Concrete Jungle to Urban Wetland - Ellisse Dixon

CONCRETE JUNGLE TO URBAN WETLAND: challenging the nature/culture dichotomy in Coventry City Centre

Ellisse Dixon

with thanks to Mary Ann Steane

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project will offer up a phased approach to establishing a green plan for Coventry via the development of an anchor site in the centre of the city in partnership with industry leaders in EV battery research and production, and a larger-scale uncovering of the currently culverted River Sherbourne.

INTRODUCTION

Environmental problems exacerbated by the climate crisis are calling for new approaches to urban design and the nature/culture dichotomy (Caillon et al., 2017). In an ever more urbanised world where current predictions see 66% of people living in urban areas by 2050 (Myers, 2020), many are arguing that the days of nature and urbanity being seen as opposing forces should be over and new urban design should emerge in which humans and nonhumans are seen as equal players (Hinchliffe et al., 2005).

This thesis will look at current research into the idea of moving beyond the city/nature dichotomy and toward urban design that values and celebrates green infrastructure, as well as recognising the need for wide participation in large scale public space projects such as this. How such greening of the city could be applied in the context of Coventry will be its central concern.

In the City of Coventry where access to green space is well below the recommended average (Coventry City Council, 2019) and with the fastest growing population outside Greater London (Coventry City Council, 2022), there is a need to look at the city’s approach to green space in a way that benefits both humans and nature.

More specifically the anchor site for the design will focus on a series of under-utilised and disused basements throughout the city and the opportunity for a new ‘green plane’ whose uncovering of the River Sherbourne will offer citizens improved access to green space as well as opportunities for new multi-use spaces providing both job opportunities and educational and recreational facilities.

The client for the project discussed in this thesis is the local council. The

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like Detroit witnessing a resurgence in socially inclusive space planning through the planting of vacated lots to provide produce to local people (Mostafavi, 2012).

L I T E R AT U R E R E V I E W

On the 28th of November 2019 the EU declared a state of climate emergency on behalf of its representative nations, which at the time included the UK (Europarl.europa. eu. 2019). Since then, the UK government has made promises to address the current trajectory of climate change. At the Cop26 climate conference the government set out plans to protect communities and natural habitats as well as to prepare citizens to become more climate resilient (UK Government, 2021). This has allowed for serious thinking to become actionable in response to the crisis and encouraged research into the ways in which nature can be prioritised in developments in order to build natural resilience.

In the discourse between nature and city there has been an extremely important move in the recognition of the importance of nature within urban spaces with the ways in which some communities have gone so far as to recognise natural entities as equals, as in New Zealand where the Whanganui River has received the same status as that of a legal person (Caillon, 2017). Whether this expansion of rights can be translated into a western setting is sometimes discussed by comparing such entities to various other groups that were previously denied equal rights, e.g., slaves, women and children (Caillon,2017).

In addition, with ecocide becoming a more prominent movement evidenced by the recent demand for ecocide law in places such as Iceland (Stop Ecocide International, 2022), the understanding that nature should be valued as an equal is becoming more and more prevalent.

Nature, and more specifically the benefits to humans provided by nature termed ecosystem services, are increasingly being taken seriously by local and central government and are beginning to become incorporated into planning guidance (Defra, 2020). These benefits include provisioning goods like water, food, or fibre; regulating processes like flood control; supporting services like nutrient cycling or waste assimilation; and encouraging the cultural appreciation of fresh water as an aspect of spiritual and/or recreational activity (Anderson et al., 2019).

A more straightforward way in which we could begin to see positive change being made now is through rejecting the view that nature opposes the urban and instead looking to an architecture that sees the two as a combined force in helping our

For too long the dichotomy of nature and the urban has been the ruling opinion in urban design with highly manicured green space serving merely aesthetic purposes and nature seen as something that is useful in the countryside but with no specific purpose in the urban landscape (Caillon et al., 2017). However, with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the decline in high streets resulting in vacant lots the recent resurgence in productive green landscapes within urban territories has been remarkable with cities

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cities become more resilient to climate change. An example of how this is already being implemented is in the approach to flooding, where rivers are increasingly being reconnected with their natural floodplain to make space for water away from vulnerable areas (Environment Agency, 2021) as well as the move away from channelling surface water run off through long networks of pipes and sewer systems toward a more natural and sustainable solution – SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) (Bertilsson, 2019).

The culverting of the river occurred during the post-war development of Coventry City Centre where levels of the city drastically rose through the sheer amount of rubble from the destroyed medieval city (see image to the left) The river which would have originally been at the level of the city is now contained within concrete banks at the basement level of the city (Historiccoventr y. co.uk. 2020). On this plane there are multiple basements straddling the river, some predating the post-war development, which offer up interesting opportunities for rethinking public space in Coventry via the introduction of an element of verticality in places.

In order to allow for these natural solutions there is a need for a more comprehensive response to the issues facing urban centres, where the lack of movement between green spaces is an issue for wildlife and the flourishing of biodiversity (Defra, 2020). Rivers, if healthy and accessible are often threads of nature through an urban setting that allow for this movement, and if integrated into the urban framework with green space provision along their course such a thread can then act as a fantastic ‘green corridor’ (Beechie et al,. 2010).

Critics of projects that demand large scale interventions such as these often cite cost as a major factor in arguing for the provision of alternative small scale, non-ambitious, half-hearted proposals that do little to address the problems.

However, considering the potentially high economic costs associated with climate change (Guimarães et al,. 2021), it has been proposed that habituating highly biodiverse ecosystems within urban centres would be a cost-effective way to mitigate climate change while helping to build resilience in citizens and cities alike and therefore having an impact on human well-being (Guimarães et al,. 2021).

Within the city of Coventry the River Sherbourne runs in the open for approximately 7km before meeting the Coventry Ring Road on the perimeter of the inner city where it is culverted and remains so for approximately 2km until it reappears outside the ring road on the other side of the centre. The river continues for another 9km before it merges with the River Sowe, eventually joining the River Severn.

Far Left: Figure 1 Above: Figure 2 - stairs from historic ground to new ground level

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In Coventry this has already been briefly explored when AECOM set out the economic benefits of different forms of river restoration and daylighting within the inner city (Aecom, 2014). However, it is important to note that for a successful intervention to benefit both humans and nonhumans there needs to be a focus on the ‘what, where and how’.

i.e., picnics, walks, community gathering, outdoor performances; places for the exchange of knowledge, i.e., community gardens, outdoor education facilities and living community notice boards, etc (Burrage, 2011).

It is important to engage early on with as full a range as possible of local communities to ensure the feeling of belonging within the space when realised and therefore improving engagement with and commitment to the project (Fisher et al., 2020). An important factor to consider with the actionability of plans such as these is the way in which the space is managed, and therefore the ownership is an important question to consider (Burrage, 2011). The program of use for the built aspect of the development is extremely important to its success and longevity. Successful cities are diverse cities (Desrochers and Leppala, 2011) and therefore taking a microcosmic approach to inner city developments where a wide variety of uses of space within a block result in more successful and engaging spaces.

Wellbeing, regarding both nature and humans, is an obvious reason for improving access to high quality green space, with various studies proving the benefits to physical and mental health (Wortzel et al., 2021) as well as better community engagement and remarking on the levelling ability of green space (Burrage, 2011).

In order to achieve successful green interventions in urban centres, a shift is required in the view of these interventions such that the space is not just deemed a pleasant passive space but rather a potentially pro-active force for community cohesion, engagement and social inclusion. Therefore, there is a need to transition from proposing ‘green space’ to ‘green hubs’. Outdoor hubs are able to offer great space for numerous different activities spanning from the visible to the less tangible such as places for recreation,

Recent government initiatives on revitalising the inner-city have focused on retail businesses and consumerism in an attempt to slow the downfall of

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the high street. However, this approach fails to acknowledge the importance of industry within successful and productive cities (McGough and Thomas, 2014). The coronavirus pandemic and the increase in working from home after the lockdowns have further highlighted the importance of industry within areas in London such as Canary Wharf and the City of London, given the economic struggles of commercial, retail and hospitality businesses resulting from the home-working of workers from the big industries of the area (Chakelian, 2021). This is because employment draws people into city centres therefore creating and sustaining a market for retailers and hospitality providers.

central areas compared with the 10 cities with the highest average emissions of CO2 from road transport (McGough and Thomas, 2014).

Finally, the importance of knowledge spill over resulting from industry being located within urban centres cannot be forgotten.

Face-to-face interactions, which are more likely to occur in dense areas with smaller distances between workspaces foster the atmosphere conducive of knowledge spill over (Norris, 2015).

Successful city centres, with a high density of businesses interspersed with retail and entertainment as well as residential elements, result in less urban sprawl. In contrast cities with more dispersed economies, like Coventry, have a greater dependence on private transport and a lack of diverse centres in terms of program. This not only results in higher transport costs for working people but results in higher CO2 emissions and therefore poorer environmental health. In fact, the 10 cities that have the lowest road transport CO2 emissions have a much higher average number of jobs in their

Above: Figure 3 Proposed long section through city showing level changed

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New York High Line A vital way to restore ecosystems and provide habitats is in the use of green corridors within urban centres, as explored previously. An example of how this has been done is in the High Line project in New York City.

New York City is rich in biodiversity but under constant threat historically, due to urbanisation with its green spaces being undermined by planning and management decisions. However, with the recent trend of realising the importance of ecosystem services within cities, local planners started to consider ways to improve the city’s existing urban nature and provisions of new space, or reimagined space (McPhearson, 2014). The High Line is one of these projects, built on a historic elevated railway line. The project was not the proposal of a profit driven developer but came from the local residents’ fight to save the viaduct from demolition (Ascher and Uffer, 2015).

per year and has resulted in a lifeline for biodiversity as well as driving commercial and residential development and can be cited as a key driver in the regeneration of the area.

However, this has seen a rise in the phenomena of green gentrification, and therefore indicates that inclusivity in the planning and development stage is essential for these sorts of projects (Anguelovski, 2018).

The elevated park is objectively a major success, drawing in over six million tourists

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Clockwise from top: Figure 4 (The High Line, n.d) Figure 5 (The High Line, n.d) Figure 6 (The High Line, n.d)

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Granby Four Streets CLT An example of how this has been done successfully is through the establishment of community land trusts (CLT) such as in the Granby Four Streets development.

CLTs are not-for-profit communitybased organisations that hold land in a trust to allow for letting out properties with affordable rents and delivering permanently affordable housing. Granby Four Streets maintains four streets and has already delivered 10 houses of lowcost home ownership and affordable rent as well as the Turner prize winning Winter Garden occupying two of the buildings, amid plans to deliver employment to local people and enrich the arts and social scene with community hubs (Granby 4 Streets, 2022).

However, there is growing concern in the long-term success of CLTs due to the reliance on grants and fundraising resulting in focus being solely on the monetary aspect and abandonment of transformative ideas to more practical, easily achievable targets. In the context of river restoration and excavation in Coventry where bold approaches are needed, this financial model is perhaps not the right one (Williams, n.d).

Clockwise from top: Figure 7 (Assemble, n.d) Figure 8 (Assemble, n.d) Figure 9 (Assemble, n.d)

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Detroit, USA Green space developments in Detroit are often in areas of vacant or derelict space such as the communitybased projects where local residents started to plant on empty lots within the city. This has resulted in large scale rethinking of urbanism within Detroit, with informal governance addressing public/private boundaries brought on by this example of urban agriculture and the transformation of public space into places of production instead of recreation (Mostafavi., 2012).

Above: Figure 10 - Detroit (YES! Magazine, n.d) Right: Figure 11 - Harbin (Chapman Taylor, n.d)

Detroit was once an industrial heartland with largely top-down development and this is now slowly being replaced by a more informal network of urban agriculture as more and more lots in the city become vacant. However, residents are aware of the need for more formal governance and expert information for the success and longevity of these productive urban landscapes (Mostafavi., 2012).

Harbin Urban Wetlands, China The level of ambition is often an important factor in the need for involvement of local government in the greening of a city. Harbin, a major city in China, is an example of the need for support from local government to deliver successful ecological regeneration projects.

Harbin is at high risk of flooding due to its location at the low point of the Songhuajiang River. This problem had been exacerbated

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by a historic flood control wall cutting off the natural wetland area, leading to habitat loss and in turn the loss of the ecosystem services it provided in the containment of run off water. In combination, the ecological need to restore the wetland and the local communities’ demand for public space saw the emergence of an ambitious wetland recovery plan (ZhiQiang and Yan, 2022).

of the wetland. This has resulted in a successful urban marshland where public access allows for the enjoyment of this new public space (ZhiQiang and Yan, 2022).

Through the exploration of these case studies, it has shown the importance of large-scale support from within government with citizenship participation which is why, when looking to the context of Coventry, it seems appropriate that the local council, with support from emerging industries, would take on the financier and management role.

The scheme involved the creation of a water resilient wetland park which served functional purposes using integrated green infrastructure to remediate excess stormwater as well as waste water from a nearby water plant. The design approach was formed by two landscape strategies, one which focused on the wetland aspect where adaptive regeneration was used to accommodate the annual fluctuation in water levels with the lower land comprising natural planting and the higher land enabling aesthetic appreciation

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1) Is uncovering the River Sherbourne worth pursuing in the name of ecological and social resilience?

METHOD

Despite there being substantial research into the regreening of urban spaces, and in parallel the importance of centrally based industry to the success of a city, UK central and local governments are not yet clear on how these can be actioned within urban centres and therefore this thesis has identified the following research questions:

The currently culverted river in Coventry is a thread that runs through the city offering up opportunities for green space along its route and the possibility of bringing back some of the ecosystem services it would have previously supplied to the city.

The notion of a ‘green corridor’ is what drove the initial investigations into the large-scale mapping of the city in which the river was seen as necessary to the movement of organisms but the degree to which it would be uncovered and the question of accessibility to the river is something that will now be explored further at different scales of intervention.

1) Is uncovering the River Sherbourne worth pursuing in the name of ecological and social resilience?

2) What is the current state of the subterranean river and the surrounding basements in Coventry and how can the space be utilised to address the issues of both green space and unemployment in Coventry?

Despite Coventry not currently being at high risk of flooding (JBA Consulting, 2015), with rising sea levels and the predicted increase to extreme weather events due

3) How can the public become an integral part of the development without it being tokenistic?

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other phased steps such as the floodplain restoration by engaging stakeholders. This means the success of this first anchor site is imperative to the success of the larger plans and thus an ambitious project that helps to engage local people is essential.

to climate change, the risk is only likely to become worse. It is surely obvious to see the dangers in the current situation of the river being housed in a glorified pipe and the need for its reintegration into the public realm to allow for a flow rate that enables it to handle surface run off in the event of freak weather.

Taking an aerial look at the city to see the natural and manmade topography along with the predicted flood mapping allowed for the identification of sites that could be reinstated as the natural floodplain to protect the inner city. These sites are the recently closed IKEA store (Layton, 2020) and Pool Meadow bus station. The name for the latter is indicative of its previous life (see figure below) and again an example of the current disconnect between nature and Coventry city’s urban landscape. The floodplain would be planted with local species and engagement with specialists in the subject would be required in order to re-establish a functioning floodplain.

Figure 12 - Historic Map showing Pool Meadow prior to development (Coventryatlas.org, n.d)

Following on from this it is important to establish an anchor site in the centre of the city that should aim to be a catalyst for the

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2) How can space on the boundary of the underground river be utilised to address the issues of both green space and unemployment in Coventry?

Coventry has a rich history of boom and bust with the once prominent textiles industry disappearing and the skill sets established being utilised in the transition to watchmaking and then eventually a progression to bicycle and car manufacture (Jeremy & Caroline Gould Architects, 2009). Coventry is still a major hub in the car industry in terms of research and testing, with Jaguar Land Rover being a big presence in the wider city, but the manufacturing businesses which once dominated the city have been rapidly declining (Humphries, 2021). However, is the emergence of new industries such as the proposed EV battery factory due to be built in Coventry and providing up to 6000 jobs (Autocar, 2022), a sign that the next phase of the industrial city is in progress?

with this process could parallel the move to a new green city with the establishment of satellite sites for sustainable manufacture and/or research centres already on the rise in Coventry.

With the government target of 2035 for a complete transfer to electronic vehicles (HM Government, 2020) the industry of EV batteries is only set to grow and if space were to be allocated as part of the anchor site of the deculverting of the River Sherbourne within the urban centre of Coventry there is real potential for economic growth.

The historical smog ridden, polluted vision of the industrial landscape of the city, as seen in L.S. Lowry’s paintings show why when establishing a new urban plan, industry has often been placed on the outskirts, and why in Coventry the majority of its main industries such as Jaguar Land Rover and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre sit on the outskirts of the city. This results in low engagement of their workforce with the city centre itself and perhaps explains why, despite Coventry being the 13th largest city in the UK, its population has the lowest level of engagement with its city centre (Coventry City Council, 2016).

The anchor site chosen is right at the heart of the city centre, with the river passing underneath a public space, which currently has a large uPVC canopy installed above,

There is growing research into the reintroduction of industry and manufacture within urban centres (Leigh, 2013), and with the revitalisation of sustainable green space in Coventry through the uncovering of its river, the built interventions associated

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a far cry from what the city architects proposed and built in the mid-century.

At present, the buildings occupying the site are all of commercial use with a large housing tower overlooking the site, housing some of the most deprived citizens of the city (Coventry City Council, 2020). The proposed intervention would see access to the river by excavating down to the floor level of the basements surrounding the public space, to the level of the height of the water of the river.

The introduction of these modern industrial spaces would in turn see development in hospitality and commercial entities with the larger footfall through the centre of the city.

The new ground plane to this area would not only open up access to the river but offer canopied and open green space with the underutilised basements being developed within its existing grid structure to allow for manufacture, workshop and office space for the expanding UV Battery Industry in Coventry. In addition, the provision of education facilities partnered with the manufacture and research centres could be located within the new development, offering facilities to support reskilling as well as offering apprenticeship programs.

As the buildings are publicly owned it would be possible for subsidies to be made to allow for reduced rents and start up grants for the unemployed and lowincome communities as well as providing space for the developing EV battery production, manufacture and research.

Workshop space in Coventry is hard to come by with space that is available often only being accessible by car and with a large majority of low-income citizens reliant on public transport, having space like this in the centre of the city with much easier access via public transport would allow for more accessibility and equality in space use.

Top Left: Figure 13 (Coventryatlas.org, n.d) Bottom Left: Figure 14 (Coventryatlas.org, n.d) Below: Figure 15 (Coventryatlas.org, n.d)

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3) How can the public become an integral part of the development?

The green space is pivotal to the design with Coventry’s poor access to green space enough of an argument for the introducing of green urban centres. The anchor site within the centre of the city would provide space in which citizens could connect with nature and help to educate them on the importance of biodiversity loss and climate change through community engagement.

Figure 16

Some academics argue that urbanisation and city densification can often trigger shifts in collectively shared environmental attitudes, with urban dwellers becoming increasingly environmentally illiterate in comparison to non-urban dwellers. This perhaps explains some of the inaction and lack of sense of emergency regarding the tackling of environmental issues (Colding, 2020).

Figure 17

When carrying out a Francis Alys inspired walk along the route of the river, pouring water on the surface of the ground to illustrate the current disconnect with the river, conversations with residents and visitors of the city emphasised this disconnect. Of the 60 people interviewed only 1 person had any knowledge that a river ran below them but after finding out 59 of them wanted to see a city plan which would return the river to the public realm.

It is therefore clearly important that

Figure 18

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this anchor site allows for elements of education and participation concerning the importance of uncovering and the services being provided through the improved ecosystems in relation to climate resilience.

opportunity for more formal amphitheatre style landscaping down to the river offering up the opportunity for open air performances as well as introducing new access routes through the city that follow the more natural path of the river, juxtaposing the highly rigid form above ground.

The green space itself could be a mixture of wild and cultivated space, with some parts under canopy through the use of buildings above, with lightwells inserted to provide natural light and ventilation. The space can offer up opportunities for community gardening for which there is currently no public space prevision in the city centre, and is a fantastic way in which to engage the local community from the outset with workshopping into the planning and development of these gardens. For example, local action groups involved with food poverty such as Coventry Foodbank and the Midland Langar Seva Society could be engaged to help with both the planning and the subsequent distribution of produce. The education space that helps to reskill workers could then also contain soft skill training such as gardening and cooking, using some of the produce from these community gardens.

In addition to the garden type green space there is

Figure 19 - concept sketch of canopied area

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Figure 20 - concept sketch of sunken area

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Sunken space connected to the river that can be planted with water purifying plants to allow for safe wet and dry conditions is a possibility, offering pools for paddling when flooded and providing space for picnics and informal seating when dry.

Currently UK green space planning lacks specificity of typologies of green space use and is not helped by the fact that most public space is overseen by planning policy but green infrastructure is controlled by other agencies (Burrage, 2011). Therefore, a change in policy is required to enable a holistic approach to both nature and city within public space development which could act as a successful example for similar developments around the UK and perhaps worldwide, putting Coventry on the map as a new green city.

Further research to be carried during the fieldwork period will be understanding the current needs and ambitions of local communities and how they might like to see a project like this developed through engagement in various types of workshops.

Figure 21 - concept sketch of passage under buildings

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R I X

1

y City Council ‘Green Utopia’ Poster

ve o f e n d o f Cove n tr y ’s r un a s City of Culture ve n t r y ’s t o u r is m b oard de cide to emba rk upon io us pl a n o f c om p le te ly uncovering the R iver ne a n d re g re e n in g th e c ity to make the city pl e a s a n t p l a c e to v is it, of fering a n urban Green st a s h o r t t r a in r ide away from other ma jor UK

Figure 22 - matrix I

1) From the imagined perspective of Coventry City Council’s tourism board, a decision to take on a largescale rebranding of the city through the complete uncovering of the River Sherbourne to regreen the city, making it a more pleasant place to visit, and offering up a Green Utopia just a short train ride away from other major UK cities.

DESIGN RESEARCH

The design has been developed through the Matrix exercise with drastic speculative studies into the various approaches that could be taken in a context of this kind.

These studies were as follows:

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A T R I X

design research

I 1

-

B L O C K

rbourne Developments - Marketing Brochure Cover

THE WEST

Figure 23 - matrix II

2) From the perspective of a private developer look at the opportunity for highlighting the underground asset of the River Sherbourne by proposing an underground networks of clubs, theatres, restaurants and shopping with a network of station-type access points around the city.

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SHERBOURNE

ORCHARDS

STATION

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R I X

1 I I

the Sherbourne Poster

h e S herbourne looks to the cit izens o f C ovent r y the change to the current ina ccessibilit y o f t he rbour ne by occupying public la nd where t he river ow and planning for the public excava t io n a nd g o f the pe ople’s river.

r y p av i llions are consructed o n sit e t o f a cilit a t e ps, offi ce space for fundraisi ng a nd t o a ct a s visua l ecr ui t more citizens in the a ct o f recla iming t he

RECLAIM THE SHERB OURNE

18th JANUARY 2022 COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN FRIENDS OF THE

SHERBOURNE

Figure 24 - matrix III

3) An approach envisaging the citizens of Coventry taking ownership of the public Millennium Square where the river is currently running underground and through community organisation embarking on excavation down to the river in these open public spaces.

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The current design proposed as part of this Pilot Project takes on the questions raised through research into the sustainable regreening of urban spaces and their difficulties. The importance of a phased approach, given the ambition of the entire river eventually becoming reinstated into the urban realm was a driver in the draft master planning of the current design. It soon became apparent that aspects of all three matrix options would be required for the success of the project. The Green Utopia of the council’s plan in Matrix 1 where space would be rewilded is embodied in the current proposal of the restoration of the floodplain, and further investigations into Matrix 2 resulted in the discovery of a large network of existing basements straddling the river which has enabled the current development of the city centre anchor site. Finally, Matrix 3 threads through the project in the form of the need for participation and community engagement within the project.

The anchor site at the centre of the city was chosen due to the location of existing basements which mostly act as storage space for shops above. These basements offer up opportunities within the below ground landscape to provide useable and affordable space for multi-use purposes.

Top: Figure 25 Existing Basement Plan Bottom: Figure 26 Exisitng Ground Floor Plan

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river to provide the movement required of an arcade. Therefore, looking to arcade forms such as Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan as a basis for proportionality was the first step. The two sites are of a similar size and by using the existing grid structure of the basements, it was useful to establish useable unit sizes within the grid following the example of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

More permanent space would be made available by retrofitting the existing basement space to be flood controlled and secure in the event of extreme weather events in order to accommodate space for the manufacture and research areas of the EV battery industry which has a growing need for space (Castelvecchi, 2021).

These units could take over some space above ground where there are currently empty units due to shop closures in the city to allow alternative access as well as additional space.

Further design research will be carried out into the development of this project through the testing of precedents and modelling of space both virtually and physically.

The utilisation of the remaining basement space could be allocated to low rent, transient users/occupants, with the knowledge that the space may be susceptible to extreme weather events for short periods of the year but can be adapted in ways to make the space more resilient in the short term by following examples such as the Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice.

This potential urban wetland at the basement level would help to build natural resilience to the changing climate and provide much needed green space within the centre of the city. The approach could then be replicated at other sites along the river with alterations to suit the alternative conditions.

The existing basements follow the grid system of the above ground plane, therefore, when approaching the block scale design of the anchor site, an arcade form has been adopted due to its provision of inside/outside space and a streetwithin-a-street, with the grid system of the basements being intersected with the

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Top Left: Figure 27 Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (semanticscholar, n.d) Bottom: Figure 28 Proposed Basement Layout Plan Above: Figure 29 Proposed Block Axo

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CONCLUSION/ NEXT STEPS

It is possible that Coventry could be at the centre of an emerging approach to urban design which puts nature at the forefront to improve ecological and social resilience in the face of growing urbanisation and the global climate crisis.

planning through the restoration and uncovering of the River Sherbourne could have far-reaching impacts on the health, wealth and progress of citizens, nature and emerging green industries. As postindustrial Britain looks toward the future of resilient urban space, this approach could form a framework for how it can be achieved.

The utilisation of the existing basement level of the city centre of Coventry in order to provide a much-needed green space for both citizens and nature alike offers up fantastic opportunities to also reinstate industry in the city and help achieve true revitalisation of the city centre.

The daylighting of the River Sherbourne which has acted as the green thread throughout the entire design research process will help to unify action in the drive to complete all phases of the development, first with the anchor site and floodplain restoration, and later with more anchor sites within the city itself.

Further design research will be carried out over the next few months during the fieldwork period which aims to engage the local community through workshop engagement and visits to projects that are currently undertaking green urban acupuncture.

Moving forward, it will be important to carefully look at the lessons learnt through history regarding resilience to fluctuations in weather and drastic events, as well as the benefits of living with nature. This is in addition to further research into the importance of green space within the urban realm to help make cities adaptable and therefore resilient to future change.

When paired with the reintroduction of industry into the urban centre, a multidimensional approach to green space

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Aecom, 2014. The Ripple Effect.

Amec Foster Wheeler, 2015. Coventry Water Cycle Study.

Anderson, E., Jackson, S., Tharme, R., Douglas, M., Flotemersch, J., Zwarteveen, M., Lokgariwar, C., Montoya, M., Wali, A., Tipa, G., Jardine, T., Olden, J., Cheng, L., Conallin, J., Cosens, B., Dickens, C., Garrick, D., Groenfeldt, D., Kabogo, J., Roux, D., Ruhi, A. and Arthington, A., 2019.

Understanding rivers and their social relations: A critical step to advance environmental water management. WIREs Water, 6(6).

Anguelovski, I., Cole, H., Connolly, J. and Triguero-Mas, M., 2018. Do green neighbourhoods promote urban health justice?. The Lancet Public Health, 3(6), p.e270.

Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J. and Brand, A., 2018. From landscapes of utopia to the margins of the green urban life. City, 22(3), pp.417-436.

Armstrong, A., 2020.

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Mainstreaming

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Figure 16 – Author’s Own Figure 17 – Author’s Own Figure 18 – Author’s Own Figure 19 – Author’s Own Figure 20 – Author’s Own Figure 21 – Author’s Own Figure 22 – Author’s Own Figure 23 – Author’s Own Figure 24 – Author’s Own Figure 25 – Author’s Own Figure 26 – Author’s Own Figure 27 – semanticscholar. n.d. The 2015 Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Restoration: Expo Milano’s Legacy and the Revival of Civic Identity. [online] Available at: <https://www. semanticscholar.org/paper/The-2015-Galleria-Vittorio-Emanuele-II-Restoration%3AVerteuil-Magdalene/eb75beaac40c202a4f2148fdde33a4e8f9a13a8e/figure/1> [Accessed 31 March 2022].

Figure 28 – Author’s Own Figure 29 – Author’s Own

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