Ecological Strategies for Designing Urban River Banks\ Abu Nuwas Buffer Zone in Baghdad as a Case Study

Abstract

The riverbank is an effective component of the city-river interconnection, and any damage that occurs to it affects its natural structure and particularly its ecological values. Most of these problems are diagnosable and observable in the riverside space, and many studies have focused on them. The emergence of these problems may appear in varying proportions in the riverbank environment depending on the type of human intervention, both in urban and non-urban spaces, which may have a negative impact on the riverbank space. In light of this, studies have been directed towards exploring different ecological strategies that should be applied on the urban riverbank space, which work in an integrated manner with many other values to restore the natural characteristics of landscape and riverbank space and reduce the impact of negative human intervention in them. The main research problem is defined in the loss of the ecological value of riverbanks in cities in general and Baghdad city in particular, and the lack of knowledge concerning the ecological strategies in riverbanks on the planning and design levels. The main objective of the research was thus to draw the theoretical framework that extracts the strategies and indicators of the landscape ecology.The theoretical framework was then applied to the edge of the Tigris River in Baghdad (as a case study), that resembles the area and park of Abu Nuwas region in Baghdad, with the aim of further diagnosing the reality of the riverbank and the extent to which ecological strategies can be applied.The results of the research in both its theoretical and practical aspects have revealed a clear approach to ecological strategies that achieve riverbank ecology and the development of specific mechanisms to provide a safe and effective river environment that accommodates various events and uses in the river bank, and enhances public awareness of its importance