Analyzing and Developing Strategies for the Ecological Restoration of Urban Rivers in the Framework of Ecological Urbanism

Nowadays, continuous urban development has disturbed the ecological conditions of cities by damaging the natural ecosystems within them. Inner city rivers which are natural ecosystems with ecological nature have an impact on the restoration of the ecological conditions of cities. The framework of ecological urbanism emphasizes the continuity of the ecological structures of natural ecosystems in cities and plans and formulates strategies for their restoration. This research, which is framed by ecological urbanism, focuses on restoring the ecosystem of urban rivers. This paper first examines the theoretical foundations of ecological urbanism, the ecological nature of rivers, the ecological damage caused by urban development, and the restoration of urban rivers. Then, it draws upon the analogical-inferential method to analyze reliable scientific sources, and the opinions of researchers, and then extracts components for the process-based ecological restoration of urban rivers. Based on the ecological components, it develops planning strategies on a macro and micro scale to rehabilitate and protect the ecosystem of rivers and their banks and adjacent lands, increase the flexibility of the river ecosystem in the face of future climate disturbances, and prevent human interference in natural processes. Recognizing the main causes of ecosystem destruction, protecting the health of the river, restoring the geomorphology of the river in the city, creating and connecting biological ecological networks, preventing the entry of sewage and polluted urban runoff, and controlling floods by maintaining the conditions of the river ecosystem, developing restoration plans and measures in accordance with urban development, changing people’s attitudes toward protecting the river, and restricting the presence of citizens in the river’s territory are strategies on a macro scale of planning and implementation. Such strategies are made possible by strategies on a micro-scale and can be used in urban development planning under similar conditions and result in ecological urban planning which is the future of contemporary cities.