PROJECT
Green–Built Service Nexus
Research coupling green and built infrastructure, urban thermal environments and carbon emissions.
Project information
PROJECT TYPE
International postdoctoral collaboration
RESEARCH AXIS
Ecosystem Services, Green Infrastructure and Human Wellbeing
PERIOD
Postdoctoral collaboration 2025–2026
INSTITUTION
University of Louvain Urban Metabolism Lab
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
China and international urban case studies
STATUS
Current or Recent
FUNDING
WBI–MOST bilateral cooperation: Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
PARTNERS
University of Louvain; Chinese research partners; WBI; MOST
THEMES
Green infrastructure; Built environment; Urban heat; Carbon mitigation; Ecosystem services
Project overview
The Green–Built Service Nexus investigates how green infrastructure, built form and urban services interact in climate-responsive urban development. Developed through WBI–MOST cooperation, it brings together Belgian and Chinese expertise to examine how ecological and constructed systems jointly influence thermal conditions, carbon performance and the provision of services to urban populations.
The project combines spatial analysis, environmental-performance indicators and integrated modelling. Its central concern is the coupling between the distribution and condition of green infrastructure and the morphology, density and energy demands of the built environment. Rather than evaluating green interventions in isolation, the research asks how their benefits depend on surrounding buildings, infrastructures and patterns of use.
This nexus perspective extends the Lab’s earlier integration of urban metabolism and ecosystem services. It supports planning decisions that compare different combinations of green and built interventions and assess their effects across scales. The project also strengthens the Lab’s international research network through bilateral cooperation between Wallonia-Brussels and China.