Urban Park Systems to Support Sustainability: The Role of Urban Park Systems in Hot Arid Urban Climates

Gunwoo Kim,Paul Coseo

doi:10.3390/f9070439

Abstract

Quantifying ecosystem services in urban areas is complex. However, existing ecosystem service typologies and ecosystem modeling can provide a means towards understanding some key biophysical links between urban forests and ecosystem services. This project addresses broader concepts of sustainability by assessing the urban park system in Phoenix, Arizona’s hot urban climate. This project aims to quantify and demonstrate the multiple ecosystem services provided by Phoenix’s green infrastructure (i.e., urban park system), including its air pollution removal values, carbon sequestration and storage, avoided runoff, structural value, and the energy savings it provides for city residents. Modeling of ecosystem services of the urban park system revealed around 517,000 trees within the system, representing a 7.20% tree cover. These trees remove about 3630 tons (t) of carbon (at an associated value of $285,000) and about 272 t of air pollutants (at an associated value of $1.16 million) every year. Trees within Phoenix’s urban park system are estimated to reduce annual residential energy costs by $106,000 and their structural value is estimated at $692 million. The findings of this research will increase our knowledge of the value of green infrastructure services provided by different types of urban vegetation and assist in the future design, planning and management of green infrastructure in cities. Thus, this study has implications for both policy and practice, contributing to a better understanding of the multiple benefits of green infrastructure and improving the design of green spaces in hot arid urban climates around the globe.

Highlights

Urban forests within urban park systems provide essential buffering ecosystem services for the sustainability of rapidly urbanizing cities
Modeling the ecosystem services of Phoenix’s urban park system provides a picture of the current extent and condition of the system, and provides a baseline for decision making about strategic interventions into that system that will help the city reach its Tree and Shade Master
The environmental benefits provided by the trees in our urban park systems are seldom recognized, but the results of this study suggest that urban park systems are a valuable ecological resource that provide multiple ecosystem services to support sustainable and healthy communities

Summary

Introduction

Urban forests within urban park systems provide essential buffering ecosystem services for the sustainability of rapidly urbanizing cities. Ecosystem services are those ecological functions, provided by ecosystems for free, that society values for their supply of public goods including ecosystems’ ability to provide essential provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services [1,2]. In places like Phoenix, Arizona (AZ), delete or degrade endemic ecosystems and replace them with novel biogeophysical compositions and configurations. Rapid urbanization is a global phenomenon that results in more people living in cities being exposed to hazards from urbanization. Urban forests are key to protecting the health and well-being for most people around the world [3]. Urban parks are dedicated islands within urbanized areas to nurture

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