the parasite from the biological to the urban.

The complete project is entitled, House Extension for a Cellist, and was finished in 2011

by the architecture firm, Cut Architecture. This project is not a housing project in an of itself, but

is an addition to a home and shows off the possible benefits for the parasitic inspiration in

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architecture. Located in Chaville, roughly 7.8 miles from the center of Paris, this project served

as a sustainable way for the owner, a cello player, to create a new practice room without building

up on their house nor using any of their ground space (Extension for a Cellist).

Figure 1: Front View of Extension for a Cellist during the day,

Large front window brings large amounts of natural light into parasitic space.

(Extension for a Cellist)

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Figure 2: Front View of Extension for a Cellist during the evening,

Large front window allows cellist to experience the sunset while comfortably practicing.

(Extension for a Cellist)

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The room is suspended between the house and the one next to it, completely suspended

off of the ground. The parasite inspiration can be seen in the way the square, box-like room, is

suspended and dependent on the structural stability of the house next to it. The area of the

parasitic room is roughly 16 square meters (Extension for a Cellist). The front and back of the

extension mirrors the facade of the house in dimension and the slanted roof follows the slant of

the house’s rough. The main aspect of the extension is the large window that brings in natural

light into the room as well as allows people within the room to experience the natural

environment surrounding the house (Zimmer, 2011).

The second project takes this idea of the parasitic building and transforms it into an

innovative and fantastical new way to create non-high-rise, non-expensive housing. The project

was created by Malka Architecture and entitled, “P9 Ghetto-Mobile.” The project stemmed from

the need for cheaper housing that not only houses low-income residents, but allows them to have

an inspirational and beautiful living space that can be envied by all.

The housing structure will live on and draw resources from a bridge already created on

the Pont Neuf bridge that crosses La Seine river. The architecture’s idea was to create a micro-

city that could be considered nomadic due to the ease of how the unit can be disassembled easily

and moved, leaving little impact on the bridge that it inhabits. The architect calls the idea a

mobile ghetto, “It is a voluntary ghetto, an organized community of ideas, a hood built from an

appropriation of land both conquered and controlled.” This whole idea parallels the living and

encroaching aspects of parasites (Malka).

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Figure 3: Map of Paris pinpointing the Pont Neuf Bridge,

The Pont Neuf Bridge is a long structure crossing La Seine.

(Malka)

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Figure 4: Architecture Sketch of P9 Mobile Ghetto Project during the evening,

The unique structure makes small apartments become magical.

(Malka)

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Figure 5: Architecture Sketch of P9 Mobile Ghetto Project during the day,

The metallic wall structure makes the structure look

as if they are suspended in a spider web.

(Malka)

The P9 Ghetto-Mobile will clearly be a striking addition to the Pont Neuf bridge that will

help cheaply house Parisians. The project reflects the shape and effect of the parasite by how it

laches not only to the bridge, but also to each other. Rising slightly above the ground of the

bridge, the project will be held on poles reinforced on the bridge. The housing units are variety

of sized rectangular boxes with red accent colors, with a metallic facade and surrounded by a

metallic web like wall. The outward facing walls are large windows to lessen the energy impact

of the units by letting in optimal natural light (Meinhold, 2014).

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Pod City

The City of Paris has created a new competition for architects, designers, and developers

from all around the world to create a new Paris. The competition is entitled “Reinventer Paris”

because they are looking for urban thinkers to create new, exciting, and innovative projects to set

a new standard for what exactly Paris is. In her letter describing the purpose of the competition,

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, reveals what the city is looking for,

A city like Paris must be able to reinvent itself at every moment in order to meet the

many challenges facing it. Particularly in terms of housing and everything relating to

density, desegregation, energy and resilience. It is important in today's world to find new

collective ways of working that will give shape to the future metropolis. (…)

I hope that each team deploys its creativity freely in order to imagine the projects they

would like to see realized in the coming years. The teams will consist of original and

unconventional groups in which all disciplines can be represented, reinventing our ways

of living, working, exchanging and sharing in Paris.

Surprise us by offering Parisians a new vision of their city, revealing new quarters with a

wealth of possibilities (Missika)!

This passage from her letter shows that the city is looking for creative solutions to issues facing

the Parisian environment and the actors within it. This leaves a giant opportunity for firms to turn

to the Urban Ecology Theory and natural ecological processes for inspiration.

One Korean firm has done just that. The Korean firm, Planning Korea, has submitted an

idea that does just that. Planning Korea uses an idea stemming from the example set up by

mimicking pod-like organisms that create a natural, organic design. Planning Korea is a Seoul-

based firm that uses a combination of different types of designer, architects, and innovators to

create functional art that enhances the lives of people who come into contact with it in a

multitude of ways.

The plans are entitled L’air Nouveau de Paris, or New Paris Air. The project is to create a

microbial city that fits within the larger environment that is Paris. This development is mixed-use

and the pods will have different commercial and residential purposes. The overall goal is for

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there to be a this smaller, sustainable version of the city where its residents and people from the

surrounding area can go to fulfill their various needs from grocery shopping to going to the gym.

Planning Korea’s proposal for this project contains an eloquent example of exactly what the

purpose of this project is, “It was dragged from the observation of a micro world of nature, with

little organisms in the gardens and woods in downtown of Paris, co-existing within the macro

world of artificial structures – the buildings (Mandal, 2015).” This quote shows that the project

attempts to scale the microbial ecological to work within the micro world.

Figure 6: Architecture Sketch of L’air Nouveau de Paris during the day,

The project creates an intriguing addition to the areal view of Paris .

(Mandal, 2015)

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The design of the project is multi-faceted with a web-like connection design that allows

the architects to create a larger example of a self-sustaining small ecological system. The bottom

of the design is a circular web of greenways that create bridges for pedestrians over the autoroute

below. These lanes are the basis of the pole supports that hold the glass, egg-like pods that are

the main spaces within the project. These pods are circular with a metal net enforcing the glass

outside. This design is to copy examples found within nature and house the variety of tenants

that will inhabit the space (Rosenfield, 2015).

Figure 7: Close up Architecture Sketch of L’air Nouveau de Paris during the day,

The pods of the project clearly resemble eggs and natural lines.

(Mandal, 2015)

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The placement of the design is one within the void between two road overpasses in Porte

Malliot. In the rendering below there is a before and after look into what the L’air Nouveau de

Paris with do to enhance the environment around it. It will create a new version of this area that

causes it to not be one that is dominated by asphalt and car reliant travel, but one that is

dominated by greenspace and encourages patrons to enjoy both the inside and outside of the

project. By looking at this, it is obvious that the new development will create a more natural

urban environment that allows pedestrians to travel across and development to happen above a

heavily traveled, congested autoroutes.

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Figure 8: Architecture Sketch of L’air Nouveau de Paris showing before and after.

This view shows how the project will enhance the surrounding urban environment.

(Mandal, 2015)

L’air Nouveau de Paris creates a solution for the same area of issues that the parasitic

housing section discussed. The city of Paris has very little open ability for growing upward;

therefore, there must be new, innovative solutions for spacial needs. This is a type of infill

development that takes advantage of an innovative space. Building a full and unique mixed-use

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development suspended in between two overpasses could be considered difficult. Planning Korea

uses inspiration found by turning toward the microbial makeup and design of organisms to utilize

this different space. Therefore, they are looking at urban issues through the lens created by the

urban ecology theory.

Algae energy

A forth project that is in the process of happening within Paris is not based around

housing and development, but an innovative way of obtaining and using resources. The process

uses algae to create energy to be added to the grid. This is a result of the joint effort between the

Paris-based energy systems company, Ennesys, and the American algae company, OriginOil.

The project is a necessary example for the entire county, as France has strict energy goals for the

year 2020. France’s policy, RT202, demands a 20% reduction of the entire country’s energy use

while at the same time increasing the nations renewable energy by 20%. To do this, the

government is requiring that buildings recycle wastewater and create more energy than they use

(Loomans, 2012).

The project created by Emnesys and OriginOil is housed within the La Defense complex

close to Paris. It uses a process called algae farming to create energy, as well as, purify

wastewater. The algae is cultivated and then, through an extraction process, is treated to create a

combustible oil that can be used to create a fuel to be used as a sustainable energy source. There

is, also, a byproduct that is created of recycled gray water that can be reused for flushing and

other non-consumption functions. The below chart gives more detail to this complicated process

(Technology, 2015).

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Figure 9: Flow diagram showing the process of creating energy from algae.

Diagram is explained in figure 10.

(Technology, 2015)

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Figure 10: Chart describing each step of the process of creating energy from algae.

This is the explanation of figure 9.

(Technology, 2015)

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The algae are grown on the roof of the La Defense complex and will create more energy

than the building needs. This building is a central building within La Defense neighborhood of

Paris. The algae technology is also being used in a new building project being created by Ennesy

called Urbanlab. The sole purpose of this building is to show off and house this energy creation

at a larger level. The façade of the building was created by the architects, Manual Gautrand and

Axel Schoenert, as a way to showcase the innovation that is happening inside and on top of the

building. The green color of the outside reflects the green processes and the algae housed within

the building. The gold color of the mesh reflects the energy being created. The walls of the

building serves as part of the algae growing process and have the added benefit of insolating the

building (Technology, 2015).

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Figure 11: Outdoor architectural rendering of the Urbanlab building.

The rendering shows how the building will combine nature and innovation.

(Loomans, 2012)

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Figure 12: Nighttime architectural rendering of the La Defense complex.

The rendering shows how the building will combine nature and innovation.

(Loomans, 2012)

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This project sets up a scalable example for cities all over the world to create safe,

chemical free energy with multiple benefits. Ennesys’ website reveals that this project serves as

such example to bring this technology to the global market. The website outlines all of the

reasons that this example of the urban ecology theory should be used to help elevate the energy

consumption of cities internationally. The website implies that a truly sustainable city needs to

turn to this technology to be truly successfully sustainable, but this is the business’s website so it

is not an unbiased source. That being said, it is clear that algae-based energy is a useful tool for

creating a sustainable urban environment (Applications, 2015).

Figure 13: Image of the Ennesyes website.

This image shows the uses for sustainable urban development using algae energy.

(Applications, 2015)

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What Does This Mean?

Paris has a wide range of projects that employ the urban ecology theory. The city is

attracting talent and innovation that is being drawn to finding solutions within the urban ecology

theory. These projects show how even the most basic employment of the urban ecology theory

can truly produce a new urban environment that functions in innovative and sustainable ways.

These projects can serve as proof of the practicality of the theory and stand as an example for all

urban environments. Even if these projects are not realistic for all urban environments, they stand

to show that natural ecosystems and processes have use as inspirations within the urban sphere.

Singapore and a City in a Garden

Singapore is a global city-state that has the goal of become a “City in a Garden,” not

simply have a garden within a city. This simply means that the goal of Singaporean planners is to

create an urban environment that does not simply contain a garden, but is growing out of the

garden itself. The garden and the city are one within each other. The city has implemented a

multitude of projects to achieve this desired goal of a green, garden city. It is important to note

that gardens require a specific resource, other than sunlight, water. A city itself, also, requires a

large amount of water, especially one the size of Singapore, which currently stands at roughly 5

million residents with an area of 700 square kilometers (Ngiam Wen Jiang).

Singapore is setting itself up to be viewed through the parameters set up within the urban

ecology theory. By declaring itself a city within a garden, Singapore is saying that they are one

with a garden and, therefore, should fit within the larger ecological system of the garden. This

city should not simply be a man-made environment placed within a natural environment, but an

actual living part of the environment. An easy way to do this is by mimicking natural functions

Hane 35

and processes that exist within a garden. Focusing on the ways the city deals with the issues of

water, this paper will now explore how the city is utilizing the urban ecology theory and if the

city is successful in accomplishing its goals of being a city within a garden.

This large water requirement causes an extreme problem for the city-state of Singapore

that does not have any real natural resources of its own. There is not much land available for

Singapore harvest rainwater, either. Therefore, to create a large garden city, there needs to be a

large amount of water available. When planning, this needs to be an integral part of the process,

as a garden cannot exist without any water. Therefore, unique and innovative solutions must be

put into place to account for the water shortage (The Singapore Water Story).

Gardens By the Bay

The largest of the garden projects in Singapore is the Gardens by the Bay. Wilkinson

Eyre Architects and Grant Associates designed the project. The project was designed to be a

garden full of a variety of ecosystems to preserve and show the wide range of plants and systems

that exist all over the planet. Completed in June 2012, the project originated as a design

competition that was entered by more than 170 firms from 24 different countries (History of

Gardens by the Bay). The Gardens by the Bay, according to its website the

Gardens by the Bay brings to life NParks' vision of creating a City in a Garden.

The Gardens captures the essence of Singapore as the premier tropical Garden

City with the perfect environment in which to live and work - making Singapore a

leading global city of the 21st century.

As mentioned above, a garden, especially one to this scale, requires an intense amount of water

to sustain itself. So to complete this task, the architects turned to natural influences to obtain and

maintain water supplies to take care of the water needed to create such a large-scale project

(‘Case Study: Tackling Singapore’s Water Shortage’).

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Figure 14: Map of Gardens by the Bay,

Supertrees are represented as purple circles.

(“Gardens by the Bay- Grant Associates”)

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One way this was done was the implementation of what are titled “Supertrees.” These

structures are based upon real trees, with trunks, branches and greenery. These Supertrees can be

found in figure 14 as the purple circles mostly found in the center of the garden. The trunks of

these trees are large vertical gardens that house a vast variety of international vegetation,

allowing the Singaporean citizens, international visitors, and tourists alike to experience and

appreciate fresh international produce, even though Singapore does not have the land area to

grow large scale farms themselves (“Gardens by the Bay- Grant Associates”).

The designers of these trees went beyond the visual representation of what a tree in fact

is. The supertree mirrors the process by which trees collect rainwater and harvest it to grow and

create its own energy. As mentioned above, there needs to be a vast amount of water for these

gardens to thrive, and there is no extra water to be spared by the city for this. The focus was

placed on harvesting rainwater and the supertrees do this in much of the way a tree does. The

waterfalls on the top of the supertrees, the branches, collect and absorb the rainwater and it runs

down through the tree feeding and watering the plants growing within it. The water then exits the

tree at its base and is sent through pipes to help run fountains and cool other sections of the park

(‘Gardens by the Bay- Supertrees).

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Figure 15: Side view of Supertrees during the day,

Vertical vegetation surrounds trunks of trees; cones at top harvest rainwater.

(“Gardens by the Bay- Grant Associates”)

Figure 16: Looking up at Supertrees at night,

Supertrees add beauty to surrounding area.

(“Gardens by the Bay- Grant Associates”)

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Marina Bay Sands

Beyond the Gardens by the Bay project, there have been other buildings and projects that

mirror nature and aid in the necessity of collecting and saving water for the city. One of these

such projects was the Artscience Museum that is part of the Marina Bay Sands Resort. The

Artscience Museum is the first of its kind in the world to be dedicated to exploring the

combination of art and science. The building also combines architecture and nature. The building

seems to float on the water like a lily pad and its shape is influenced completely by the design of

the lotus flower. This creates a perfect combination of architecture and nature, and leaves a

unique impression on visitors that mirror the uniqueness of the inside (Grozdanic, 2014).

Figure 17: Side view of ArtScience Museum across bay,

ArtScience Museum reflects the shape of the lotus flower.

(Grozdanic, 2014)

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Figure 18: Back view of ArtScience Museum across bay,

ArtScience Museum reflects the shape of the lotus flower.

(Grozdanic, 2014)

Beyond the natural imitation of the shape of the building, the ArtScience Museum, also,

uses its uniquely shaped roof to collect rainwater. The rainwater is then filtered through the

middle of the building to the freshwater pond by the entrance. The water is then used to create

and sustain the waterfall in the center of the museum. The water is, also, used within the

bathrooms of the facility. This is to save water and create a sustainable bathroom that uses

recycled water to flush toilets and perform other functions. For the same reasons as listed when

discussing the Supertrees and Gardens by the Bay, there is not enough water for freshwater to be

wasted with a pond and waterfall. This design allows these amenities to be present, without

wasteful behavior (“ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands”, 2013, 1).

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What Does This Mean?

Singapore is clearly attempting to create a new form of urban environment by becoming a

city within a garden and not vice versa. The city-state has the capital, resources, and international

influence to actually create this vision of a city in a garden, even with their water issues. The

creation of this city within a garden could be considered as the perfect platform for the

practicality of the urban ecology theory. This being said, the urban ecology theory is not being

utilized to its largest possibilities. Singapore has been drawing in competitive international talent

to solve issues and create their ultimate city. The urban ecology theory needs to be considered a

truly feasible tool for the city. Only by mimicking or at the very least considering inspirations

from natural processes, can the city truly coexist successfully within a garden and become one

with it.

Conclusion

The urban ecology theory is a broad theory centered on the many connections that could

be found between urban and natural environments. This theory can be broken up into three

different approaches: discovering the parallels between urban and natural ecological systems,

researching the natural ecosystems present within urban environments, and the human ecology

approach. Currently, there is a push to bring the urban ecology theory from simply a theory to a

practical tool that can be used by architects, planners, and designers, alike.

This tool can come in the form of applying any of these approaches in a way that betters

the urban environment and the lives of its residents. Using the first approach under the urban

ecology theory, innovators can turn to inspiration from natural processes to solve the issues their

urban environments are facing. Paris and Singapore are two global cities that are using these

Hane 42

tools to create interesting, sustainable, and an overall better urban experience for residents and

visitors, alike.

These new tools layered under the urban ecology theory give cities a plethora of new

opportunities and inspirations. Dealing strictly with the first approach, there are four ways

innovators and scholars can connect the two environments. These connections create new

trajectories that can be followed to find solutions. These new opportunities are innovations, and

innovations are vital to the success of a city. The urban ecology theory is a way that cities can

remain creative. The creative cities theory reveals that this creativity is a key part of urban

survival and remaining globally influential.

If natural processes were used as an option for inspiration and taken seriously, what

would that mean for urban life? Would certain problems of possibly housing or resources be

solved more easily? Would this allow for a better urban environment overall, with more money

and resources to be spent solving other issues? What would the city look like then? Even if the

city does not completely adopt the urban ecology theory, which, admittedly, is not very practical,

using the urban ecology theory in the smallest way will better the overall functionality of the

city. Why remain closed minded? Why rely on traditional inspirations? Why not create a better,

healthier urban environment using natural inspirations?

Hane 43

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