Urban Ecology and Green Management

Course Information
Courses and exams
Prof	Somers Ben; Hermy Martin
Courses	Lectures and Practical
Examination	Partial or continuous assessment with (final) exam during the examination period
Background
Credits	4
When?	1st semester
ECTS	Link

2025

Link 5 words and explain them:
1. clinging and Hedera helix
2. hemicrypthophytes and humulus lupulus
3. Thom's discomfort index and albedo
4. Holzzementdach and extensive green roof
5. BVOC and ecosystem disservices
BAF assignment handed in beforehand
Explain to the prof why private green (gardens) is always left out in plans and argue whether you would implement private green as they are 12% of flanders surface and contribute to the blue-green network. Give a detailed step-by-step plan on how AND why you would implement private green in a plan for a municipality.
3 points of interest on a villa. The owner wants more green and so on the roof (B) (which can carry up to 1000kg/m² including snow) he want some greenery and he want to be able to enjoy the upstairs and it needs to be accessible. On the front wall (A) (south oriented) he want to have a green wall. At the garage entrance (C) he also want some soil bound vertical green and want to have less impervious soil here (but the car still has to be able to enter the garage).
1. Which green element would you implement at A, B and C.
2. give all the technical aspects of the implementation of these green elements (for B, draw a cross section of the layers needed for the roof and name them and for A, give some species you would put there).
3. Shortly explain all the maintenance for these locations.

Make 5 word pairs and explain link: Bioclimatic Chart, FLL, Phanerophyte, LiDAR, vegetation structure, wall flower, Wisteria sinensis, pumice, trass, Thom's Discomfort Index.
BAF task (handed in beforehand)
How would you adjust the green infrastructure in Brussels when you want to maximise the health benefits of green spaces? Give a detailed step by step plan.
Given design of a new town hall with a total roof area of 5000 m². It has a sloping part (15°) all the way from the ground up to the flat part of the roof. The roof should be used as a public park. The architect will adjust his design based on the weight of your design.
1. What kind of green roof would you put on the roof? Explain all technical aspects of the design and draw a picture elaborating on each element, also shortly explain the requirements that each element should conform to.
2. What green elements would you include in the design, taken into account that Biodiversity is a main concern of the municipality.
3. What species would you include in the design?
4. What are the maintenance requirements for the roof you've chosen?

Make 6 word pairs and explain link: Ecopolis, UHI, LCZ, WSUD, Ziggurat, Holzzementdach, OECD, WDR2009, Aerosolen, Dry composition, Therophyte, Ploughing.
BAF task (handed in beforehand)
Open question about how you would adjust the green infrastructures in Brussel to optimize the health benefits providing by the green spaces. Give a detailed step by step plan.
Building of 20 floors high, orientation given, there is a large surface A where the plan was to construct another floor. On top of the surface A is a small building where the roof was a helicopter platform (surface B): The owner wants a green roof on A and B, on A should also be a terrace (In the south) and you should also create shade on the terrace by just using plants (and a support structure), the remaining green roof should be aesthetically pleasant. For surface B you should focus on biodiversity. You don't want the maintenace to be too high
1. What kind of green roof would you install on surface A? What kind of plant species, ...?
2. How would you design the terrace? Draw a sketch
3. What kind of green roof would you install on surface B? What kind of plant species, ...?
4. Draw all the components of the green roof on surface A and explain the different layers.

Make 6 word pairs and explain link: Ecopolis, Living City, FLL, Pumice, Antropochory, mobile species, UHI, LCZ, Guerilla gardening, Horticultural therapy, CAM, Sempervivum
BAF task (handed in beforehand)
Open question about how you would adjust the green infrastructures in Brussel to optimize the health benefits providing by the green spaces. Give a detailed step by step plan.
Big villa with given dimensions and orïentation. The owner wants to make his building greener. He wants low maintenance and if possible a tree.
1. Which green elements (vertical and 'horizontal') would you suggest
2. Explain technical aspect of your design.
3. Explain the required maintenance of your design.

Make 6 word pairs and explain link: BVOC-ecosystem disservice, endolithic-poikilohydric, OECD-WDR2009, bioclimatic charts-Thom's discomfort index, Ecopolis-WSUD, ziggurat-Holzzementdach
BAF task (handed in beforehand)
Question about how you would approach implementing green infrastructure in Leuven City. Present to the city council how, where, what and why you do certain things. What basic principles are important (ecopolis)? etc
What kind of green roof would you put on a garage/carport? Draw all layers and structure, name them and explain what they consist of. What can you do to attract insects to the green roof?

Hermy: Design a green roof for a particular building with a sloped and a flat roof. Give the different layers of this green roof. What vegetation would you choose and how would you construct the different layers. Which management is needed.
Somers: The government of Brussels asks you to investigate and improve the accessible green for all the citizens. How will you make sure that all the citizens have nearby access to urban green (give step by step plan). + some additional question during the oral exam about blue-green network, BUGS, ...
12 terms that have to be linked in pairs and explained: EPS, noppenmat, UHI, succulentie, extensief groendak, LCZ, bioclimatic charts, muurvaren, S-habitat, albedo, ...

BAF assignment
Make 6 pairs: E Park, CAM, horticulture therapy, antropochory, endolithic species, poikilohydric, bryophytes, sempervivum tectorum (houseleek), guerilla gardening
Open question about gardens and intensive green roofs

Version A

Water(balance)
1. Compare the urban and rural water balance qualitatively and quantitatively (if possible).
2. Discuss the waterbalance on an extensive greenroof. What parts of the greenroof have an impact on the waterbalance?
3. WSUD: what is it, discuss some ways to implement this structurally.
Make 6 positive pairs: anthropochory, mobile species, zugarrat, Holzzementdach, perching site, Wall flower, trass, lichen, FLL, pumice, extinction prone, Red species list
Write components of extensive greenroof next to figure from the slides
Ben Somers: What is citizen science or crowdsourcing? How does it impact sustainable urban design? Give two different examples.

Version B

Species and urbanization
1. In what categories can species be divided according to their reaction to urbanization?
2. How can urbanization be expressed (what variables can be used as proxies)
3. What is the total effect, in number of species, of urbanization on the different categories of species?
Make 6 pairs: antropochory, endolithic species, poikilohydric, bryophytes, sempervivum tectorum (houseleek), guerilla gardening, Robert E Park, CAM, horticulture therapy, EPS, pumice, casuals.
Write components of extensive greenroof next to figure from the slides
Why and how can remote sensing help for urban ecology and green management? Give two examples.