Changes In Green Space Research Articles

Quantifying and characterizing the dynamics of urban greenspace at the patch level: A new approach using object-based image analysis

Accurate and quantitative description of spatial pattern of urban greenspace and its change over time is crucial for understanding ecosystem service provision and urban sustainability. Patches are the basic management and planning units in urban landscapes, and urban designers and planners and natural resource managers frequently seek tools to understand changes at the patch level. High spatial resolution imagery has been increasingly used to measure fine-scale changes of percent cover of urban greenspace. However, few studies have investigated the dynamics of urban greenspace at the patch level, to quantify the process of growth, shrinking, or disappearance of patches. Here, we developed a new approach to quantify and characterize urban greenspace change at the patch level, by implementing object-based image analysis. We used 2.5m resolution ALOS and SPOT image data captured in 2005 and 2009, and tested the new approach in Beijing, China. With this approach, we identify different types of change in patches of urban greenspace, such as expansion and shrinking, newly created, and totally lost, in addition to gain and loss information. The results show: 1) 9.25% of the total area (6179ha) was generated from expansion of extant patches, while 5.36% (3582ha) was lost due to shrinking of patches; 2) 0.91% (607ha) of urban greenspace was totally removed, and 1.23% (821ha) was newly created; and 3) Urban greenspace with different ranges of patch size, from 0.01 to 1000ha, all experienced large changes, with a tendency for small-sized patches (<1ha) to be totally removed. This new approach provides an effective tool for better understanding changes of urban greenspace, and results from this study provide important insights for planners and managers to devise target-specific measures and plans to more effectively protect urban greenspace.

Quantitative estimation of 21st-century urban greenspace changes in Chinese populous cities

Understanding the spatiotemporal changes of urban greenspace is a critical requirement for supporting urban planning and maintaining the function of urbanities. Although plenty of previous studies have attempted to estimate urban greenspace changes in China, there still remain shortcomings such as inconsistent surveying procedures and insufficient spatial resolution and city samples. Using cloud-free Landsat image composites in circa years 2000 and 2014, and Defense Meteorological Program Satellite Program's Operational Line-scan System (DMSP/OLS) nighttime lights dataset, we quantitatively estimated the urban greenspace changes regarding both administrative divisions and urban core boundaries across 98 Chinese populous cities. Results showed that a consistent decline of urban greenspace coverage was identified at both old and new urban areas in the majority of analyzed cities (i.e., 81.63% of cities regarding the administrative boundaries, and 86.73% of cities regarding the urban core boundaries). Partial correlation analysis also revealed that total urban greenspace area shrank as a linear function of the core urban expansion (R2=0.28, P<0.001), and a significant correlation was confirmed between population change and urban greenspace change across those Chinese populous cities included in this study (R2=0.11, P<0.001).

Nature-based solutions for urban landscapes under post-industrialization and globalization: Barcelona versus Shanghai

Using Barcelona and Shanghai as case studies, we examined the nature-based solutions (NBS) in urban settings—specifically within cities experiencing post-industrialization and globalization. Our specific research questions are: (1) What are the spatiotemporal changes in urban built-up land and green space in Barcelona and Shanghai? (2) What are the relationships between economic development, exemplified by post-industrialization, globalization, and urban green space? Urban land use and green space change were evaluated using data derived from a variety of sources, including satellite images, landscape matrix indicators, and a land conversion matrix. The relationships between economic development, globalization, and environmental quality were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling based on secondary statistical data. Both Barcelona and Shanghai have undergone rapid urbanization, with urban expansion in Barcelona beginning in the 1960s–1970s and in Shanghai in the last decade. While Barcelona's urban green space and green space per capita began declining between the 1950s and 1990s, they increased slightly over the past two decades. Shanghai, however, has consistently and significantly improved urban green space and green space per capita over the past six decades, especially since the economic reform in 1978. Economic development has a direct and significant influence on urban green space for both cities and post-industrialization had served as the main driving force for urban landscape change in Barcelona and Shanghai. Based on secondary statistical and qualitative data from on-site observations and interviews with local experts, we highlighted the institution's role in NBS planning. Furthermore, aspiration to become a global or globalizing city motivated both cities to use NBS planning as a place-making tool to attract global investment, which is reflected in various governing policies and regulations. The cities’ effort to achieve a higher status in the global city hierarchy may have contributed to the increase in total green space and urban green per capita. In addition, various institutional shifts, such as land property rights in a market economy vs. a transitional economy, may also have contributed to the differences in efficiency when expanding urban green space in Barcelona and Shanghai.

Vegetation type classification and vegetation cover percentage estimation in urban green zone using pleiades imagery

Open green space in the urban area has aims to maintain the availability of land as a water catchment area, creating aspects of urban planning through a balance between the natural environment and the built environment that are useful for the public needs. Local governments have to make the green zone plan map and monitor the green space changes in their territory. Medium and high resolution satellite imageries have been widely utilized to map and monitor the changes of vegetation cover as an indicator of green space area. This paper describes the use of pleaides imagery to classify vegetation types and estimate vegetation cover percentage in the green zone. Vegetation cover was mapped using a combination of NDVI and blue band. Furthermore, vegetation types in the green space were classified using unsupervised and supervised (ISODATA and MLEN) methods. Vegetation types in the study area were divided into sparse vegetation, low-medium vegetation and medium-high vegetation. The classification accuracies were 97.9% and 98.9% for unsupervised and supervised method respectively. The vegetation cover percentage was determined by calculating the ratio between the vegetation type area and the green zone area. These information are useful to support green zone management activities.

Assessing Changes in Green Space of Suzhou City Using Remote-Sensing Images and Landscape Metrics

Assessing Changes in Green Space of Suzhou City Using Remote-Sensing Images and Landscape Metrics

Assessment of Changes in Green Space of Nanjing City Using 1998 and 2007 Landsat Satellite Data

Conservation of green space is crucial to the sustainable urban development of China. Nanjing is a central city in the Yangtze River Delta cluster in eastern China. Owing to urbanization, the green spaces in this city have been affected significantly in terms of their scale and structure. Assessing such changes can provide a basis for environmental protection measures and sustainable development. Using Landsat remote-sensing image data from 1998 and 2007, we constructed a distribution map of the patches of green spaces in Nanjing, and analyzed and assessed the changes in scale and spatial layout of the green spaces using various landscape metrics including CA, PLAND, PD, MPS, LPI, NP, PD, TE, ED, MPI, and LSI. Coinciding with a sharp increase in urban population, the area of green spaces in Nanjing decreased by 27.06% between 1998 and 2007. The patches of green space increased by 39%, and the average area per patch decreased by about 47.52%. Green space patches were found to be unevenly distributed among the districts of Nanjing. In urban areas, significant numbers of such patches were found primarily in various types of parks, while in suburban areas, they were concentrated mainly in the hilly forestlands. Green spaces exhibited tendencies towards fragmentation, miniaturization, and discretization.

The impact of intervening in green space in Dutch deprived neighbourhoods on physical activity and general health: results from the quasi-experimental URBAN40 study

BackgroundMany problems concentrate in deprived neighbourhoods, among which is poor health. One possible way to address these health problems is to invest in the green space in deprived neighbourhoods. The...

Effect of urban green space changes on the role of rainwater runoff reduction in Beijing, China

The effects of urban green spaces on stormwater runoff have increasingly attracted attention because of climate change and rapid urbanization conditions. This study investigates the spatial–temporal changes of urban green spaces in Beijing and estimates their effects on rainwater runoff reduction based on an empirical model. Results indicate that green spaces in Beijing decreased by 199km2 from 2000 to 2010 and that landscape patches became increasingly isolated and fragmented. The volume of rainwater runoff controlled by urban green spaces first increased and then decreased with the increase in summer rainfall. The runoff reduction rate continuously decreased from 23% in 2000 to 17% in 2010, which is mainly attributed to the composition changes in urban green spaces. In addition, an immense regional difference that is closely related to the changes in the largest patch and aggregation indices of urban green spaces are observed in different regions. This study recommends an optimal landscape pattern of urban green spaces for the planning and management of green spaces in highly urbanized areas.

The Impact of Green Space Changes on Air Pollution and Microclimates: A Case Study of the Taipei Metropolitan Area

In order to achieve a sustainable urban environment, the increase of green space areas is commonly used as a planning tool and adaptation strategy to combat environmental impacts resulting from global climate change and urbanization. Therefore, it is important to understand the change of green space areas and the derived impacts from the change. This research firstly applied space analysis and landscape ecology metrics to analyze the structure change of the pattern of green space area within the Taipei Metropolitan Area. Then, partial least squares were used to identify the consequences on microclimate and air pollution pattern caused by the changing pattern of green space areas within the districts of the Taipei Metropolitan Area. According to the analytical results, the green space area within Taipei Metropolitan Areas has decreased 1.19% from 1995 to 2007, but 93.19% of the green space areas have been kept for their original purposes. Next, from the landscape ecology metrics analysis, in suburban areas the linkages, pattern parameters, and space aggregation are all improving, and the fragmentation measure is also decreasing, but shape is becoming more complex. However, due to intensive land development in the city core, the pattern has becomes severely fragmented and decentralized causing the measures of the linkages and pattern parameters to decrease. The results from structural equation modeling indicate that the changing pattern of green space areas has great influences on air pollution and microclimate patterns. For instance, less air pollution, smaller rainfall patterns and cooler temperatures are associated with improvement in space aggregation, increasing the larger sized green space patch.

Understanding the dynamic of greenspace in the urbanized area of Beijing based on high resolution satellite images

Urban greenspace plays an essential role in urban ecosystem and highly contributes to the welfare of urban residents. Understanding the dynamics of greenspace is crucial for its planning and management. Previous studies have largely focused on changes in greenspace in urbanizing regions, using medium resolution remotely sensed data. However, the changes of greenspace in urbanized areas need to be accurately quantified based on high spatial resolution images because they are directly related to human health and well-being. This paper aims to enhance the understanding on dynamics of greenspace within well-developed areas of the city, using Beijing City, China as a case study. Using high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery, we analyzed the spatial pattern of greenspace and its change on two scales: (1) the entire area within the 5th ring road, and (2) in 4 belts from urban center to fringe. We found urban greenspace was very dynamic. The proportion of urban greenspace increased by 5.45%, or 36.3km2 in size from 2005 to 2009. The amounts of gain and loss of greenspace were 69km2 and 32.7km2, respectively, or 10.36% and 4.91% of the entire study area. Because of the very limited lands for greening in urbanized areas, the new patches of greenspace were generally small, with the mean patch size of 676.31m2. However, those small patches enhanced the connectivity and continuity of urban greenspace. In addition, we found the differences in configuration of greenspace patches across the 4 belts were greater than the differences in total percent cover, indicating that compared to percent coverage, greenspace configuration may be more influenced by the development age.

Integrated 3S Technology Used in Urban Grid Management

Abstract. Sustainable development requires monitoring the state and changes of the city and providing the appropriate information to users anytime and anywhere. This paper takes Ningbo City as the research area, by utilizing two temporal (March 25, 2012 and November 25, 2013) ZY-3 satellite remote sensing data. 3S technology is used for urban grid management. The remote sensing information extraction of Ningbo City includes: extraction of building change information, extraction of green space change information, extraction of water information and analysis of eutrophication correspondingly. When extracting change information, we take "change information" as a special kind of "geographic information" to study the characteristics of different bands in multi-temporal data, and follow the first law of geography, namely adjacent similar principle. The extracted raster information is further converted into GIS vector format data as a basis for dynamic monitoring of Ningbo Urban Management systems: on the one hand, it can meet the demands of multi-source spatial data analysis (such as: overlay analysis, buffer analysis, etc.); on the other hand, it could meet the requirements of daily urban management. Dynamic monitoring system of Ningbo city management adopts the urban grid management mode. Based on GIS and GPS, grid management can satisfy the urban management mode –someone bear responsibility within the grid, somebody do the task under the supervision of the lattice, and at the same time play the role of remote sensing field surveying. To some extent, integrated 3S technology and urban grid management is a practical alternative of minimizing the uncertainty of remote sensing data and information extraction. With multi-scale and multi-dimensional remote sensing data, 3S integration and the urban grid management can monitor the urban state and its spatial-temporal changes. It’s helpful for discovery and analysis of urban problems about resources, environment, ecology and disaster, from phenomena to nature, and it is a necessary part of sustainable urbanization.

多摩地区を中心とした東京における緑地環境の変化と管理

多摩地区を中心とした東京における緑地環境の変化と管理

Temporal changes in urban green space based on normalized difference vegetation index

This study identifies land use changes in the metropolitan region of Klang-Langat Valley focusing on urban sprawl and green space. A technique called Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is used to quantify temporal urban green space dynamics. All districts in the valley recorded a marked increase in urban area, but decreased in agriculture and forest areas. Result of vegetation index analysis showed that NDVI increases for water body, bare soil, and built-up area category for as much as 16.98% from 1998 to 2001, but during the same period vegetation experience a decrease of 22.25%.

The temporal trend of urban green coverage in major Chinese cities between 1990 and 2010

Information on changes in urban green spaces and the causes of these changes is important for urban planning. In this study the trends of urban green coverage (UGC) between 1990 and 2010 in 30 major Chinese cities were studied using classified Landsat satellite images. Associations between the trends and natural and socio-economic variables were analyzed using the maximum information-based nonparametric exploration method. The results showed that, overall, the studied cities have become greener over the past two decades. Greening in old city districts and expanded built-up areas (BUAs) led to the increase of urban green coverage at a mean annual rate of 1.51%. However rapid urbanization also caused a dramatic turn-over in vegetation covers. On a regional scale, around 46.89% of original vegetation cover was converted to other land cover types. The trends of UGC cannot be attributed to any one of natural or socio-economic variables alone. The combined influences of economic growth, climate change, and urban greening policies are the most likely causes behind the detected trend. One lesson from this study is that the preservation of existing vegetation cover must be a priority in urban greening programs.

Object-oriented mapping of urban trees using Random Forest classifiers

Since vegetation in urban areas delivers crucial ecological services as a support to human well-being and to the urban population in general, its monitoring is a major issue for urban planners. Mapping and monitoring the changes in urban green spaces are important tasks because of their functions such as the management of air, climate and water quality, the reduction of noise, the protection of species and the development of recreational activities. In this context, the objective of this work is to propose a methodology to inventory and map the urban tree spaces from a mono-temporal very high resolution (VHR) optical image using a Random Forest classifier in combination with object-oriented approaches. The methodology is developed and its performance is evaluated on a dataset of the city of Strasbourg (France) for different categories of built-up areas. The results indicate a good accuracy and a high robustness for the classification of the green elements in terms of user and producer accuracies.

Temporal trend of green space coverage in China and its relationship with urbanization over the last two decades

Irrespective of which side is taken in the densification-sprawl debate, insights into the relationship between urban green space coverage and urbanization have been recognized as essential for guiding sustainable urban development. However, knowledge of the relationships between socio-economic variables of urbanization and long-term green space change is still limited. In this paper, using simple regression, hierarchical partitioning and multi-regression, the temporal trend in green space coverage and its relationship with urbanization were investigated using data from 286 cities between 1989 and 2009, covering all provinces in mainland China with the exception of Tibet. We found that: [1] average green space coverage of cities investigated increased steadily from 17.0% in 1989 to 37.3% in 2009; [2] cities with higher recent green space coverage also had relatively higher green space coverage historically; [3] cities in the same region exhibited similar long-term trends in green space coverage; [4] eight of the nine variables characterizing urbanization showed a significant positive linear relationship with green space coverage, with ‘per capita GDP’ having the highest independent contribution (24.2%); [5] among the climatic and geographic factors investigated, only mean elevation showed a significant effect; and [6] using the seven largest contributing individual factors, a linear model to predict variance in green space coverage was constructed. Here, we demonstrated that green space coverage in built-up areas tended to reflect the effects of urbanization rather than those of climatic or geographic factors. Quantification of the urbanization effects and the characteristics of green space development in China may provide a valuable reference for research into the processes of urban sprawl and its relationship with green space change.

Physical development trend and green space destruction in developing cities: a GIS approach

Green spaces considered natural remnants in urban environments play a key role in promoting environmental quality and forming a sustainable city. Nowadays, development of urban spaces has taken a hasty growth. In the meanwhile, the natural green spaces are severely damaged. The current study aims at investigating the trend of changes in green space of Tabriz City, the second large industrial city in Iran, on the basis of landscape ecology principles. In order to prepare the land-cover maps, Landsat TM and IRS LISS-III of the years 1989 and 2006 were applied. Alongside, landscape percentage metrics, the largest patch index, number of patches, patch density, edge density, total edge, class area and landscape shape index were also used to analyse the changes. Metric analysis of the landscape within the studied years revealed that a large part of the region has enjoyed a rapid growth (equivalent to 64.5 %) in constructions. As the obtained results showed, the smallest landscape percentage (3.9 %) in the study area is belonged to the municipal green space, while the largest landscape percentage (66 %) is allocated to the barren land. This shows that the constructions have not balanced with creation of new green spaces, and the lack of green space per capita continues to be felt.

Detection of urban irregular development and green space destruction using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), principal component analysis (PCA) and post classification methods: A case study of Saqqez city

Due to inappropriate planning and management, accelerated urban growth and tremendous loss in land, especially green space, have become a great challenge for sustainable urban development. Detection of such changes may help decision makers and planners to understand the factors in land use and land cover changes in order to take effective and useful measures. Change detection is a technique used in remote sensing for detecting the changes which may have occurred in the existing over two or more periods of time in a particular area. In this paper, Saqqez, a city in Kurdistan province has witnessed a rapid growth in construction which has caused destruction of green spaces areas. It is fragmented and dispersed, causing impairment and dysfunction of these important urban elements. The objective of this study was to detect changes in extent and pattern of green areas of Saqqez city and to analyze the results in terms of landscape ecology principles and functioning of the green spaces. Three remote sensing techniques, including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) comparison, principal component analysis (PCA) and the post classification were employed to detect the green space changes. To carry out these techniques, Thematic Mapper (TM) andEnhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) LANDSAT data within the year 1989 to 2009 were used to recognize land use changes, especially the physical development of the area and its devastating effects on the green space. The result showed that green space has been reduced from 530 ha in 1989 to 198.3 ha in 2009. In this research, the capabilities of LANDSAT data which is oriented towards determining land use changes, via the standard methods is examined. The result showed that NDVI and post classification analysis methods are better than principal component analysis in detecting the devastating effects of unplanned constructions and forming projects on Saqqez’s green space. Key words: Multi-temporal images, change detection, destruction of green space, urban development, Saqqez.

Temporal changes in greenspace in a highly urbanized region

The majority of the world's population now lives in towns and cities, and urban areas are expanding faster than any other land-use type. In response to this phenomenon, two opposing arguments have emerged: whether cities should 'sprawl' into the wider countryside, or 'densify' through the development of existing urban greenspace. However, these greenspaces are increasingly recognized as being central to the amelioration of urban living conditions, supporting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision. Taking the highly urbanized region of England as a case study, we use data from a variety of sources to investigate the impact of national-level planning policy on temporal patterns in the extent of greenspace in cities. Between 1991 and 2006, greenspace showed a net increase in all but one of 13 cities. However, the majority of this gain occurred prior to 2001, and greenspace has subsequently declined in nine cities. Such a dramatic shift in land use coincides with policy reforms in 2000, which favoured densification. Here, we illustrate the dynamic and policy-responsive nature of urban land use, thereby highlighting the need for a detailed investigation of the trade-offs associated with different mechanisms of urban densification to optimize and secure the diverse benefits associated with greenspaces.

Green Space Changes and Planning in the Capital Region of China

Green space plays an important role in complex urban ecosystems and provides significant ecosystem services with environmental, aesthetic, recreational and economic benefits. Beijing is the capital city of China and has a large population of about 15.81 million. Construction of green spaces is an important part of sustainable development in Beijing. To attain the sustainable development of Beijing as a capital city, an international city, a historical cultural city, and a living amenity city, this article attempts to develop a comprehensive plan of green space development both at the municipal and regional levels. At the municipal level of Beijing, based on the study of green space changes, and taking physical geographic conditions and historical context into account, we propose to establish green barriers in the mountainous area, and plan a comprehensive green space pattern composed of one city, two rings, three networks, eight water areas, nine fields, and several patches in the plain area. At the regional level of the Capital Circle Region, integrating the characteristics and causes of main environmental issues, we design a macroscopic pattern--"barriers by mountains in the northwest," "seaward open spaces in the southeast," "grassland-forest-field-coast zones," and "green-blue symphony"--for ecological restoration and green space construction. Finally, we discuss the principles necessary to implement green space planning considering adaptation to local conditions, composite function exploitation, interregional equity and integrated planning.