Symbiotic Street Landscape Design under the Sponge City Concept

Abstract

This study investigates symbiotic street landscape design within the context of China's sponge city framework and reveals how integrated methods of urban water management can tackle environmental issues while improving urban life in public spaces. This work focuses on a case study of Shanghai Lingang New City and systematically integrates rain gardens, permeable paving, and microclimate design to create street landscapes that meet ecological, hydrological, and social needs simultaneously. Results show that well-designed symbiotic street systems are capable of managing 75% of onsite rainfall, increasing biodiversity, ambient temperatures by 6-8°C, and greatly improving public space utilisation. Identifying success factors such as inclusive policy instruments, multidisciplinary approaches, and ongoing evaluation highlighted the refineable obstacles of complicated maintenance and perceived high cost of implementation. Such findings offer considerable insights for urban designers, landscape architects, and planners aimed at reframing street infrastructure into adaptive, multifunctional components of city systems designed for resilient urban environments.