Exploring the Influencing Factors of the Recreational Utilization and Evaluation of Urban Ecological Protection Green Belts for Urban Renewal: A Case Study in Shanghai.

Weiqi Zhao,Ling Wang,Yun Wang,Dan Chen,Xiaomin Tang

doi:10.3390/ijerph181910244

Abstract

With the continuous expansion of urban construction land, the green belts aiming for ecological protection have ensured a sustainable and effective function of regional ecosystem services. At the same time, these ecological green belts are expected to develop their compound service potentials with the development of cities. In order to meet the increasing demand of urban residents for the recreational utilization of urban green space, the primary function of the ecological green belts has transformed from being purely ecological to a combination of being ecological and recreational. Based on social media data, which has the characteristics of a large amount of accessible geographic information, this study used multiple regression models to analyze the recreational utilization intensity of ecological protection green belts with a case study in the green belt of Shanghai, China. The research results showed that the internal elements (total external area, water area, etc.) of the Shanghai green belt have positive correlations with its recreational utilization. The impact of external factors was inconclusive on the recreational utilization of the outer forest belt (the number of subway stations in accessibility factors was negatively correlated; the number of cultural facilities and the number of restaurants in the surrounding service facilities were positively related). Combined with the “Shanghai City Master Plan (2017–2035)”, this study suggests potential zones for the recreational transformation of the Shanghai green belt, provides a theoretical and practical basis for improving the recreational utilization of an urban ecological protection green belt and contributes to the sustainable development of ecological protection green belts in high-density cities.

Highlights

With the development of the city of Shanghai and the increasing demand for recreation from surrounding citizens, it is urgent to explore the comprehensive function of the Shanghai green belt and transform some pure ecological forests for recreational utilization
Multiple regression models were used to analyze the relationship between the recreational utilization of the green belt and the influencing factors
After the verification of the segmentation models and the analysis of the literature, we found that the number of residential areas and the accessibility of traffic are important factors that affect the recreational utilization of the Green Belt

Summary

Introduction

The urban green space system, comprised of large ecological patches, landscape ecological corridors and city parks, is the foundation to ensure the continuous performance of services, and the ecological protection green belt, as a style of ecological corridor, is a key component. The idea of an ecological protection green belt is usually considered to have originated from Ebenezer Howard’s development of a “garden city” around London in the early 20th century [2,3,4]. Howard’s initial strategy was to curb urban sprawl. This concept was first implemented in the Greater London Plan in 1945. This plan was a great success, and the concept of the green belt was widely imitated in the UK and elsewhere afterwards [5,6]. The appearance of the ecological protection green belt is used to effectively control the growth of urban land and serve ecological functions, including maintaining bio-diversity, improving overall protection and utilization of environmental resources in

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