Abstract
The ecosystem services (ES) and human well-being are keywords that guide the Italian strategy on urban greening. The development of ES priorities linked to specific land uses help to guide the drafting of management plans. The aim of the research was to assess and map green areas ecosystem services and socio-demographic characteristics in Turin neighborhoods in order to identify where to improve the provision of ecosystem services and the socio-demographic conditions. The Preliminary Assessment Method (PAM) was used for the assessment of provision and regulating services based on land use. The Species-specific Air Quality index (S-AQI) was used to assess the regulating services provided by trees. Three socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed at the neighborhood level—age index, housing density, and % of economically assisted citizens. PAM results show that Turin provides more ecosystem services in peripheral areas of the city. Trees with high S-AQI values represent 21% of the censed trees. Not recommended trees are 18%. The neighborhoods with higher S-AQI values are not always characterized by a higher number of trees/km2 or species richness. Results show that the northern part of the city is characterized by higher values of ES and socio-demographic conditions than the central-southern part. This aspect is related to the conspicuous presence of agricultural land uses and water bodies, together with the presence of tree species with a high S-AQI values and high or medium socio-demographic conditions. 57% of the neighborhoods present low results for both aspects. Actions to improve the quality of green spaces in those neighborhoods could have great effects on liveability. Future management and planning strategies for increasing citizens’ well-being through urban greening should consider the proposed approach.
Highlights
Urbanization is increasing globally, creating opportunities and challenges to promote people’s quality of life in a sustainable way [1]
Since ecosystem services is an anthropocentric concept [78], the socio-demographic component must be considered in the drafting of a management plan or in the city’s future planning activities
This is why the proposed methodology considered socio-demographic characteristics, albeit partially, together with the ecosystem services (ES) provided by the land uses and the urban greening, the trees, of the city of Turin
Summary
Urbanization is increasing globally, creating opportunities and challenges to promote people’s quality of life in a sustainable way [1]. The number of people living in urban areas is higher than in rural areas, with 55% of the world’s population living in urban areas in 2018 and. 68% of the world’s population expected to be urban by 2050 [2]. Ecosystem services are used for the development of sustainable goals and to support environmental policy objectives at all levels of urban governance [3]. Cultural and regulating ecosystem services, such as air pollution removal, urban cooling, and recreation, seem to be important in urban contexts [4]. Biodiversity Strategy 2020 called on the Member States to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services within their national territory in order to create a basis for developing Europe’s green infrastructure. Information and data on actual demand for ecosystem services
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