Planning Multifunctional Urban Green Infrastructure for Compact Cities in Europe

The urbanization rate is considerably high in Europe. Hence, there is a limited opportunity for improving the provision of urban green spaces. However, the compact city model can be combined with green planning strategies such as urban green infrastructure. The two core principles of urban green infrastructure planning—multifunctionality and connectivity—aim to improve access and provide multiple social and ecological benefits on restricted space. In this chapter, we discuss how the German capital of Berlin aims at developing a green and compact city with a focus on multifunctionality. The city administration employs different planning strategies to establish a multifunctional and connected green infrastructure, most notably the Landscape Program. The Landscape Program includes thematic projects and an action plan, the “General Urban Mitigation Plan”, to develop green spaces that combine priorities from the thematic plans. Green spaces implemented by the action plan such as the “Park auf dem Nordbahnhof” and landscape park “Johannisthal” represent good practice examples in terms of combining multiple functions for recreation, cultural heritage, and biodiversity. These cases exemplify how multifunctionality can be encouraged at the site level with design and management interventions such as zoning or path structures.