Public Urban Green Spaces Research Articles

Analyzing urban public green space service based on real population data: A case study within the outer ring of shanghai

Analyzing urban public green space service based on real population data: A case study within the outer ring of shanghai

VISITOR BEHAVIOR AT THEME PARKS AS AN URBAN TOURISM IN THE CITY OF BANDUNG, INDONESIA

The presence of a variety of theme parks in Bandung, Indonesia is intended as an urban tourism and public green spaces whereby the townspeople can make interactions. In reality, there are many visitors who still not realize the purpose and function of the theme parks. Some of the newly constructed parks are damaged by visitor behavior. This condition makes the theme park less comfortable. This study was aimed to identify and analyze of visitor behavior at the Bandung theme parks as urban tourism.This study used quantitative descriptive analysis technique by tabulating the frequency responses of respondents. Visitor behavior was analyzed using two (2) sub variables, including personal and interpersonal factors. Personal factors consist of six indicators, i.e. (1) need, want and motivation; (2) perception; (3) learning; (4) personality; (5) lifestyle; and (6) self-concept. Meanwhile, interpersonal factors consist of five indicators, i.e. (1) culture; (2) reference group; (3) social class; (4) opinion leader; and (5) family. The analysis results show that the visitor behavior at theme parks as urban tourism, analyzed by personal and interpersonal factors, is in sufficient condition (not yet positive). On the personal factors, the highest indicator is need, want and motivation and the lowest indicator is personality. On interpersonal factors, the highest indicator is opinion leader. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance socialization in order to increase the knowledge of visitors pertaining to the function of theme parks and to amke proper regulations regarding superintendence of theme parks.

What Ideal Green Spaces for the City of Tomorrow, Providing Ecosystem Services?

The present study comes within the scope of a research program, which was funded by the French Region Centre-Val de Loire and questioned the fallout of urban green spaces (UGS) for city dwellers and municipalities. Here, the purpose is to identify the ideal UGS for a better urban future. We base our proposal on our knowledge of cultural and supporting ecosystem services (ES) provided by these spaces.The six medium cities of the Region Centre-Val de Loire were chosen to study these cultural and supporting ES provided by urban nature. Public UGS, higher than 1ha, were inventoried then classified into five categories. Six of these UGS were selected and subject of a more in-depth study. Their biodiversity (based on the arthropods frequency) and their soils quality (pedology, agronomy and microbiology) were analyzed. In the same time, 321 users and 12 managers of UGS were interviewed.According to the interviewees, UGS contribute to the urban life quality, the well-being of city dwellers and even the city identity. They are thus approved by all. Users come first in these spaces for the quiet and to feel closer to nature. And indeed, these spaces are biodiversity spaces and they have quite good soils indicators. They provide a diversity of ES, especially cultural services.All UGS are approved – except for those where traffics are suspected. The reasons and the time of their frequenting differ according to their facilities and their localization. However, the functions can be more numerous than the assigned ones – example of allotment gardens, which are places to cultivate but also to relax, meet and learn. Belonging to the five identified categories, the UGS are complementary. It is also valid for biodiversity because this one varies according to the land use, to the plant species. The ideal UGS could be a multifunctional UGS.

Everyday use of urban cemeteries: A Norwegian case study

The cemetery lay-out is set to meet the need for burying, but Scandinavian cemeteries are often well-maintained green spaces that could be potentially attractive areas for recreation. Shortage of urban green space and changing views on death and funerals could also lead to alterations in use of public urban green spaces, such as cemeteries. The objective of this study is to explore and describe everyday use of two urban green cemeteries in Oslo and discuss issues concerning designing for multiple and everyday use of urban cemeteries. Systematic moment observations of users' activities were made in the cemeteries. Eighteen types of activities were registered including visiting graves, crossing, biking, walking the dog, and exploration of cultural heritage. The study showed a varied use of both cemeteries and that everyday activities were common. Still, the cemeteries' main function is to serve the grave-visitors with a place to commemorate. In the planning and management of urban cemeteries one will have to take the needs of all its user-groups into consideration in order to keep and develop the particular quality that the cemetery as an urban public green space offers to its visitors and the local community. This paper discusses different issues related to various design solutions.

Accessibility of public urban green space in an urban periphery: The case of Shanghai

We studied the accessibility of public urban green spaces in the context of rapid land transformation within the urban periphery. By using Shanghai, China as a case study, we illustrated how to evaluate the access to public green spaces of an urban periphery and how planning processes can influence the improvement of such access. We constructed a composite index named the “green accessibility index” (GAI), which measures how well residents are treated in terms of access to different types of public urban green spaces. Shanghai and its districts have improved their green accessibility index from 2000 to 2010. However, the GAI in the urban periphery fell behind the city average. Furthermore, while the inner suburbs, especially Pudong and Baoshan, had fared quite well in green accessibility improvement, outer suburbs made moderate progress in comparison to the city average. We identified hot/cold spots and spatial clustering that had a high/low green accessibility index in the urban periphery. The cold spots are in urgent need of substantial improvements to green space accessibility.

A sampling methodology to facilitate biodiversity assessment in public green spaces

The growing concern with biodiversity loss has raised the attention on the importance of cities as habitats for a unique assemblage of plants and animals, particularly its public green spaces. Public green spaces, namely parks, gardens and green squares, are often too numerous to allow a detailed study of all of them. Due to their high heterogeneity, a random selection or a stratification based on few features would have consequences on the statistical validity of subsequent biodiversity analysis. Therefore, we aim to present a sampling methodology for public urban green spaces for the selection of a representative group that reflects the diversity of the original population. First, the stratification is based on a selection of variables considered relevant for biodiversity research and easy to evaluate, specifically total area, vegetation cover, impermeable area, water, age, dominant function and space character. Then, a clustering method, through finite mixture modelling, is applied to generate groups of similar green spaces. The application of the proposed sampling methodology was tested in Porto, Portugal. It aims to facilitate site selection for urban biodiversity surveys, in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of biodiversity analysis in public green spaces.

Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and urban public green spaces availability: A localized modeling approach to inform land use policy

Urban public green spaces (UPGSs) are rarely uniformly distributed across space. A subset of urban population is disproportionately well available of UPGSs, while other residents have considerably limited accessibility to UPGSs. Communicating and examining the spatial heterogeneity in UPGSs availability can formulate better land use policy. This paper applies the geographically weighted regression (GWR) to analyze the locality-specific relationships between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and UPGSs availability at district level in Shanghai, China. In particular, we construct a neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage index (NSDI) that incorporates elements from four dimensions including wealth, occupation, education and housing. Three domains of indicators (abundance, quality and accessibility) are developed to measure UPGSs. Results show that relationships between NSDI and UPGSs availability indicators present significant spatial non-stationarity. In general, UPGSs abundance and accessibility are lower in districts characterized by higher NSDI. However, converse trend is found in districts on the southwestern urban edge. UPGSs quality is poorer in districts with higher socioeconomic disadvantage within the central city, while UPGSs in the socioeconomically disadvantaged exhibit better quality within the outskirts. Our results highlight the importance of considering the locality-specific neighborhood socioeconomic profiles of UPGSs availability. The applied GWR framework presents promising potential for better UPGSs planning in a policy context. In the future, two principles are required for urban greening policies: (1) a comprehensive perspective in UPGSs availability evaluation; (2) locality-specific target strategies. The principles are not only key for China but also relevant to other nations who wish to achieve successful urban greening.

Characterizing the inequalities in urban public green space provision in Shenzhen, China

Public green spaces (PGSs) play a critical role in enhancing human well-being and urban quality of life. Characterizing the inequalities in PGSs provision can provide essential references for urban planning. This paper employs spatial regression to examine the PGSs provision in association with district sociodemographics in Shenzhen, China. In particular, district sociodemographics are described by ten variables from five aspects: income, occupation, education, demographic structure and housing arrangements. The PGSs provision is measured by six indicators from three aspects: quantity, accessibility, and quality. Results show that PGSs quantity declines with district disadvantage degree of income, occupation and housing. PGSs present lower quality in the wealthier neighborhoods but better quality in districts with housing disadvantage. The socioeconomically disadvantaged districts have more restricted access to PGSs. These findings demonstrate the inequalities in UPGSs provision in Shenzhen. This study informs urban planners of the ‘oasis and desert’ of PGSs provision across space.

Estimating the mediating effect of privately-supplied green space on the relationship between urban public green space and property value: Evidence from Shanghai, China

Much of the housing in China’s cities built since the opening up of housing markets in the 1990s is organized in residential clubs, with neighbourhood civic goods and services constructed by private developers, financed by residents’ fees, managed by property-management companies and governed by resident associations. This means that there are now three important types of green space in Chinese cities: public green space (open-access parks), private green space (gardens, exclusive to a private home) and club green space (greenery exclusive to fee-paying estate residents). We ask a simple but profound question: how does this three-fold green space morphology and economy influence housing prices and, by implication, locational preferences in the city? More specifically, we test the hypothesis that the privately supplied green spaces withing club-communities substitute for publicly supplied green spaces in the public realm. We find evidence in support of this hypothesis, showing for example, that unlike other kinds of green space, public district parks have no measurable use value to Shanghai home-buyers, using a hedonic valuation model. If urban planners in China understood that their cities have become ‘cities of clubs’, then they would plan open space differently and scarce public funds could be redirected to other public goods and services with measurable demand.

Bioreceptive design: a novel approach to biodigital materiality

Today, at a time of unprecedented urban development, there is urgency to improve the environmental quality of cities. The present ‘greening’ of urban spaces is an ongoing response to a dirty industrial past and present, with a drive to transform cities to have better air and water, more tree-lined streets and open parks. But the amount of urban public green space varies massively between cities around the world and increasing this, or designing for it, is a particular challenge where there is pressure for space, resources, and development. The architectural fabric itself – building envelopes, roofs, and façades – has been targeted as an opportunity for additional greening. A number of strategies integrating vegetation and other photosynthetic systems onto buildings have been developed, which provide passive climatic control as well as aiding storm-water management and creating new ecological habitat, in addition to lowering atmospheric CO2. However, ‘green walls’, where plants and foliage are grown on the sides of buildings as a kind of secondary skin, have been less successful and have proven expensive to implement. Maintenance costs are significant due to the need to overcome gravity, primarily through mechanical irrigation.

Considering urban green space and informal backyard rentals in South Africa: Disproving the compensation hypothesis

This research reflects on planning for urban green space and the related impact of informal backyard rental densification in South Africa, based on the ‘compensation hypothesis’. Informal backyard dwellings may increase densities substantially, occupying private green space, but often without reciprocal increases in public urban green space area. According to the compensation hypothesis, residents with limited access to private green space are more likely to seek compensation elsewhere. This research employs qualitative and quantitative analyses to investigate access to, and use of green spaces in the Bridgton and Bongolethu townships, Oudtshoorn. Findings disprove the compensation hypothesis, showing that proximate public green spaces are used sporadically, not correlating to increased densities. The number of backyard dwellings does not result in compensation behaviour, but an increased number of backyard tenants affect perceptions of green space availability and privacy. Although the compensation hypothesis is disproved in this case, findings probe the need to reconsider urban green space planning within low-cost areas, particularly considering densification impacts, linked to quality of life. As such, accessibility to public green spaces, as well as their function and form should be questioned as part of broader spatial planning approaches. Keywords: Compensation hypothesis, ecosystem services, informal backyard rentals, urban green space

Producing nature for public: Land-based urbanization and provision of public green spaces in China

The landscapes and infrastructures of cities have long been viewed as products of human–nature interaction. This paper sheds new light on how a critical constituent of urban landscape and infrastructure, urban public green spaces, has been produced in China's ongoing profound urbanization process. Over the past decade, China's urbanization has been characterized by a land-based pattern centered on the commercialization and capitalization of urban land induced by the decentralization of state power. The non-budgetary revenues generated from urban land leasing hold the promise to empower local governments' fiscal capacity and flexibility in financing various urban infrastructures aiming to enhance local amenities and attract external investment. This paper investigates the impact of land-based urbanization on the provision of urban public green spaces, an integrated part of urban public infrastructure, using panel data across 285 Chinese prefecture cities from 2002 to 2009. The results reveal a negative relationship between the reliance on land finance and the amount of urban public green spaces, indicating that local governments' pursuit of maximizing land lease revenue will not be able to finance more public green spaces, and may even cause the loss of public green spaces. The regional variations amongst the eastern-coastal, central, and western cities confirm that an initially positive relationship between land finance and the provision of urban public green spaces at the early stage of development would reverse to a negative relationship with the increasing pace of urbanization and economic development, which may lead to a social inequity pertaining to public accessibility to urban green spaces. A balance amongst economic growth, environmental concerns, and social equity is very much needed in the quest for sustainable development.

Green oriented urban development for urban ecosystem services provision in a medium sized city in southern Italy

Abstract: In southern Italy many cities are characterized by a lack of public urban greenspaces. Non-urbanized areas in these cities are suffering from surrounding urbanization pressures. These areas still provide important ecosystem services even if they are limited in size, highly fragmented and often neglected by local planning. New planning strategies are needed in order to protect and enhance the provision of ecosystem services delivered by existing Non-Urbanized areas, but municipalities usually have limited funds for acquiring public green areas via land expropriations. At the same time, requests for new urban development are still considerable. Consequently, it is not realistic to propose strategies for green areas that do not include new developments. The paper illustrates a strategy for a Green Oriented Urban Development (GOUD) that has been applied for the Master Plan of Catania, a medium sized city in Sicily (southern Italy). The strategy includes a limited amount of developments as well as new greenspaces in selected areas (Resource Zones), through the transfer of property and development rights between the municipality and developers. The strategy will allow to enhance the provision of ecosystem services, especially cultural services (thanks to a dramatic increase of accessibility to new greenspaces), regulating services (through climate regulation by new green land covers) and provisioning services such as urban agricultural products. Results show that it is possible to improve urban ecosystem services creating a more liveable and healthy urban environment at reduced cost for the municipal administrations.

Study on Off-Stream Ecological Water Demand of Fu River Basin

According to researches on mechanism and concept of off-stream ecological water demand, off-stream ecological water demand of Fu River Basin is consist of ecological water demand for soil and water conservation and for urban public green space, considering the current situation and planning objectives of off-stream ecological water demand of Fu River Basin. Directly calculation method is employed in this study. Choosing 2005 as the current year in this study, indicators of public green space and soil erosion data are obtained. Then the ecological water demand of urban public green space in Fuzhou City is determined as 0.438×108m3 and the water demand for off-stream soil and water conservation in Fu River Basin is determined as 0.3159×108m3 in virtue of quota method. The off-stream ecological water demand in the Basin (2005 as the current year) is about 0.359×108m3. The determination of the off-stream ecological water demand in the basin provide a scientific basis on taking a variety of water-saving measures, improving the recovery rate of sewage treatment and increasing the off-stream ecological water consumption. Results of this study will make the ecological environment of this area to achieve a healthy state, and shall greatly improve regional water resources and water environmental situation.

Effective green equivalent—A measure of public green spaces for cities

Quantifying the public green space required by urban residents is a fundamental aspect of sustainable urban planning and management. This paper proposes a metric of effective green equivalent (EGE), which is defined as the area of green space multiplied by corrected coefficients of quality and accessibility. Based on the EGE values of individual residents, two city-level indicators are developed: (1) average EGE, which refers to the average level of EGE values of all urban residents within the urban boundary; and (2) an inequality coefficient, which measures the inequality of EGE distribution across the urban area. Three indicators (EGE, average EGE, and the inequality coefficient) were used to measure the real green spaces of the urban residents of Beijing, China. The results showed that the EGE values for individual residents in Beijing follow a normal distribution. The average EGE value is 355.49ha per resident and the inequality coefficient value is calculated to be 0.24, indicating that the current public green spaces of Beijing can basically meet residents’ requirements. These indicators can thus be applied to urban public green space planning practice.

Ecosystem Health Assessment of Guangzhou City

Guangzhou urban ecosystem health evaluation index system was built by the connotation of urban ecosystem health and the actual situation in Guangzhou city. The system concluded five indexes such as vigor, organizational structure, resilience, ecosystem services and health status of populations. Each index weight was calculated with entropy-weight method,and comprehensive evaluation model was established to assess the urban ecosystem health level of Guangzhou city. The results showed that the health status of the ecosystem of Guangzhou city was good in 2010. High energy consumption, the R & D expenditure, environmental protection investment, urban public green space and Engel coefficient had exerted influence on the healthy development of Guangzhou city. Thereby, strategies and measures should be put forward in an attempt to provide some background information an d programming reference for the sustainable development of the city.

Perceptions and use of public green space is influenced by its relative abundance in two small towns in South Africa

The challenges in planning and maintaining urban public green spaces in poor towns of the developing world differ markedly from those of the developed world. This paper reports on residents’ perceptions, use and willingness to get involved in urban public green space (PGS) issues in two poor towns in South Africa which differed markedly in the amount of PGS. The disparities in PGS between the two towns were also replicated in different suburbs within the two towns. We hypothesised that levels of dissatisfaction would be highest in those suburbs and the town with the least PGS. The results indicated that the distance from residents’ homesteads to the nearest PGS was similar across towns and suburbs. Most residents felt that having accessible PGS was important, and the majority agreed that there was insufficient PGS in their respective town and suburb, and that the local municipality did not do enough in providing PGS or maintaining what there was. The level of dissatisfaction with the amount and condition of PGS was generally highest in the suburbs and town with the least PGS. Many felt that the municipality had insufficient commitment and funds to adequately maintain PGS, and consequently the willingness of residents to get involved through either a commitment of time or funds was high. The more affluent town and suburbs were willing to pay more than the poorer ones, and the poorer ones were willing to provide more time than the more affluent ones.

Study on Lanzhou Public Green Space Planning

By analyzing Lanzhou public green space location features and the service radius in China, this paper presents some main problems of Lanzhou public green space. Based on above, from the perspective of the ecological environment, usability and the landscape, some key planning strategies of urban public green space are proposed. This paper presents a good case for reference of Lanzhou public green space planning practice.

Associations between park characteristics and perceived restorativeness of small public urban green spaces

Urban green space in dense city areas is a limited resource. However, previous research indicates that such areas have a positive influence on mental restoration. As stress is a common problem in cities, we test to see whether park characteristics are associated with the perceived restorativeness of nine small public urban green spaces (SPUGS) in the dense city of Copenhagen. Furthermore, we investigate whether there is a difference in preferences for park characteristics amongst average users and the most stressed users of SPUGS. We conducted an on-site questionnaire survey where respondents answered the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS). All SPUGS were analysed using the eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) which describe different park characteristics. The analyses were conducted to see whether the PSDs were present or not and to determine how strong or weak they were. For the first time the PRS and the PSDs have been combined to see whether significant associations can be found between park characteristics and the users’ perceived restorativeness. First, seven of the eight PSDs could be used in the study. Second, the PSDs ‘social’ and ‘serene’ were significantly associated with average users’ perceived restorativeness. And third, a difference between the users is that the PSD ‘nature’ becomes important for the most stressed individuals. The results indicate that the PSDs can be useful for the future analysis and design processes of SPUGS with the potential for mental restoration. However, the PSDs need to be developed further to make them useful to practitioners.

Urban Ecosystem services on the local level: Urban green spaces as providers

AbstractBreuste J., Schnellinger J., Qureshi S., Faggi A.: Urban ecosystem services on the local level: Urban green spaces as providers. Ekologia (Bratislava), Vol. 32, No. 3, p. 209-304, 2013. Ecosystem services are provided at different spatial and service/functional scales. The local level is the basic unit for ecosystem services, especially when it comes to the human dimension of urban landscapes. These services are provided by green elements (patches) or basic complex ecosystems (green areas) which differ from their neighbourhoods through their structures and functions. This study reviews the generally available knowledge on urban green functions and services at the site level and explains them by using own studies in five different cities in three different continents related to distinct ecosystem services. This allows the development of a methodology to evaluate and compare ecosystem services at the site level. The methodology is based at two levels, patch and green space, and includes the relationship with the surrounding green and built-up space. Different urban green space types are characterized by their internal structures of vegetation, size, shape and location in relation to at least a semi-quantitative scaling of their urban ecosystem services. The evaluated urban green spaces are public urban green spaces. The urban ecosystem services assessed include climate regulation, biodiversity, nature experience, recreation and health. The actual urban challenges, such as land use change, adaptation to climate change, demographic change and urban cultural diversity, demand a systematic and very concrete monitoring of urban ecosystem services at the site level.