Urban Green Infrastructure for Resilient Urban Transformations: A System Dynamics Modelling Approach for Streets as Multifunctional Spaces

In pursuing resilient urban transformations, streets must be transformed into multifunctional spaces integrated into the urban green infrastructure (UGI), but there is a lack of systemic understanding of synergies and trade-offs of UGI in streetscapes. System dynamics (SD) modelling is a method to better understand complex interconnections between indicators in a multidisciplinary context and, therefore, can help achieve multifunctional streets. We propose here a SD model focusing on four sub-projects of a Research Training Group (active mobility comfort, private yard morphology, bird community composition, and tree canopy growth) and centred around two urban planning goals, i.e. enhancing Active Mobility Comfort (AMC) and increasing Bird Biodiversity (BBD). The resulting model allowed us to exemplify relevant indicators, synergies and trade-offs of UGI elements, indirect paths to reach urban planning objectives and high-impact indicators serving as a lever for street transformations. Through this endeavour, we gained a more holistic understanding of street UGI interactions, which is beneficial for interdisciplinary research and effective decision-making.