Smart Sylvan: Green infrastructure must match housing value chain

Green infrastructure should be measured on the same scale as the rest of the housing value chain, stated Parisa Kloss, CEO of Germany's SmartSylvan company, at the ministerial roundtable during the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Report informs.

According to her, people should be at the center of this measurement: "If that is the case, it will be possible to track real changes. This includes reduced heat impact in places where people wait, walk and gather, shade hours at the times when they are most exposed, reduced cooling demand, lower health risks, better long-term operational characteristics of assets, and many other advantages."

The guest added that real changes do not happen only when technology works: "They happen when there is a business, operating model, and financing logic. Housing is not just about providing a roof over one's head. It is also a place where people can live safely, comfortably, and with dignity. The problem is not the lack of an economic justification for green infrastructure, but the fact that this justification is often hidden in other budgets such as energy, healthcare, sustainability, and long-term asset value."

Kloss believes that three things need to change in the housing value chain: "First, climate comfort must be integrated much earlier. Not as a late-stage landscaping addition, but as part of site planning, public space, energy, mobility, and long-term operation. Second, we need to shift from measuring the square meters of greening to measuring hours of protection. That is, instead of how much greening is planned, we should ask how many people are protected from heat, how many hours of shade are provided, and which spaces remain usable during peak heat periods, etc. Third, implementation must be modular and financially realistic. Affordable housing cannot adopt high-risk innovations all at once, so solutions must start practically and develop at various levels over time."