The Function of Urban Green Space in Avoiding Disasters in Central Shanghai, China

Abstract

Urban green space is an essential green infrastructure and spatial guarantee for sustainable development in Shanghai, China. Additionally, its spatial layout’s rationality directly influences the city’s disaster prevention and reduction effect. To use the buffer analysis method, this study selected the ArcGIS 9.0 software platform for making a quantitative analysis of disaster-proof green space service capacity in downtown Shanghai based on relevant construction standards and specifications. The results showed the following: (1) the distribution pattern of disaster-proof green space in downtown Shanghai is less homogeneously distributed in the central area but more homogeneously distributed in the edge area; (2) the service area of all disaster-proof green spaces in the central urban area of Shanghai accounted for 85.07% of the total area, with a service population of 12,516,600. Less than 15% of the area was still uncovered, meaning 2,196,700 people were unserved. These results suggest that the buffer radius of disaster-avoidance green space reaches 400 m. It covers the largest area and serves the largest population, accounting for more than 50% of the central urban area. The mismatch between urban green space distribution and population distribution patterns affected the service effect difference of green space for disaster avoidance. Therefore, new urban green spaces, stadiums, school playgrounds, and other open spaces could be added to enhance the (emergency) urban disaster avoidance ability of central urban areas; (3) the whole central urban area should form an urban mesh disaster avoidance system by combining points, lines, and surfaces with emergency and temporary shelters as first-level disaster avoidance points, fixed and central shelters as second-level disaster avoidance points, urban branch roads and secondary roads as disaster avoidance channels, and expressways and main urban roads as disaster-relief channels.