An innovative approach for equitable urban green space allocation through population demand and accessibility modeling

Abstract

Urban green space (UGS) plays a pivotal role in enhancing citizens' living standards, well-being, and overall physical and mental health. As urbanization continues to progress, ensuring equitable access to UGS becomes increasingly vital in addressing the social resource disparities. This paper proposes an innovative approach to inform UGS planning and updates, placing a strong emphasis on equitable UGS distribution. In pursuit of a more balanced UGS layout, we present a novel recreational demand model that can evaluate the citizen's recreational preferences by taking into account the population activity levels and the agglomeration effect. Leveraging point of interest (POI) data within the geographic information system (GIS) platform, we quantitatively analyze these factors. Additionally, we propose a refined resistance model, enhancing the accuracy of UGS update cost estimation. Applying these models, we undertake a case study in Changsha City to advance UGS update strategies. Our findings reveal disparities not only across different city sectors but also within individual spaces, underscoring the unequal distribution of diverse UGS resources. The proposed models can effectively guide the incorporation of new UGS points in urban planning, mitigating the challenge of inequitable UGS resource allocation. The study provides a new approach to more comprehensively evaluate the UGS quality and offers additional valuable insights for improved UGS planning, and therefore, contributes to fostering a more just, inclusive and sustainable urban environment.