Distribution Of Urban Green Spaces Research Articles

The provision of urban green space and its accessibility: Spatial data effects in Brussels.

Urban green space (UGS) has many environmental and social benefits. UGS provision and access are increasingly considered in urban policies and must rely on data and indicators that can capture variations in the distribution of UGS within cities. There is no consensus about how UGS, and their provision and access, must be defined from different land use data types. Here we identify four spatial dimensions of UGS and critically examine how different data sources affect these dimensions and our understanding of their variation within a city region (Brussels). We compare UGS indicators measured from an imagery source (NDVI from Landsat), an official cadastre-based map, and the voluntary geographical information provided by OpenStreetMap (OSM). We compare aggregate values of provision and access to UGS as well as their spatial distribution along a centrality gradient and at neighbourhood scale. We find that there are strong differences in the value of indicators when using the different datasets, especially due to their ability to capture private and public green space. However we find that the interpretation of intra-urban spatial variations is not affected by changes in data source. Centrality in particular is a strong determinant of the relative values of UGS availability, fragmentation and accessibility, irrespective of datasets.

Evaluation of tree measurements after the reconstruction of tree-row system in five narrow streets of Debrecen

Viable urban environment is largely dependent on the size, condition and distribution of urban green spaces within and around cities. Treerows in streets are one of the most essential elements of urban green spaces. The aim of this study was to evaluate tree taxa compositions and lifespan values of trees in tree-row system with special reference to five narrow streets (Garai, Jókai, Tanító, Csokonai and Zsák) of Debrecen. Tree numbers, tree taxa and the origin of tree taxa were determined in two years (2009 and 2017). As a next step, six selected taxa (Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer', Acer tataricum, Sorbus intermedia 'Browseri', Magnolia kobus, Acer platanoides 'Olmsted', and Crataegus x lavalleei 'Carrierei') were further estimated for the following lifespan parameters: i) trunk diameter (cm), ii) tree crown size (m), iii) trunk status (in 0–5 grades), iv) tree crown status (in 0–5 grades), v) estimated tree viability (in 0–5 grades), and vi) tree value in Ft. Our results showed that the numbers of tree taxa were 9 and 11 in 2009 and 2017 as well as an overall 279 and 282 trees were evaluated in 2009 and in 2017, respectively. More than 60% of the trees were native or similar to native taxa. The largest and the lowest trunk diameters were achieved for Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' and for Acer tataricum, respectively. The largest and the lowest tree crown diameters were achieved for Acer platanoides ’Olmsted’ and for Magnolia kobus, respectively. The best and the worst trunk statuses by 2017 were achieved for Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' and for Crataegus x lavalleei, respectively. The best and the worst tree crown statuses by 2017 were achieved for Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' and for Acer tataricum, respectively. The best estimated tree viability status was achieved for Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' and for Acer platanoides. Overall tree values were 2.73 times higher in 2017 compared to 2009. In conclusion, this study clearly demonstrated the importance of appropriate choice of tree taxa for an establishment of tree-row system in narrow street conditions.

Race/Ethnicity, Neighborhood Socioeconomic Composition, and Urban Greenspace in the Contiguous United States, 2001-2011

Background/Aim: Cross-sectional studies suggest unequal distribution of urban greenspace. The extent to which neighborhood demographics are related to changes in greenspace over time remains unknow...

Evaluation and Planning of Urban Green Space Distribution Based on Mobile Phone Data and Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Method

Urban green space is closely related to the quality of life of residents. However, the traditional approach to its planning often fails to address its actual service capacity and users’ demand. In this study, facilitated by mobile phone location data, more specific features of the spatial distribution of urban residents are identified. Further, population distribution in relation to traffic analysis zones is mapped. On this basis, the two-step floating catchment area method (2SFCA) is adopted in combination with urban green space planning to evaluate the per capita area of green space and its accessibility in practice. Subsequently, classification of per capita area and spatial distribution of green spaces within the study area are obtained; thus, urban districts currently with low accessibility to green areas are identified and can be deemed as key areas for the planning of green areas in the future. The study concludes that mobile phone data can be used to more accurately map the spatial distribution of residents; while, the 2SFCA offers a more comprehensive quantitative measuring of the supply and demand of green spaces. The two combined can be used as an important basis for decision-making in the planning of urban green spaces. Since urban green space can be regarded as a kind of public facility, the methodology of the present study is also believed to be applicable in studies of other types of urban facilities.

Multi-scale assessment of cultural ecosystem services of parks in Central European cities

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) provided by urban parks are complex phenomena and the diversity of user perspectives and their rather loose linkages to the objective and structural diversity of parks hamper informed planning. Stakeholder involvement in CES assessment has received little systematic attention and only few studies provide examples of the actual application of CES demand indicators or maps in policy and practice. In this context, we focus on physical use of landscapes in different environmental settings, aesthetic and existence ecosystem services. We seek to extend research on cultural urban ecosystem services of parks by 1) assessing their demand and flows as reflected in visitor perception and behaviors, 2) using accessibility as metrics that can be included in multi-scale (city and neighborhood) indicators that characterize distribution of urban green spaces’ benefits in cities, and finally 3) identifying and understanding similarities and dissimilarities by a cross-city Central European approach. The cross-city comparative study in Central Europe reveals striking similarities. Respondents visit parks mainly to relax and rest as well as for pleasure and social activities. While parks tend to meet these demands well, the most pronounced mismatches are in the field of educational potential. The ecosystem service capacities of parks have different strengths in attracting visitors and in some cases this effect can be stronger than simple inconvenience in accessibility and distance. We add to the literature by explicitly involving park visitors as stakeholders in the assessment of cultural ecosystem services’ delivery as mirrored in park visitor surveys. We propose a method that translates human needs, behaviors and perception into the CES approach. The indicator-based approach developed here supports understanding patterns in park use, cultural ecosystem services and their meaning at the site scale that can inform resilience planning at the district and city-wide scales.

Green streets − Quantifying and mapping urban trees with street-level imagery and computer vision

Traditional tools to map the distribution of urban green space have been hindered by either high cost and labour inputs or poor spatial resolution given the complex spatial structure of urban landscapes. What’s more, those tools do not observe the urban landscape from a perspective in which citizens experience a city. We test a novel application of computer vision to quantify urban tree cover at the street-level. We do so by utilizing the open-source image data of city streetscapes that is now abundant (Google Street View). We show that a multi-step computer vision algorithm segments and quantifies the percent of tree cover in streetscape images to a high degree of precision. By then modelling the relationship between neighbouring images along city street segments, we are able to extend this image representation and estimate the amount of perceived tree cover in city streetscapes to a relatively high level of accuracy for an entire city. Though not a replacement for high resolution remote sensing (e.g., aerial LiDAR) or intensive field surveys, the method provides a new multi-feature metric of urban tree cover that quantifies tree presence and distribution from the same viewpoint in which citizens experience and see the urban landscape.

Assessing the impacts of urbanization-associated green space on urban land surface temperature: A case study of Dalian, China

Taking Dalian City as the study area, the spatial distribution of urban green space and land surface temperature (LST), as well as their evolution in 1999, 2007 and 2013, were obtained through remote sensing (RS) interpretation and inversion. Landsat ETM and SPOT data were used for this purpose. By combining the temperature and vegetation index models (TVX), the effects of urban green space reduction on the thermal environment during city development were evaluated. The results show the following. (1) During 1999–2013, 88.1km2 of urban green space was converted to other land uses, accounting for a 29.4% reduction in urban green space in the study area. (2) During the study period, the LST in this area increased by +8.455K. The evolution of the regional thermal landscape can be characterized by increases in the LST, greater complexity of the thermal landscape structure, increase and aggregation of high-temperature areas, and reduction and fragmentation of low-temperature areas. (3) During the process of urbanization, urban green space with low land-surface temperature was converted to other land use types with high land-surface temperature. When development occurred at the price of urban green space, negative effects on the regional thermal environment were observed.

Research on the Influence of Urban Green Space Distribution on the Thermal Environment based on RS and CFD Simulation

Research on the Influence of Urban Green Space Distribution on the Thermal Environment based on RS and CFD Simulation

Assessing the Distribution of Urban Green Spaces and its Anisotropic Cooling Distance on Urban Heat Island Pattern in Baotou, China

An essential part of urban natural systems, urban green spaces play a crucial role in mitigating the urban heat island effect (UHI). The UHI effect refers to the phenomenon where the temperature within a city is higher than that of the surrounding rural areas. The effects of the spatial composition and configuration of urban green spaces on urban land surface temperature (LST) have recently been documented. However, few studies have examined the effects of the directionality and distribution of green spaces on LST. In this study, we used a landscape index to describe the change in pattern of heat island intensity for the city of Baotou, China. We then used a semi-variable function and nearest neighbor algorithm to analyze the cooling effects of green spaces. We found that: (1) the cooling distance of an urban green space was not only influenced by its size, vegetation cover, and shape, but also showed anisotropy. In general, the larger the area of the urban green space and the higher the value of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI; a measure of plant photosynthetic activity), the larger the cooling distance within a certain threshold. Green spaces with more regular shapes displayed higher LST mitigation; however, the cooling distance was directional, and cooling effects depended on the semi-major axis and semi-minor axis of the green space. (2) The distribution of the urban green space within the landscape played a key role in mitigating the UHI effect. Within a certain area, the cooling effect of green spaces that are evenly distributed was greater than that which was associated with either green spaces that were large in area or where greens spaces were aggregated in the landscape. Therefore, within urban areas, where space is limited, urban planning should account for green spaces that are relatively scattered and evenly distributed to maximize cooling effects. The results of this study have key implications for sustainable urban planning and development; to mitigate urban heat island effects it is important to not only increase canopy cover or the size of urban green spaces, but also to optimize their spatial configuration.

Urban green space, uneven development and accessibility: a case of Dalian's Xigang District

This study examines the socio-spatial context of uneven development and the residential accessibility of green space in Dalian of Liaoning Province, China. The social fairness was analyzed with a community scale as the basis. We combined social scientific methods with a GIS method using a behavior accessibility model from the perspectives of fairness of urban green space allocation based on social geography, geographic information science, management science and many other related discipline theories. The results show that: 1) Most of the urban green space distribution presents an unbalanced phenomenon, and it does not match with the population distribution; 2) We found some differences in the accessibility of the population with different attributes and opportunities to use and enjoy the urban green spaces, mainly due to: the dual social and spatial attributes of the residents and the serious stratum differentiation generated were the internal causes; the residential space differentiation and the pursuit of economic and real estate development were the direct causes; and unreasonable planning, in regard to the fact that government policies did not give consideration to efficiency and fairness, was also an important factor.

Land Use Significantly Affects the Distribution of Urban Green Space: Case Study of Shanghai, China

AbstractUrban green space distribution has been extensively investigated; however, few studies have examined how these distributions are linked to anthropogenic activities at very fine scales. Here...

Perspectives on five decades of the urban greening of Singapore

For about five decades since the onset of rapid urbanization and industrialization, Singapore has placed significant emphasis on urban greening as a key component of its development approach, setting the foundation for its development as a “Garden City”. Much of the original forest cover that had been lost due to urbanization and agriculture had been replaced by managed vegetation in the form of urban green spaces. This article assessed the distribution of urban green spaces in Singapore at the aggregate level and between the designated planning areas. It showed a high level of heterogeneity in the distribution of urban green spaces. Increasing population density is a key driver of lower per capita green cover and park provision ratio as reported for other cities. In particular, the park provision ratio had consistently stayed below the planning target for the past decade despite increasing land area dedicated for parks. Comparative assessment of Singapore’s urban green space provision indicates that it is not significantly differentiated from other high-density cities, indicating that the physical distribution of vegetation in the urban fabric is more important than the absolute quantum of vegetation to create a perception of pervasive greenery. Given the downward pressure created by the increasing built-up area and population density, broad strategies are suggested for how Singapore can continue to upkeep its high level of urban greening.

Urban Greenspace Distribution and their Eco-Service Valuation Evaluation for Yangtze River Delta

Urban greenspace is of the key importance to mitigate negatively environmental effects and balance urban ecology. This article got statistics and distributions of urban greenspaces for China’s Yangtze River Delta by interpolating remote sensing imageries obtained in 2008 and 2009. Then, based on the greenspace statistics and regional characteristics, the eco-service valuation of the urban greenspaces were evaluated using empirical parameters and model. Among 18 types of eco-service statistics in this region, 7 types of them including SO2 absorb, CO2 sequestration and O2 release, microclimate regulation, dust reduction, noise mitigation and sterilization, biodiversity maintain and cultural service were main eco-service functions.

Distribution of Urban Green Spaces - an Indicator of Topophobia - Topophilia of Urban Residential Neighborhoods. Case Study of 5th District of Bucharest, Romania

Distribution of Urban Green Spaces - an Indicator of Topophobia - Topophilia of Urban Residential Neighborhoods. Case Study of 5th District of Bucharest, Romania

緑地が都市内熱環境に及ぼす影響 ＩＩ リモートセンシングによる緑地の抽出と表面温度の解析

Remote sensing is perhaps the most economical method for assessing the thermal effects of urban greenspaces. Since 1984 the thermal infrared band of Landsat TM sensor provides high resolution imagery data showing surface temperature distributions. In previous studies we showed Landsat TM data clearly exhibit characteristics of lower temperature in the urban greenspaces and investigated the intensity of temperature decrease in urban greenspaces by comparing the distribution of temperature with the distribution of greenspaces classified by using remote sensing data.However as the scale of the urban components is usually smaller than the resolution of Landsat TM sensor (30m×30m), many pixels contain a mixture of cover classes. A pixel including multiple classes is called a mixel and it is very hard to classify mixels with conventional methods such as the maximum likelihood method or the cluster analysis. Therefore, the precision of the classification is restricted by the resolution of a pixel.In the present study we introduce fuzzy clustering to examine the distribution of urban greenspaces more precisely. Fuzzy clustering is based on the theory of fuzzy sets which allows fuzzy boundary of sets. Using this method it is possible to calculate the ratio of greenspaces in a mixel (hereafter we call the ratio ‘greenness’). The distribution of greenspaces as the result of fuzzy clustering is compared with the temperature distribution.As a test area, a region of 32×32 pixels in Minato-ward, Tokyo is selected from Landsat TM data of Kanto district (pass 107-row 35, acquired on Aug. 3rd, 1985). The ground truth of the greenness is calculated from the vegetation map of Minato-ward digitized by an image scanner.To evaluate the precision of fuzzy clustering we compared the ground truth of greenspaces shown in Fig. 5(a) with the result of fuzzy clustering shown in Fig. 5(b). These patterns visibly show good agreement but the greenness of a corresponding pixel is not exactly the same because of various types of errors. After the process of flattening to ease the errors, the relation between the ground truth and the result of fuzzy clustering is shown in Fig. 6. The agreement is satisfactory considering the various errors included in the original data and difficulty of the classification.To show the relation between the ratio of greenspaces and surface temperature, the distribution of surface temperature obtained from band 6 is also shown in Fig. 5(c). It seems that low temperature area generally coincides with the high greenness area.