Combining tactical urbanism, biophilic design and biomimicry for more liveable and sustainable neighbourhoods

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of tactical urbanism, biophilic design, and biomimicry on sustainable and liveable neighbourhood planning and development. It aims to explore the relationship between tactical urbanism, biophilic design, and biomimicry and how these three components can work together to promote sustainable neighbourhood development. The objectives of this study are to identify the relationship between the three components in international cases and local South African neighbourhoods, and to provide future scenarios based on the findings. The findings indicate that in most cases, at least one and, in some, two of the sustainability components are utilised but hardly ever all three. Through tactical urbanism, community adaptability and engagement are encouraged, which results in more affordable interventions that can evolve with feedback, enabling a sense of resilience and ownership within a community. Biophilic design has the ability to reconnect people with nature to improve physical and mental health, protect biodiversity, as well as improve the liveability of neighbourhoods. Biomimicry emulates natural processes that lead to resilient and efficient solutions that are symbiotic with the surrounding environment. Moving from more traditional sustainability to regenerative sustainability, the combination of these three components complements a more regenerative and holistic approach to neighbourhood planning where the individual benefit of each component is utilised and amplifies the liveability and sustainability of a neighbourhood. It is indicative of the need for interdisciplinary collaboration within the built environment between architects, town planners, landscape architects, and ecologists to enhance the potential and viability of sustainable neighbourhoods in cities in South Africa and beyond.