Carbon reduction through xeriscape urban park design: a process-based assessment

Urban parks, as part of green infrastructure, play an essential role in sustainable city development and climate change mitigation. However, conventional landscape designs often increase carbon dioxide emissions due to turfgrass maintenance, irrigation demands, and resource-intensive materials. This study applies a process-based carbon assessment to quantify carbon dioxide emissions in a 1,056 m2 neighbourhood park in Antalya, Türkiye, comparing a traditional design with a xeriscape alternative. Emissions were evaluated across transportation, implementation, and maintenance stages, including labour and equipment operations. The findings show that xeriscaping can reduce emissions by more than 70% in labour and over 94% in equipment use, primarily by eliminating turfgrass, minimising irrigation systems, and prioritising local materials. Beyond water efficiency, xeriscape design significantly lowers carbon output. It also demonstrates clear potential to support municipal net-zero pathways and urban infrastructure decarbonisation. While the study is based on a single park and reflects a site-specific Mediterranean context, the process-based framework provides a transferable approach that can be adapted to other park scales and climatic regions. By linking design decisions with measurable carbon outcomes, the study offers practical insights for engineers, planners, and policymakers aiming to integrate carbon-aware strategies into future urban green infrastructure projects.