Ecological Thresholds; Designing for Human-Nature Coexistence in a Post-Industrial Landscape

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation is resulting in fragmented ecological networks and growing disconnection between human and nature that challenges well-being in cities. Whereas post-industrial landscapes are identified as important socio-ecological systems with potential to support coexistence. A lot of conservation strategies are based on strict protection and human exclusion limit ing opportunities for interaction and supporting spatial separation. This thesis explores the gap between ecological conservation and human engagement and how design can mediate this relationship. It looks at Limhamn kalkbrott in Malmö, a limestone quarry that is now a protected ecological hotspot but remains physically and socially inaccessible from the surrounding. This thesis aims to explore how redesigning the edge of Limhamn kalkbrott as an ecological threshold can transform post-industrial landscapes into catalysts for ecological resilience and human well-being. The main research question asks How can post-industrial quarries such as Limhamn kalkbrott be redesigned to function as a shared habitat for both humans and nature in Malmö, Sweden ? A combined method approach of street network analysis to evaluate pedestrian move ment and accessibility with habitat network analysis to model ecological connectivity for selected species : green toad, roe deer and eurasian eagle owl. These are overlapped to identify zones of protection, conflict, co existence, and experiential. Two future scenarios - ecological priority and human access priority are developed and evaluated based on human and ecological systems. The findings show that redesigning the quarry edge as a gradient rather than barrier can enhance ecological connectivity while allowing controlled human access. The concept of ecological threshold can allow spatial strategies to reduce habitat fragmentation, pedestrian flow and promote multispecies coexistence. The research contributes to landscape architecture by developing a threshold based design framework that transitions from analytical findings into threshold strategies. It focuses on the potential of post-industrial landscapes as shared habitat and proposes a transferable approach to improve ecological connectivity and human-nature relationship in urban contexts.