New Natural Landscape:Restoring biodiversity in post-industrial region,Parkstad-Limburg

Abstract

Parkstad Limburg is a conurbation of eight municipalities in South-Limburg in the Netherlands. It’s a typical post-industrial city on the coal mine belt which crosses Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Due to the stop of coal mining this region lost its pillar industry and now is facing a series of problems of shrinkage in economy and population. In the past 40 years, the region has been continually seeking ways to transform and revitalize but the situation doesn't change. A more flexible strategy should be used to deal with the uncertain future of the region. When the future development is uncertain, use strategy to maintain the value of existing land, maximize the benefits of the intervention to prepare for the future. Increase potential rather than tap and consume the potential of this area. Now as a shrinking region, the population is declining, a large number of houses are vacant, people no longer need so many urban areas, whether they can replace these urban areas with natural systems, giving wildlife more space and opportunities. Consider the entire natural and urban system as a large ecosystem, the project aims to create a new balance between nature and urban systems to add the ecosystem value of Parkstad Limburg to prepare a resilient future. The thesis did the test design in different scales to answer the question of how to reorganize the urban and natural system and give a variety of possibilities to enhance biodiversity. The proposal does not only serve human, but also for other flora and fauna, improving the living quality of all kinds of users in Parkstad.