Nature-based Solutions in the New Master Plan of Árborg, Iceland.

By Hugrún Harpa Björnsdóttir

Even though Selfoss is a small town on a European scale, it’s one of the biggest towns in Iceland. With more than 9000 inhabitants and rapidly growing (Statistics Iceland, n.d.a), the municipality of Árborg needed to make another master plan eight years before the old one was outdated. This blog post criticizes the new master plan with Nature-based Solutions in mind. It discusses ideas to enforce NbS in new neighbourhoods in the town. 

The European Commission and IUCN have lately been implementing the concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). The main idea is to use natural resources in a sustainable way to respond to environmental changes. NbS tries to secure food and water, respond to floods and implement more greenery. Multiple methods are achievable to adjust NbS in urban areas. Methods like sustainable drainage systems, wetland restoration and increased greening in urban areas. Studies have also shown positive effects between NbS and mental health (Cohen-Shacham, Walters, Janzen, & Maginnis, 2016, European Commission, 2021).

One of the NbS ideas is to increase biodiversity. Biodiversity is essential for humans. It is a significant factor in keeping our ecosystems healthy. Healthy ecosystems help us maintain our soil, purify the air, clean our water, and provide food. Therefore, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity are considered the foundation of our civilization and sustain our economy and society. ( Wilson, Chivian, & Bernstein, n.d.)

The new master plan of the municipality of Árborg mentions the word “biodiversity” once. It states: “The plan should encourage sustainability, protect biodiversity and preservation, and carbon sequestration in soil and vegetation”. Nature-based solutions are never directly mentioned. However, it states the new neighbourhoods should implement sustainable drainage systems. Its main emphasis regarding green areas is on outdoor activities, football fields and playgrounds. It states the importance of playgrounds and dwelling areas in public spaces. The master plan furthermore mentions mixing nature into the urban area (Þorðardottir, Gislason, Sveinsdottir, Olafsson, & Luðviksdottir, 2022). However, it doesn’t develop any ideas concerning that, except the sustainable drainage system. It doesn’t discuss how to implement it. The main emphasis seems to be on the football fields and playgrounds.

A map of Selfoss where the new
neighbourhoods are shown in red

A sustainable drainage system is a step forward. Nonetheless, it is not enough. The master plan can take another step forward by implementing NbS. The plan estimates an additionally 5500 new housing units before 2036 (Þorðardottir, Gislason, Sveinsdottir, Olafsson, & Luðviksdottir, 2022). That is plenty. Especially since the town has more than doubled its population since 1998 (Statistics Iceland, n.d.a, n.d.b). It has been challenging to maintain local infrastructure. The main focus is on developing new parcels for new houses. The population growth needs to slow down for the municipality to concentrate on local infrastructure. That can keep the residents happy. 

Though why not focus on the well-being of the inhabitants instead of building the maximum number of housing units?

It would be interesting to design one of the new neighbourhoods with NbS in mind. The neighbourhood could include a sustainable drainage system. In the middle of the neighbourhood could be a lovely park with a playground and a cafe. The drainage water could create a lake inside the park. The park could be indoors so the locals could enjoy the greenery all year long. It could get inspiration from other indoor gardens, like 550 Madison Garden in New York, designed by Snøhetta, a Norwegian architecture company (Snøhetta, n.d.). It could also be a semi-indoor garden, similar to the Solar Cupola idea, the winning design of the new European Commission research centre in Seville (Crook, 2022), e.g. The garden could escape foul weather all year round. It would use renewable energy as an energy source. Same as the neighbourhood. 

550 Madison Garden in New York

The Solar Cupola

There are ways to keep the number of housing units if the local government would not be pleased about decreasing the potential population due to a park. The new park’s demand for private yards could decline, allowing the neighbourhood to be more compact. Two-floor apartment complexes could be ideal with a rooftop garden rather than a backyard. A private rooftop garden would give people a private garden simultaneously as doing something attractive and different. Something new and different that could work in Iceland.

References: 

Cohen-Shacham, E., Walters, G., Janzen, C., & Maginnis, S. (2016). Nature-based Solutions to     address global societal challenges. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

Crook, L. (2022, April 12). BIG models Spanish research centre on Sevillian awnings. From             Dezeen: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/04/12/big-solar-cupola-joint-research-centre-seville/

European Commission. (2021). Evaluating the impact of nature-based solutions. Luxembourg:         European Commission.

Wilson, E., Chivian, E., & Bernstein, A. (n.d.). Why do we need to protect biodiversity? Retrieved     from European Commission: Environment:

    https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/intro/index_en.htm

Snøhetta. (n.d.). 550 Madison Garden and Revitalization. Retrieved from Snøhetta:

    https://snohetta.com/projects/487-550-madison-garden-and-revitalization

Statistics Iceland. (n.d.a) Mannfjöldi eftir byggðakjörnum, kyni og aldri. 1 janúar 2001-2021

    [datafile]. Received April 30, 2022.

Statistics Iceland. (n.d.b) Mannfjöldi í einstökum byggðakjörnum og strjábýli eftir landsvæðum ár

    hvert 1889-1990 [data file]. Received April 30, 2022.

Þorðardottir, E. D., Gislason, G., Sveinsdottir, I., Olafsson, E. S., & Luðviksdottir, G. A

    (2022). Aðalskipulag Árborgar 2020-2036: Greinargerð - Tillaga. Selfoss: EFLA.