Abstract
The study discusses the problem of public green areas’ accessibility for the residents of large cities in Poland. The purpose of the research is to assess the possibility of applying the British Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard (ANGSt) method in determining the amount of natural green space available to residents in Polish conditions including, in particular, the assessment of accessibility using data collected by the Central Statistical Office and the verification of results based on detailed research. The identification of green areas for 18 voivodeship cities in Poland was prepared using the GIS programme, taking into account public green space, provided for general access and free of change. The verification of the ANGSt method consisted of mapping spatial barriers extending the route of access either on foot or by roads as well as closed private areas. The conducted research revealed that, after taking into account the access routes to selected areas, the distance to public green areas increased, on average, from 50 m in the smallest cities (Gorzów Wielkopolski and Olsztyn) to as much as 450 m in Warszawa. A detailed analysis showed that the discussed accessibility was reduced, on average, by almost 10% for the residents of the analysed cities. It was also found that the introduced barriers did not affect the accessibility of more distant, larger green space areas.
Highlights
The quality of life in a city is affected, among other things, by physical, social, environmental and economic characteristics of a given space [1,2]
The selection of public green areas’ categories constituting the subject of conducted analyses; preparing statistical data on natural green areas in 18 capitals of voivodeships in Poland; spatial identification of natural green areas in individual voivodeship cities using the geographic information systems (GIS) programme; mapping accessibility buffers using the Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard (ANGSt) method, following prior identification of housing estates; the obtained results verification against the data retrieved from the Central Statistical Office; the verification of assessment results regarding the accessibility to public green areas using the
Prior to the spatial identification of green areas in individual cities, the general characteristics of cities were determined based on the data from the Central Statistical Office
Summary
The quality of life in a city is affected, among other things, by physical, social, environmental and economic characteristics of a given space [1,2]. Scientific research has shown that green areas provide people with a wide range of advantages that contribute to their health and well-being, as well as improve their quality of life [4,5,6,7]. They function as the green lungs in cities by absorbing pollution [8,9], providing people with space to enjoy nature and take advantage of it in the stressful moments of modern life [10,11,12].
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