The Vegetal Corridor as a Landscape and Environmental Tool for Biodiversity Conservation: The Case of the Cali River in Colombia

Abstract

Concern for the environment has become a priority concern worldwide. Since its origin, landscape ecology has been linked to the problems of territorial planning and management. This paper aims to delve deeper into the concept of environmental corridor: in its conception, definition and evolution, focusing on a series of ideas that affect both its application on territorial and urban planning, its own morpho-typological configuration, and its application within architecture and urban planning. Methodologically, the article theoretically analyzes the idea of “corridor” from the principles of ecology and sustainability following the main existing bibliographical references, exposing different proposals for corridors and environmental networks, and verifying these principles on a particular recent example of a green corridor: that of the Cali River in Colombia, which is manifested as an urban example of natural connectivity and where conservation strategies and sustainable use of biodiversity are addressed in a transformed landscape.