Residential garden as green infrastructure: A research-by-design case study in Chiang Mai

Abstract

© 2020 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved. In the past few decades, Chiang Mai has lost many agricultural and forested areas to urbanization and residential developments. The traditional agriculture and green spaces used to provide ecosystem services to the city. Residential landscapes can act as a part of green infrastructure that provide these ecosystem services, but they need design strategies to avoid the design failures that can harm the residents or the environment. This study implements, examines, and evaluates an evidence-based approach to the designing of residential landscape as a part of green infrastructure through a case study in Hang Dong, Chiang Mai. First, we selected a residential site which had previously been an agricultural landscape. Then, we analyzed the site and designed it with empirical evidence. Afterward, we conducted post-occupancy evaluation (POE) to evaluate the design. The designed landscape, containing food, herbal, and ornamental plants, has become a habitat for wildlife native to Chiang Mai. It also received positive comments on users' satisfaction and perceived naturalness of the garden. The design has suggested to the field the possibility of using the residential landscapes to produce different types of ecosystem service benefits. The strategies used in this design procedure can be developed into a guideline in designing residential landscapes as a part of green infrastructure. However, it is only a pilot study. Future studies must be developed to understand the measurable impacts of such design to the ecosystem, along with the economic values of the design in the perspectives of designers, residents, and the surrounding communities.