Infrastructure is widely known by the population in general, defined simply as a set of fundamental services for the socio-economic development of a region, such as sanitation, transportation, energy, and telecommunication. The commonly presented examples always refer to man-made physical structures. However, a new concept of infrastructure has emerged in recent decades, driven primarily by the urgent need for reconciliation between humans and nature for the survival of species.
Unlike huge pre-fabricated concrete pipes and heavy machinery, living infrastructure turns to sustainable solutions already present in nature, ranging from vegetation species to reduce the risk of landslides to creating oysters to prevent coastal flooding. This concept refers to all interconnected ecosystems in a region, focusing on vegetation (green infrastructure) and other natural components such as water management (blue infrastructure).
Its purpose is simple: to reduce the environmental impact of large urban centers and make cities more resilient to climate change. And its examples are more present than we imagine, such as green roofs, parks, community gardens, and urban forestry. In addition, green infrastructure also includes water filtration systems through wetlands, rainwater harvesting and reuse, among others. Thus, in addition to preserving the region's fauna and flora, green infrastructure can eliminate or regulate impacts on climate, hydrological cycles, nutrient flows, natural hazards, and pests while connecting people with nature.
Initiatives that work with other living forms - beyond plants - are emerging to create more sustainable urban environments. In light of increasingly severe climate events, the idea of leveraging ecosystems such as forests, reefs, and mangroves to act as natural barriers against the adverse effects of a changing climate are growing. These ecosystems offer tangible benefits when considered in the planning stages of infrastructure development. Coral reefs, for example, can reduce wave energy by 97%, protecting beaches for recreational and tourism use. Similarly, mangroves provide a natural barrier to filter pollutants and stabilize sediments, protecting coastlines from erosion.
In this sense, it is worth mentioning the Oyster Restoration Research Project (ORRP), which has five pilot reefs implanted in locations around the Port of New York with different environmental conditions. The experimental reefs were built on a rock base covered with mollusk shell veneer and are designed to control erosion. Another example is the Living Breakwaters project, also in New York, a $60 million risk management experiment that aims to cultivate oyster reefs to better control storms, rising sea levels and coastal flooding.
Both more usual strategies, such as green roofs or simple urban forestry, and more innovative ones, such as coral reef management, have numerous advantages for cities. They are, in most cases, strategies that require less maintenance, have greater longevity and can be cheaper than their artificial counterparts. A study by Nature Communications, for example, found that the average cost of building artificial breakwaters is approximately $20 per meter while the restoration of a meter of coral reef costs only $1.30. Not to mention all the obvious gains of environmental sustainability by shifting from the exploitation of natural resources to strategies that relate to nature in a respectful and resilient way.
