Sewage Irrigation Fields—From Relict Landscape to Blue-Green Urban Infrastructure

Abstract

In this study, we examined the fate and future of sewage irrigation fields; historic urban wetlands that served as sewer drainage before modern sewage treatment plants were built. Our aim in this study was to reappraise sewage irrigation fields in the urban fabric of modern cities and to analyse the possibility of re-integrating them into the ecosystem services system, as well as into green and blue infrastructure, providing leisure and recreational opportunities, stabilising the city’s biodiversity and microclimate, and increasing water retention in these areas. The research was based on the identification of the location of sewage irrigation fields in green and blue infrastructure systems, determination of the scale and extent of their connections to the urban fabric and an analysis of their multi-functionality including: ecological, climatic, hydrological, landscape, spatial, environmental, cultural and social, educational, and tourist and recreational functions.