Title: Sustainable urban development through a blue and green network approach focusing the protection of water resources: the case of the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, in Brazil

Authors: Nilo Nascimento; Julian Eleutério; Heloisa Costa; Brigitte Vinçon-Leite; Ana Mourão; Diomira Faria; Roberto Monte-Mór

Addresses: School of Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Bl. 1, Room 4508, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil ' School of Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Bl. 1, Room 4508, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil ' Institute of Geosciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil ' École des Ponts ParisTech, Laboratoire Eau, Environnement et Systèmes Urbains, 6–8 avenue Blaise Pascal, Cité Descartes, Champs sur Marne, 77455 Marne-la-Vallée Cedex 2, France ' Institute of Geosciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil ' Institute of Geosciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil ' Centre for Development and Regional Planning, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil

Abstract: This paper explores the potentialities offered by blue-green approaches to promote protection of water resources at metropolitan scale and to contribute to structuring territorial development. An on-going experience of regional planning and land use regulation in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (BHMR), in Brazil, is here a reference. With a population of 5.8 million inhabitants and territory of 10,000 km², the BHMR offers a rich example of land use diversity that highlights the complexity of metropolitan territorial planning and management. In the first part of the paper, blue-green concepts are developed emphasising their role for the protection of water resources. This is followed by the methods and results of applying these concepts to the BHMR. We then evaluate whether blue-green approaches are sufficient to protect water resources and discuss the potentialities of additional tools such as the payment for environmental services with the same objectives.

Keywords: metropolitan areas; water resource protection; metropolitan development planning; blue and green approach; metropolitan zoning; participatory process; participatory planning; drinking water supply; sources of drinking water; green corridors; Brazil.

DOI: 10.1504/IJW.2019.106045

International Journal of Water, 2019 Vol.13 No.4, pp.311 - 332

Received: 16 Aug 2018
Accepted: 03 Dec 2018
Published online: 26 Mar 2020 *

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