Periurbanization and conservation pressures over remnants of native vegetation: impact on ecosystem services for a Latin-American capital city

Analysis of urban green space (UGS) provision is becoming increasingly important from an urban-planning perspective, as processes related to climate change tend to worsen the urban heat-island effect. In the present study, we aimed to map the UGS provision of Szeged, Hungary, using a GIS-based complex approach. Different age groups, especially the elderly, have different demands on the ecosystem services and infrastructure of UGSs. To provide an in-depth assessment of UGS provision for planners, we analysed the UGS availability and accessibility, using subblock-level population data, which includes not only the total number of residents but also provides information about the age-group distribution for each building of the city. We delineated areas having different UGS provision levels (called provision zones) and assessed the age distribution of the residents living in each zone. We found that the residents within 2-min walking distance to public green spaces are older than expected by comparison to the age distribution of Szeged. In provision zones with abundant locally available UGSs (measured as UGS per capita within 50-m buffers), we found that the youngest (0–18 years) and oldest (≥ 61 years) inhabitants are overrepresented age groups, while the age group 19–40 has the lowest overall UGS provision within the city of Szeged. Our research, which has the potential to be adapted to other settlements, contributes to the identification of UGS-deficit areas in a city, thereby providing essential information for urban planners about where increases in UGS are most needed and helping to assess infrastructural enhancements that would be adequate for the locally most-dominant age groups.

Market tools for the provision of urban green spaces in post-socialist Sofia

Challenges and strategies for urban green-space planning in cities undergoing densification: A review

Green justice or just green? Provision of urban green spaces in Berlin, Germany

How could we explain the mechanism driving the effects of Urban Green Space (UGS) on human health? This mechanism is a complex one suggesting, on one hand, an indirect effect of UGS Provision (measured as quantity, quality or accessibility of UGS) on health through UGS Exposure (measured as visit frequency to UGS, duration of visit or intensity of activities taking place during the visit). On the other hand, UGS Provision may have an indirect effect on Exposure, mediated by people’s perception of UGS. The mechanism further suggests that UGS Exposure may influence indirectly human Health but mediated by human motivation to use UGS. We tested these different expectations by fitting 12 alternative structural equation models (SEMs) corresponding to four different scenarios, depending on how UGS Provision was approximated. We show that SEMs where i) Provision is approximated as UGS quantity, and Exposure as duration (SEMi), ii) Provision is approximated as quantity, and Exposure as intensity (SEMii) and iii) Provision is approximated as distance of the closest UGS from people’s house, and Exposure as intensity (SEMiii) are equally the best of all 12 SEMs tested. However, apart from the SEMi that has no significant path, SEMii and SEMiii have the same significant path (motivation ~ intensity; β = 7.86±2.03, p = 0.0002), suggesting that visits to UGS may be motivated by opportunities of physical activities offered by UGS. In all our scenarios, the best SEM is always the one where Exposure is measured as intensity, irrespective of how Provision is approximated. This suggests that it is not only UGS provision that matters the most in the mechanism linking UGS to human health improvement, but rather intensity, i.e. the type of activities people engage in when they visit UGSs. Overall, our findings support the theoretical model tested in this study.

How could we explain the mechanism driving the effects of Urban Green Space (UGS) on human health? This mechanism is a complex one suggesting, on one hand, an indirect effect of UGS Provision (measured as quantity, quality or accessibility of UGS) on health through UGS Exposure (measured as visit frequency to UGS, duration of visit or intensity of activities taking place during the visit). On the other hand, UGS Provision may have an indirect effect on Exposure, mediated by people's perception of UGS. The mechanism further suggests that UGS Exposure may influence indirectly human Health but mediated by human motivation to use UGS. We tested these different expectations by fitting 12 alternative structural equation models (SEMs) corresponding to four different scenarios, depending on how UGS Provision was approximated. We show that SEMs where i) Provision is approximated as UGS quantity, and Exposure as duration (SEMi), ii) Provision is approximated as quantity, and Exposure as intensity (SEMii) and iii) Provision is approximated as distance of the closest UGS from people's house, and Exposure as intensity (SEMiii) are equally the best of all 12 SEMs tested. However, apart from the SEMi that has no significant path, SEMii and SEMiii have the same significant path (motivation ~ intensity; β = 7.86±2.03, p = 0.0002), suggesting that visits to UGS may be motivated by opportunities of physical activities offered by UGS. In all our scenarios, the best SEM is always the one where Exposure is measured as intensity, irrespective of how Provision is approximated. This suggests that it is not only UGS provision that matters the most in the mechanism linking UGS to human health improvement, but rather intensity, i.e. the type of activities people engage in when they visit UGSs. Overall, our findings support the theoretical model tested in this study.

This is the urban century in which, for the first time, the majority of people live in towns and cities. Understanding how people influence, and are influenced by, the 'green' component of these environments is therefore of enormous significance. Providing an overview of the essentials of urban ecology, the book begins by covering the vital background concepts of the urbanisation process and the effect that it can have on ecosystem functions and services. Later sections are devoted to examining how species respond to urbanisation, the many facets of human-ecology interactions, and the issues surrounding urban planning and the provision of urban green spaces. Drawing on examples from urban settlements around the world, it highlights the progress to date in this burgeoning field, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

For the past 30 years, a search for social and health justice has shaped many cities in North America and Europe. Residents of these cities have mobilised to address the effects of neighbourhood disinvestment, pollution, harmful land uses, and low-quality green spaces on health. In cities such as Leipzig or Barcelona, these movements have transformed neighbourhoods. However, while green amenities are important selling points for attracting high-income populations, the resulting increased property values shape a new conundrum, embodied in the exclusion and displacement associated with so-called green gentrification.1Gould KA Lewis TL Green gentrification: urban sustainability and the struggle for environmental justice. Routledge, New York2017Google Scholar Urban health justice requires a more complex approach than simply claiming that more green space means better health. Greening—designing and implementing green space and green infrastructure—especially large-scale, top-down, or privately-financed greening, is changing from a perceived public health good with widespread benefits, including decreased chronic stress and cardiovascular disease,2Gascon M Triguero-Mas M Martínez D et al.Residential green spaces and mortality: a systematic review.Environ Int. 2016; 86: 60-67Crossref PubMed Scopus (428) Google Scholar to becoming a threat to urban health justice. It is thus essential for researchers to understand the full range of pathways by which greening can affect health if the aim is to create green and healthy cities for all.3Cole HVS Garcia Lamarca M Connolly JJT Anguelovski I Are green cities healthy and equitable? Unpacking the relationship between health, green space and gentrification.J Epidemiol Community Health. 2017; 71: 1118PubMed Google Scholar First, researching equity in access to green spaces and infrastructure (so-called distributional justice) requires going beyond traditional environmental epidemiology methods—for example, by examining the health effects of access to green space within 400 m of someone's home, or how the normalised difference vegetation index (an indicator of greenness via satellite imagery) is distributed in the city and adjusting models for socioeconomic status, race, or ethnicity. This new approach also requires considering how interactional justice (degree to which the identity, preferences, and needs of people affected by decisions are recognised and treated with dignity)and procedural equity (the fairness of the processes) shape who truly benefits from green investments.4Schlosberg D Theorising environmental justice: the expanding sphere of a discourse.Environ Polit. 2013; 22: 37-55Crossref Scopus (530) Google Scholar, 5Kabisch N Haase D Green justice or just green? Provision of urban green spaces in Berlin, Germany.Landsc Urban Plan. 2014; 122: 129-139Crossref Scopus (393) Google Scholar Indeed, past experiences of discrimination and violence in green spaces, together with perceptions (such as insecurity) influence if and how people use parks, and affect their health. Understanding urban health justice in the context of greener neighbourhoods requires new mixed-methods and multidisciplinary studies that bring together theories and data from environmental epidemiology, ecology, sociology, geography, and urban planning. This approach acknowledges that not only might the effects of urban greening on health be different for different populations, but also that the health effects of different modes of urban greening might vary by socioeconomic status, levels of civic engagement, or other socio-cultural norms (ie, those associated with race, ethnicity, or age groups)6Dadvand P Wright J Martinez D et al.Inequality, green spaces, and pregnant women: roles of ethnicity and individual and neighbourhood socioeconomic status.Environ Int. 2014; 71: 101-108Crossref PubMed Scopus (127) Google Scholar or by green space size, type, or quality. Second, data about the benefits of green amenities come from semi-experimental or cross-sectional studies, with possible participant selection bias (ie, healthier or wealthier residents). There is thus a need for case control or longitudinal cohort studies that examine processes associated with green gentrification and consider how different planning processes (eg, top-down decisions or processes inclusive of vulnerable populations), urban greening interventions (eg, large infrastructures vs small parks), and neighbourhood built environments (ie, housing, transit, security, and crime) differentially affect health, especially over time. Also, the effects of urban greening on health might depend on people's ability to resist displacement. All these factors should be considered in studies on urban greening and health. There needs to be closer collaboration between urban public health and social scientists to develop new measures and metrics and help connect results on urban health equity closer to policy and planning needs. Research efforts to understand the complex interplay between existing social vulnerabilities, gentrification, and urban greening are essential to urban health justice. We declare no competing interests.

ABSTRACTThe provision of urban green spaces has been widely acknowledged to offer numerous benefits to individuals and communities. Recently, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of evaluating urban greenness from a human-centered perspective, partly due to the rapid development of eye-level greenness measurement. To provide a comprehensive overview of measurement approaches and topics related to eye-level urban greenness, we conducted a systematic review of 77 relevant papers. Our review revealed that street view images are the primarily utilized data source to quantify eye-level urban greenness in urban analysis. Additionally, simulated eye-level urban greenness represents a new frontier for the general public and urban planners, offering the potential to acquire universally applicable quantitative greenness data. Our findings further suggest that eye-level urban greenness has been explored across various domains, including physical behavior, public health, urban planning, human perception, and inequity. Such exploration has highlighted a significant association between eye-level urban greenness and individuals and communities. Our review generates new insights on the integration of urban greenness into urban planning and design, encouraging a greater focus on eye-level urban greenness as a critical component of urban environmental quality.

The provision of urban green spaces (UGS) within a reasonable walking distance/time for each resident has become a major challenge of urban planning. We provide a novel method to map the availability of UGS for different socio-economic groups in cities using a demand–supply composite index (DSCI). Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, has been chosen to test how the DSCI works. The results show significant differences in the availability of UGS for people living in different neighborhood types. Furthermore, findings reveal that regardless of which type of residential area is considered, young and middle-aged people with higher per capita income are more likely to access UGS. As the demographic and socio-economic structure of the population is continuously changing in the different neighborhood types and so is the demand for UGS, urban planners should carefully monitor societal changes and elaborate interventions to help improve the availability and accessibility of UGS.

Urban forest, as an essential urban green infrastructure, is critical in providing ecosystem services to cities. To enhance the mainstreaming of ecosystem services in urban planning, it is necessary to explore the spatial pattern of urban forest ecosystem services in cities. This study provides a workflow for urban forest planning based on field investigation, i-Tree Eco, and geostatistical interpolation. Firstly, trees across an array of land use types were investigated using a sampling method. Then i-Tree Eco was applied to quantify ecosystem services and ecosystem service value in each plot. Based on the ecosystem services estimates for plots, four interpolation methods were applied and compared by cross-validation. The Empirical Bayesian Kriging was determined as the best interpolation method with higher prediction accuracy. With the results of Empirical Bayesian Kriging, this study compared urban forest ecosystem services and ecosystem service value across land use types. The spatial correlations between ecosystem service value and four types of point of interest in urban places were explored using the bivariate Moran's I statistic and the bivariate local indicators of spatial association. Our results show that the residential area in the built-up area of Kyoto city had higher species richness, tree density, ecosystem services, and total ecosystem service value. Positive spatial correlations were found between ecosystem service value and the distribution of urban space types including the tourist attraction distribution, urban park distribution, and school distribution. This study provides a specific ecosystem service-oriented reference for urban forest planning based on land use and urban space types.

And the winner is? Comparing urban green space provision and accessibility in eight European metropolitan areas using a spatially explicit approach

The extent and pattern of Eucalyptus regeneration in an agricultural landscape

The Jakarta City Government, along with the central government, has implemented various measures to address the issue of air pollution that has become a serious problem for the city. One of the efforts undertaken is to increase the provision of urban green spaces and restore the function of the GBK City Forest as a public green open space (GOS). However, there has been no research showing the public's perspective and satisfaction with the utilization of the GBK City Forest. This study aims to determine the level of public satisfaction with the GBK City Forest based on social-cultural functions. The assessment indicators used to measure public satisfaction in this study are based on the theory of cultural ecosystem services developed by Shijie Gai et al. The data used in this study were obtained using mixed methods data collection techniques through questionnaires (quantitative) as well as in-depth interviews and literature studies (qualitative). Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the majority of the public is highly satisfied with the utilization of the social-cultural functions of the GBK City Forest. However, some people still complain about the lack of supporting facilities for recreational activities and the disturbances from external parties that make them feel uncomfortable when engaging in activities at the GBK City Forest. Therefore, it is important for the government and the GBK City Forest management to consider public feedback and improve the quality and safety of the existing facilities.

Evaluating the disparities in urban green space provision in communities with diverse built environments: The case of a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city