A Comparative Study of Landscape Design for Urban Waterfront Parks in Beijing and Minsk from an Ecological Perspective

Abstract

Urban waterfront parks are situated at the intersection of water bodies, land, and urban built environments, offering multifaceted value in improving the urban ecological environment, organizing public activities, and shaping the local landscape. Waterfront spaces formed under different natural conditions and urban development contexts exhibit distinct differences in ecological design concepts and their modes of expression. Taking ecological principles as the starting point, this paper selects the Winter Olympics Park along the Yongding River in Beijing and Victory Park along the Svisloch River as well as the Komsomolskoye Lake waterfront space in Minsk as subjects for comparison. The analysis examines aspects such as spatial structure, shoreline treatment, plant arrangement, stormwater management, pedestrian and bicycle systems, and expressions of local culture. The study found that the Beijing case places greater emphasis on ecological restoration, the integration of blue and green spaces, and the multifunctional use of infrastructure, demonstrating a strong sense of systemic coherence; the Minsk case, meanwhile, continues the urban water-green framework jointly formed by rivers and large-scale green spaces, exhibiting distinctive characteristics in terms of natural landscape continuity, the creation of open spaces, and seasonal landscapes. Although both cases emerged from different urban environments, they both exhibit a trend shifting from simple landscape beautification toward the synergistic development of ecological processes and public life. Based on the comparative results, the article proposes design approaches such as strengthening the ecological transition between land and water, enhancing the resilience of waterfront spaces, preserving regional landscape characteristics, and establishing continuous public spaces, thereby providing a reference for the renewal of waterfront parks in cold-temperate and temperate cities.