Lacul Grivita Living Lab 2022
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| Area | GRIVIȚA LAKE | |
| Place | Bucharest | |
| Country | Romania | |
| Topics | landscape, water areas, lakes, water dynamics | |
| Author(s) | Cîmpineanu Ioana, Cioacă Gabriel, Costache Elena | |
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Rationale
- Why do you think this case is relevant? What is your hypothesis considering the landscape challenges?
Grivița Lake (75,85ha) is a lake situated in the north-western part of Bucharest (in section 1) and it is included in the chain of lakes that forms Colentina River, between Străulești Lake and Băneasa Lake. This study case is important not only because it’s a recreation area where you can practice fishing and because it is placed in the vicinity of important new neighborhoods like Bucureștii Noi, Dămăroaia and Vatra Nouă, but also because its purpose is flood mitigation and protection. Its floodplain has the potential of becoming a protected natural park. The challenge this lake faces consists in the fact that it is polluted because of uncontrolled discharges of domestic and rain water waste and littering caused by human activities.
Location and scope
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Water as a natural system
Geomorphology, typologies and dynamics of water areas
- Describe the water areas of your area in the context of the wider water system.
Grivița Lake is an antropic lake and it is part of the chain of lakes that form Colentina River (37.4 km on the land of Bucharest), between Străulești Lake upstream and Băneasa Lake downstream.
Colentina River is formed of 15 lakes, from upstream to downstream: Buftea, Mogoșoaia, Chitila, Străulești, Grivița, Băneasa, Herăstrău, Floreasca, Tei, Plumbuita, Colentina, Fundeni, Dobroești, Pantelimon, Cernica.
- How does water appear in the landscape of your living lab? What types of water areas are common?
The waters appearing in our area are rivers and lakes. The rivers (Dâmbovița and its tributary, Colentina) are natural, but they suffered antropic interventions on the chain of lakes that form them. For example, Dâmbovița River was barred to form Morii Lake and Colentina River had interventions for forming the chain consisting of the 15 lakes. Some of the lakes had the purpose of becoming reservoir lakes (ex: Buftea Lake), others of flood mitigation and protection (ex: Grivița Lake).
- Please identify the water bodies' catchment areas, tributaries and floodplains
Grivița Lake is part of the chain of 15 lakes that form Colentina River between Străulești Lake upstream and Băneasa Lake downstream. Colentina River is a tributary to Dâmbovița River. Also, Colentina River has tributaries of its own: Baranga, Crevedia, Valea Saulei. Its catchment areas are in the north-western part of the lake and its floodplains are in the northern and southern parts.
- Which dynamics do these water areas have?
The Bucharest’s waterscape is in constant change, directly caused by urban expansion developing in a disorganized manner, the link between industrialization and the presence of toxic chemicals in water bodies. Grivita Lake being an antropic lake, it underwent human intervention and activity, such as littering. Regarding water’s chemical properties, in analyses of water quality, the maximum permitted values for cadmium, copper, lead, and phosphorus are exceeded, however the pH,nitrites and nitrates and the presence of ammonium and zinc are within the permitted values. Moreover, in the water were found fecal coliform bacteria, such as E.Coli.
- Have there been any flood events in the past?
There have been flood events in the past, especially in the Dămăroaia neighborhood caused by the breaking of the dam placed in the eastern part of the lake.
- add 2-3 graphical representations to the image gallery, you can add more if you like
- try to use drawings that express the system dynamics
- Yourcase watersystem1.jpg
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Water as a living space
- Which habitats can be found in and along the water areas of your area?
Because of the amount of phosphorus and bacterias in the water exceeding the permitted limits, the lake forms a layer of algae, especially in the spring and summertime.
On the floodplain of the lake are planted forsythia (shrubs), poplars, willows
Considering that the lake is a place where you can practice fishing, the fauna of the lake consists of different species of fish (crucian, carp, bream), but also frogs.
- How is the water quality in your water areas?
The quality of Grivița Lake is affected by the fact that some elements are found in a bigger quantity than normal: cadmium, lead, copper, phosphorus. Also, the water contains bacterias like Escherichia coli.
According to the National Administration of Romanian Waters and Lake, the Administration of Lake, Parks and Recreation and the Order 161/2006 (regarding water management) the pH of the water falls within the allowed norms.
Also, the pollution of the lake is caused by uncontrolled discharges of domestic and rain water waste and by littering caused by human activities.
- Which areas are still natural, which are urbanized/artificial?
In all three neighborhoods that delimit the lake (Vatra Nouă, Dămăroaia, Bucureștii Noi) there is uncontrolled urban development, that has reached the floodplain, fact that does not follow the norms (the urbanism norm that the protection zone of the lake will have 50 m).
There are portions of free land, especially on the northern and south-western floodplains of the lake that have the potential of becoming natural protected parks, which is also sustained by the protected area, a land with value that is situated in its vicinity (Bazilescu Lotting).
- Your case green blue infrastructure1.jpg
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Blue and Green Infrastructure
- What are the major potential elements of a green/blue infrastructure network? Are these likely to change/disappear? Why is that?
- You find my background material on green infrastructure in our reading list
- add 1-2 graphical representations to the image gallery, you can add more if you like
- Your case green blue infrastructure1.jpg
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- Your case green blue infrastructure2.jpg
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Water as a cultural space
Land use and water
- map the land uses along your water areas: settlements, infrastructure, agriculture, resource extraction, natural areas, energy production...
- describe in particular the historical evolution of land use pattern, please make use of historical maps
- description evolution, status quo and driving forces, is the land use likely to change? Why is that? (approx 200 signs)
- add 1-2 graphical representations to the image gallery, you can add more if you like
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Cultural and spatial typologies of water areas
- Which spatial patterns have evolved in relation to your water areas?
- What is the role of water areas within the overall urban morphology? (approx 200 signs)
Grivița Lake is an element of potential for the sites in its vicinity whose maximum has not been exploited.
The facilities are not located in the immediate vicinity of the lake, a factor that provides easy access from the residential areas and their efficient operation.
The free land represented by the lakes’ floodplain and its surroundings can be transformed into a protected natural park (encouraged by the proximity of the Bazilescu Protected Lotting), thus resulting in a greater number of users who come to spend their free time and potential future inhabitants, who will use the facilities from the neighborhoods, which is economically advantageous.
- add 1-2 graphical representations to the image gallery, you can add more if you like
- Yourcase water space1.jpg
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Sacred spaces and heritage
- Which places/elements hold cultural value and to whom?
- You may add a map and some images, please also explain in your caption why these elements are valuable
- Your case sacredspace1.jpg
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Visual appearance and landscape narrative
- Which elements are essential for the landscape character?
- Has the landscape been painted or otherwise depicted, when and whom? Which elements are essential?
- Which narratives exist? Who has written about this landscape or depicted it in some way?
- You can add text and images
- Your case character1.jpg
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Water and People
Accessibility and usability
- Where are your water areas accessible, and where not? How strong are spatial obstacles preventing access?
The water areas are accessible from the unbuilt lands (in the northern and south-western parts of the lake) and from the roads that lead to the lakes’ floodplain in the built communities that are not gated or private.
The spatial obstacles preventing access are strong and consist in the gated/private communities built directly on the floodplain, uncontrolled urban developments that do not respect the urbanism norm that the protection zone of the lake is 50 m.
- Who is using the spaces and how?
The free land is public property, but the communities built directly on the floodplain are private, the land was expropriated and investors developed small communities.
- Yourcase youraccessbilitymap.jpg
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Community Mapping
What is to be mapped here?
- Social groups from within the community, for example the youth, kids, students, parents, the retired etc. Typically, these groups have specific needs, which you can also make explicit on the map. These people might not be organized in any way, but they are usually present in the context you are observing
- Local stakeholder groups: these groups are organized in one or the other way. They only exist within the community context you are observing. For example: the local community center, local churches, local interest groups, the landowners, small businesses and retailers
- External stakeholder groups are not necessarily present in the environment you are observing, but they may have strong stakes and interests. These can be local authorities, politicians, associations, care services etc.
- For each group, you may identify their needs, objectives, power and capacities
- You may also identify gaps and power conflicts
- Please try to redepict these elements in an integrated way and in relation to your water landscape. What is the relationship between these groups? Are they close or distanced from each other? Who is more powerful? Which voices are hardly heard? Do they have any shared concerns?
- Your case your community map1.jpg
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- Your case your community map2.jpg
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Possible Futures
- You can summarize your findings with a SWOT diagram and a DPSI(R) Model
- Link back to the Sustainable Development Goals: Which goals are at risk?
- What is your worst case scenario for this landscape?
- What is your best case scenario for this landscape?
- Present your scenarios in the form of a collage or sketch
- Add text and visuals
- Your case your spider diagram or dpsir model.jpg
explain your analysis briefly in the caption
- Your case yourworstcase visual.jpg
explain your worst case scenario briefly in the caption
- Your case yourbestcase visual.jpg
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Collaborative Goal Setting
- Define strategic planning objectives based on the evaluation findings from your analysis
- Ideally, involve the community of your living labs into this process
- Link back to your original targets from section one and the Development Goals
- 150 words text contribution
Spatial Strategy and Transect
- translate your strategic goals into a vision
- develop a spatial translation of your vision
- exemplify your vision in the form of a transect with concrete interventions
- add map(s) and visualizations
- Your case spatial translaton vision.jpg
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- Your case transect.jpg
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From Theory of Change to Implementation
- For implementing your vision: Which partnerships are needed? Which governance model is required?
- Who needs to act and how? Draw and explain a change/process model/timeline
- Which resources are needed? On which assets can you build?
- add 150 words text and visuals
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References
- give a full list of the references you have used for your case
Process Reflection
- Reflect in your intercultural and interdisciplinary team on the outcomes of your study
- Which limitations were you facing?
- What have you learnt from each other?
- What did you learn in the Living Labs?
- What would you do differently next time?
- You can also use diagrams/visuals
- 250 words text