Urban Jungle:<br/>_{Green City Planning as an Attractive Concept for Megacities to Face Increasing Social, Economic, and Environmental Challenges}

Abstract

Over the last couple of decades, massive migration to urban areas caused significant growth of cities worldwide. Many urban areas exceeded the number of eight million inhabitants and are therefore regarded as so-called megacities. Due to the rapid pace of population growth, many of these megacities lack on a structural approach in sustainable city planning. Issues such as pollution and general social and environmental degradation were the consequences, which affected the well-being of inhabitants on a large scale. The present informative paper suggests a new approach to cope with these current problems: green city planning. Based on previous research conducted by various authors, it is argued that green roofs, green walls, and green spaces can pose a viable solution to environmental issues in megacities, while at the same time enhancing positive social, clinical, and psychological aspects for citizens. Further economic benefits, such as reduced energy consumption for buildings, increased life span of roofs, and city storm protection, offer cost saving potential in the long run. It therefore makes greening initiatives more feasible in the market area. Through an all-encompassing view on city greening, this paper presents several greening measurements. Assessments on the benefits and applicability are additionally provided with an eye kept on the future.