The Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad held a virtual workshop entitled (Upgrading Ecosystems inside Cities…Challenges, Opportunities and Success Stories), organized by the Assistant Professor at the Center, Dr. Areej Al-Rawi, hosted by the Assistant Professor at the Cairo Higher Institute Of Engineering, Computer Science and Management in the Republic of Egypt, Dr. Ahmed Haroun. The workshop aimed to identify planning policies and strategies to enhance the ecosystem in cities. The workshop dealt with several subjects centered on defining the ecosystem, analyzing experiences and accessing planning indicators.
Dr. Al-Rawi stressed that any city without ecosystem services would be lifeless, and the establishment, protection and development of ecosystem services in urban areas can reduce environmental effects while enhancing flexibility and improving health and quality of life by integrating green spaces with plants and lavatories. In this way, urban ecosystem services can be created. Blue-green structures, the land they rest on, and the animals, birds, and insects that live there will provide us with the ecosystem services that humans need.
The workshop concluded with recommendations that shared visions with Dr. Haroun, which focused on enhancing the ecosystem of cities, as well as the possibility of adopting planning indicators from global experiences.
It is noteworthy that more than 200 researchers and students from various local and Arab universities have attended the workshop.
