Page 61 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 2

Hayriye Eşbah Tunçay

emergency assembly points for people in case of any disasters caused by
practices towards resilient cities. The recent events related to the issue reveal
its importance.
Parks are the most efficient mechanisms of cities to be functionalized
in terms of preparation to climate change. Failure to notice the ecological
quality factors in the design and planning of parks decreases the contribution
of such important areas in the city atmosphere. Ecological quality is the
combination of structural and functional features that determine the health
and habitat values of a landscape or ecosystem. Ecological quality refers
to the level where the ecosystem maintains its natural functions, and when
this level is not maintained, rapid destruction and the disruption of a larger
system is inevitable (Esbah et al, 2009). The ecological quality of an area
can be discussed based on four features: 1- productivity close to natural, 2-
Water 3- Biodiversity 4- Soil (Forman, 2014). In addition to ecological quality,
the visual quality is also important for its perception and ownership. In this
sense, the criteria that need consideration can be listed as activity and usage
(diversity), availability (legibility), comfort and image (safety and maintenance)
and sociability (sense of ownership) (Yücel and Yıldızcı, 2006).
Parks differ in size from local parks to urban parks, and at a medium scale,
district and neighborhood parks. It is the responsibility of municipalities
to provide the green area per person defined in zoning legislation. In this
hierarchical structure, the classification based on the accessibility and size of
parks should also include the functions required from each park in terms of
water in the 21 century. In fact, these large public spaces can be considered
st
as sponge areas that can absorb the rainwater of the built environment around
them. During periods of heavy precipitation in the city, for easy drainage of
water without overburdening the existing infrastructure, water can be directed
to these areas and rainwater can be managed in the water storage and
retarding areas in these parks. Parks offer potential areas for a city to manage
water in its own source, which is the primary principle of a drainage system.
Directing water to retarding reservoirs built in the park will lighten the
burden on the neighborhood infrastructure by 50%. In a sense, these areas
can be seen as giant water tanks in parks. The only areas that store so much
water with such little cost are parks. The water that comes into contact with
nature will also be filtered as it is exposed to vegetation. Such a drainage will
cost 1/3 of the gray infrastructure in cities. The system does not require an
extra pump, pipe or valve, which will reduce not only visual pollution, but also
the costs. With the retarding basins to be built in the parks, it is possible to
capture water for 24 to 36 hours, to be gradually released to the infrastructure.
This can be seen in the case of the Ford Ward Park in Atlanta.

47 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate