This essay reports on a ‘living lab’ approach to develop a new understanding of below- and above-ground ecological processes as the foundation for robust urban forest habitats. This experimental approach includes a series of design and implementation projects in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands. In contrast to mainstream greening projects led by local governments, these experiments enable urban trees to form more robust forest-like systems by creating a symbiosis between soil (organisms), trees, plant communities, and species. As implemented reference projects are limited, a learning-by-doing methodology was adopted. A transdisciplinary team, consisting of landscape architects/designers, arborists, botanists, municipal and private green space maintenance organizations, has initiated, implemented, and monitored a series of pilot projects. Analysis of ten natural reference locations in the surrounding countryside has helped to define natural and forest-like soil conditions and plant communities for the three living lab locations in the city. Local residents have been engaged in the design, implementation and maintenance process. Sharing insights so far contributes to the transition of reconnecting soil, nature, and people in cities.

Population growth and urbanization are straining the limited space in the built environment. The business districts take up a great portion of this built space. These districts face climate change hazards and spatial emptiness due to their profit-driven foundation. Sustainable ambitions and strategic locations offer the potential to rethink business districts and integrate them into the living environment. Understanding business districts as potential workscapes, more socio-ecological inclusive business districts, is a new perspective. This research formulates a method to define the spatial quality of business districts through literature review and spatial analysis. A spatial analysis of forty cases in the Netherlands presents a higher spatial quality on more diverse landscapes. This indicates that diversification of the business districts’ landscape from monotone to multitone is needed to enable workscape development. Landscape-driven urbanism is needed to generate this desired level of quality. The research highlights the strategic location of edge-city business districts, situated between urban and rural areas, showing the potential to strengthen the urban-rural relationship. Further research on and by design is needed to enable workscape development.

De bedrijventerreinen in Nederland zijn een belangrijke drijfveer achter onze welvaart en ze vormen de werkomgeving van velen. Momenteel staan deze terreinen vol met ‘grote dozen’ en is er een gebrek aan groen. Hierdoor wordt het er warm, is er sprake van wateroverlast en is de openbare ruimte niet ingericht op verblijf en recreatie. Dit maakt de terreinen onaangenaam voor werknemers, bezoekers en omwonenden. Met het nationale Werklandschappen van de Toekomst programma wordt beoogd om de duizenden bedrijventerreinen in Nederland te transformeren in klimaatadaptieve, gezonde, natuur-inclusieve en multifunctionele bedrijventerreinen. Dit is een belangrijke conditie voor de innovatie van de terreinen en daar gevestigde bedrijven. Het transformeren van bedrijventerreinen is een complexe opgave. Een dergelijke transformatie kan leiden tot een verscheidenheid aan ruimtelijke, ecologische, sociale en economische voordelen zoals een aangenamer microklimaat, ruimte voor multifunctionaliteit, bevordering van de biodiversiteit en van de gezondheid van de werknemers. Door kwalitatieve omgevingen te bouwen versterken we de economie. Om te komen tot deze nieuwe generatie bedrijventerreinen zoeken we naar integrale ruimtelijke oplossingen en handelingsperspectieven. Dit vraagt om landschapsbewuste gebiedsontwikkeling en waar mogelijk met versterking van de economische en innovatieve waarde van bestaande bedrijventerreinen. De terreinen zullen dus hun economische karakter behouden, maar hun kille uitstraling inruilen voor een aantrekkelijk perspectief. Hoe ontwerpen we voor een dergelijke integrale gebiedsontwikkeling? Deze bijdrage pleit voor een co-creatieve aanpak waarbij generieke ruimtelijke patronen worden ontworpen die toepasbaar zijn op de duizenden bedrijventerreinen in Nederland.

Drylands, hyper arid to subhumid areas where rainfall is limited, are expected to expand due to climate change. Natural resources, such as water and food, are scarcer in these areas. Population growth and urbanization are putting even more pressure on communities living there, as well as on the urban fabric and ecosystems. How can nature based ecocities be created in these environments?

A pattern language, which is able to translate practical knowledge into substantiated spatial configurations that work in arid areas is missing in current theory and practice. The ´Urban Arid Green research by design project´ addresses a sustainable population growth and urbanization in arid regions via the case study in Tamansourt. Tamansourt is one of the 19 Moroccan new towns developed under the national Villes Nouvelles (New Towns) strategy. The city is still under construction, as the spatial analysis, site visit, and conducted interviews have revealed. The city has not reached its target population nor its desired level of urban activity yet. However, fundamental issues already manifest themselves.

The vision ‘Regreen to Rewild’ aims to counteract the pressures mentioned before, by developing a transformative framework towards an ecocity, taking the natural system as the basis (nature-driven urbanism). Tamansourt Ecocity gives purpose to the local community and a new identity to the city.

The transition described in this vision requires a systemic change, including environmental, policy and behavioral change. To support this shift, a common language amongst all future stakeholders has been created: the Urban Arid Green pattern language. This spatial language includes four pathways, of which each includes a group of development guidelines. One of the four pathways captures the original design guidelines for Moroccan new towns, as formulated by Al Omrane in 2010. The other guidelines focus on the biosphere, the urban fabric, and immaterial values.

The Urban Arid Green project shows how these generic patterns can be translated into a site-specific design which stakeholders can use in the city’s transition. This sets a precedent for other arid cities that aim to sustainably develop while under the pressure of scarce resources, climate change and population growth. Every landscape needs to adapt its own site-specific pathway based on the generic language, allowing unique dialects for different landscapes.