A GIS-based assessment of green space accessibility: case study of Dundee

Abstract

Recently, it has been proven that access to green spaces provide people with better health conditions and help in enhancing general public health and well-being for urban residents. Therefore, there is a need to assess the quality of green spaces to ensure that they are in good quality in terms of accessibility for example. This paper aims to assess the quality of green spaces in terms of accessibility in the city of Dundee, Scotland, based on employing GIS network analysis. The results showed that nearly two thirds of Dundonians have access to 2–20 ha green spaces within 300 m distance while nearly half of them have access to 20–100 ha and 100–500 ha green spaces within 2000 m and 5000 m distance, respectively. The findings of this research provide valuable evidence for public policy makers and urban planners in addition to the general public for framing future urban plans in a manner that enhance accessibility to green spaces. The employed methodology in this research can be used in other urban areas within and even beyond Scotland, if the required datasets are available and accessible.