Quality Of Urban Green Space Research Articles

Assessment of visual landscape quality of urban green spaces using image-based metrics derived from perceived sensory dimensions

Urban green spaces (UGS) have been extensively studied for their psychological benefits to people. However, accurately assessing the quality of UGS, which is closely linked to human perception, remains challenging due to the complexity of this attribute. To address this gap, this study proposed a novel approach that uses comprehensive image-based metrics to evaluate multiple aspects of visual landscape quality (VLQ). These metrics were developed based on a theoretical framework of perceived sensory dimensions (PSD). We presented the meanings and calculation methods of metrics based on panoramic images. Additionally, we conducted an online survey to demonstrate the significant correlation between these metrics and the subjective perception of PSD. This study also proposed a new spatial mapping method to represent VLQ using these metrics, illustrated through a case study of the Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG). We used analysis of variance to compare the distinctions between metrics naturalness, wildness, and GVI by selecting a few green spaces within the SBG. The approaches provide an innovative way to evaluate UGS visual quality using photographic imagery data, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the visual quality assessment of UGS.

The Bird Dawn Chorus Strength of an Urban Soundscape and Its Potential to Assess Urban Green Spaces

Green areas in urban environments, such as urban parks and urban gardens, are known to provide benefits called “ecosystem services” to the urban community. Green recreational spaces offer opportunities for physical activity, leading to improved physical and mental health of residents. For this reason, the presence and the quality of such areas has to be considered and promoted in sustainable urban planning, especially in the context of contributing to the achievement sustainable cities. As the biodiversity of an area is an indication of its quality, soundecological indicators have been used to assess the biodiversity in natural areas. Due to the presence of anthropogenic sounds in urban areas, the use of these indicators to determine the quality of urban areas can be questioned. However, the vocal activity of collectively singing birds during the dawn chorus contributes to the urban soundscape, and results in a prominent biophonic component of this soundscape, as can be clearly seen in its yearly pattern. The use of soundecological indicators through the estimation of the Bird Dawn Chorus Strength has the potential to provide a means of assessing the quality of urban green spaces. To demonstrate this potential, a pilot study is presented here on the annual temporal scale of the soundscape of a typical urban green space.

The Construction and Optimization of Habitat Networks for Urban–Natural Symbiosis: A Case Study of the Main Urban Area of Nanjing

Maintaining ecological balance relies on biodiversity, and habitat network construction plays an imperative role in preserving biodiversity in regional areas. Nevertheless, there is a problem with the current habitat network construction, which focuses exclusively on ecological benefits without taking other benefits into account as well. In this paper, six species of birds with varying habitat types and varying adaptabilities to city life are selected as target species to build a habitat network based on the InVEST model, Circuit Theory, and Linkage Mapper, focusing on nuclei, patches, corridors, and islands for the harmonious coexistence of human-green space-birds in the most densely populated area of Nanjing, and to refine landscape design techniques for habitat creation. Below is a summary of the main results. Firstly, there is a direct relationship between species distribution and migration capabilities and the urbanization adaptation capabilities of species. Meanwhile, habitat quality has a significant impact on bird species distribution. Furthermore, the habitat network in Nanjing’s main urban area has a distributed and partially degraded core area, a single connectivity structure with poor functionality, and significant fragmentation of habitat patches. Finally, as a result of the above results, two perspectives of ecological landscape planning and design are proposed to optimize the relevant green space landscape in Nanjing’s central urban areas based on biodiversity and satisfying the tripartite symbiosis of humans, green space, and birds in the city. By planning and implementing habitat networks, it is possible to enhance the habitat quality of urban green spaces to a certain extent and provide new ideas for the overall planning of urban–natural systems.

Assessment of the ecological-recreational quality of urban green spaces and their indicators using remote sensing data and online sources

Natural ecosystems within urban areas play a crucial role in providing essential ecosystem services, thus urban green spaces play a crucial role in ensuring the health and well-being of city residents. Urban parks and other forms of green infrastructure offer a multitude of benefits to city dwellers. Central to the definition of green infrastructure are two core functional attributes: connectivity and multifunctionality (Wang and Banzhaf, 2018; Hansen and Paulet, 2014). Connectivity pertains to both the physical interconnectedness of green spaces and the functional connections facilitating wildlife movement and interaction (Hansen and Pauleit, 2014; Baudry and Merriam, 1988). On the other hand, multifunctionality refers to the capacity of green infrastructure to fulfill diverse roles and provide a range of advantages within the same area. The concept of multifunctionality suggests that a single green infrastructure intervention can yield multiple interrelated ecological, social, and economic benefits. Public green spaces, accessible to all city residents, such as parks, squares, and gardens, exhibit substantial variations in landscape composition, biological diversity, and urban infrastructure integration. Consequently, their roles in terms of connectivity, provision of ecosystem services, and benefits received also diverge. In order to provide the responsible authorities with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions in the planning and management of urban parks and other green spaces, the quality assessment of these green spaces is undertaken (Daniels et al., 2017; Baycan-Levent et al., 2009). Addressing this complex and multidimensional task, diverse tools for comprehensive quality assessment of urban green spaces have emerged in recent years (Knobel et al., 2019; Meng and Wang, 2022). This article reviews the existing evaluation tools for parks, which assess their multifunctionality, as well as discusses the key indicators employed for assessing selected parks in Vilnius. The review of the tools has revealed the existence of around 40 instruments, detailed in international scientific literature. These tools collectively encompass over 150 individual indicators. While only a few tools propose evaluations using statistical or remote data, the majority involve on-site audits of park areas. However, remote evaluations offer the advantage of saving human and financial resources. When comparing parks within a city or across different cities, remote assessments have demonstrated greater efficiency. For the analysis of Vilnius city parks, nine pivotal indicators were selected from pre-existing tools, enabling the assessment of the ecological condition, recreational attractiveness, and anthropogenic pressure on these areas. This set of indicators, labeled as ERAL (Ecology-Recreation-Anthropogenic Load), addresses an often-overlooked aspect of assessment – anthropogenic impact. The evaluation revealed that parks with a significant portion of mature trees, particularly those classified as forest parks, exhibited the most favorable ecological condition. Among these parks, the relatively young parks like Ozo, Neries senvagės, and Japoniško sodo demonstrated the highest recreational potential. Conversely, some of the newer and smaller parks in the city center, marked by lower ecological quality, such as Liuteronų and Reformatų sodai, and Pamėnkalnio skveras, experienced comparatively heightened levels of human-induced pressures. This evaluation could be broadened, and its outcomes could inform the planning process. Future research could encompass refining the proposed assessment by incorporating additional indicators for ecological status, recreational potential, and anthropogenic impacts, along with more intricate remote sensing or freely accessible internet data. Another avenue of investigation could involve assessing the reliability and quality of such relatively swift and cost-effective remote data and web-based evaluations. Such insights would enhance comprehension of scenarios where such assessments are applicable or not.

A New Urban Greening Scheme Approach: Increasing Quantity and Quality of Urban Green Space

Urban green spaces are perceived as vital urban infrastructure for healing from the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Regarding the limited availability and the high price of land in urban areas, local governments are encouraged to find alternative solutions that are good, appropriate, and fast to achieve the target of 30% green open space in their area. Based on the Green City Development Roadmap by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in 2015, several cities were creatively assessing and determining the components of green open space based on the city’s natural character and stipulated in local regulations. This causes the diversity of existing green open space data in each city which cannot be compared validly. Furthermore, along with technology development in providing more environmentally friendly elements, the term “green open space” is considered to limit improvement efforts in the quantity and quality of urban green spaces. Therefore, this descriptive-qualitative study was conducted to find a new paradigm in defining green open spaces through benchmarking methods based on selected cities’ strategic and practical policies. The study results found the term “green space” in general as a response to the spatial problem that does not limit the function and utilization of the space, such as the condition of being open or closed by a tree canopy, owned by public or private, or furnished with vegetation and/or hardscape elements. However, we consider that implementing this breakthrough idea needs to be supported by related scientific studies and best practices relevant to the environmental context, both ecological, social, and cultural aspects. Consequently, a deeper study in realizing the green space concept needs to be carried out, primarily related to proving that this concept can increase both the quantity and quality of the urban green space.

THE INTEGRATED MODEL DEVELOPMENT FOR ASSESSING URBAN GREEN SPACE QUALITY. A CASE STUDY IN HANOI INNER CITY, VIETNAM

Urban Green Space (UGS) is considered fundamental for the sustainable development of the urban economy. The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of urban green space in the Hanoi inner city using the integration of GIS technology, remote sensing, and AHP model. Sentinel 2-MSI data taken in 2020 were utilized to identify three criteria, namely percentage of green, type of green types, and proximity to green. AHP was used to determine the weighted correlation among parameters based on their importance to this phenomenon. As the result, the quality of UGS was classified into four classes, namely very high-quality green, high-quality green, moderate quality green, and low-quality green. The results showed an imbalance in the quality of green space in the study area. In which, areas with high and very high-quality green were distributed mainly on the edge of the city center, accounting for 41% while low quality urban green space was found in the center with 22.4 %.

Negative Associations between Quality of Urban Green Spaces and Health Expenditures in Downtown Shanghai

The health–beneficial value of urban green spaces (UGS) is increasingly accepted by scholars. However, compared to the large number of studies focused on UGS–health associations, whether UGS in high-density cities could reduce public health expenditures remains less investigated. In particular, few studies have examined the association of UGS quality with health expenditures. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study in downtown Shanghai to examine such associations. A population-based household survey (n = 1000) was conducted to collect relevant information about different aspects of health expenditure and the characteristics of UGS. Specifically, a new method was proposed to measure UGS quality based on the supply–demand of 20 types of UGS activities. We also measured the perceived quality of different types of UGS and quantified the amount of UGS using GIS based on remote sensing data. Regression models were applied for statistical analysis. The results showed that both UGS quality based on user needs and perceived UGS quality have a significant negative association with total health expenditures. This study provides insights for UGS quality measurement, contributes to the understanding of the health-related economic benefits of UGS, and also highlights the importance of UGS optimization in high-density urban areas.

The challenges of implementing green factors in urban greening schemes in Indonesia

Recently, new planning tools have emerged to support urban landscape planners in achieving sustainability through optimizing the urban greening scheme. Some cities have approved the green factor tool to increase the quantity and quality of urban green spaces. This greening scheme is considered suitable for a relatively dense city where challenging to provide adequate urban green areas. This short communication challenges the usefulness of the green factor tool and how it relates to the existing urban green space planning procedures through a qualitative case study in Jakarta, Indonesia. The result shows that while the green factor tool performs well, improvements could be made primarily in convincing stakeholders regarding the new paradigm in calculating green areas in relatively dense urban areas. Furthermore, trials in actual cases need to be carried out to examine the formula’s effectiveness. Regarding the usefulness of this tool, we conclude that while increasing the number of green areas, improving its quality is more necessary to build resilient infrastructures.

Effects of Landscape Types and Complexity Along Path on Mental Restoration.

This study checked the effects of landscape types and complexity along path in urban green spaces on perceived restorativeness, so as to provide guidance for path landscape design. Paths in urban green spaces are not only the connections between places but also places for visitors reducing mental stress and seeking psychological well-being. However, there is a lack of evidence-based research on the effects of landscape composition along the path on restorative quality, failing to provide a cohesive guideline for practice. Fourteen videos representing the popular path landscapes in urban green spaces were produced using computer software by adding or/and deleting elements and controlling environmental components. The restorative quality of these videos was measured by Short-version Revised Restoration Scale (SRRS). Statistical analysis was employed to treat the data and checked the effects of different landscape types and complexity on restorative quality. (1) A significant difference in restorative quality between 14 path landscapes was found, comparatively, the path containing lawn or(and) forest was much better than that containing bamboo and waterscape, and bamboo was a negative predictor of restorative quality; (2) waterscape generally reduced the restorative quality of vegetated path landscape, especially when the landscape possessed higher restorative quality; (3) path landscape complexity had a weak influence on restorative quality. This study explains how path landscapes affect mental restoration of users, and these findings contribute to enhancing the restorative quality of urban green spaces and have applications for path landscape design.

Animals in urban green spaces in relation to mental restorative quality

Despite the important roles that animals play in ecosystems, their functions in urban green spaces are often overlooked. To fill this gap, this study explored the effects of four animal species on the mental restorative quality of urban green spaces by comparing observers’ response to pictures with and without animals. The results indicated that swans, deer, and pigeons which were unthreatening to humans could significantly improve mental restoration of observers, and comparatively, swans had the strongest effect. Conversely, unleashed dogs were a potential threat to humans, and decreased the mental restorative quality of urban green spaces. The mechanism of animals’ effects on mental restoration and the differential effects of four animal species were discussed. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study addressing the mental health impacts of animals in landscapes, and the results suggest that “animal-inclusive landscape design” has a positive impact on urban green spaces.

Towers Once in the Park: Uprooting Toronto's Welfare Landscapes

This article is published as part of the Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography special issue ‘Revisiting the green geographies of welfare planning’, edited by Johan Pries and Mattias Qviström. ABSTRACT In the midst of the growing ecological crisis, the ‘compact city’ has become the mainstream urban paradigm for the sustainable future of western cities. However, the uneven implementation of densification policies can have adverse impacts on the amount and quality of urban green spaces, which are vital resources for local communities. This paper explores the controversies of introducing compactness in the case of Toronto’s ‘towers in the park’: housing estates built in comprehensively planned neighbourhoods from the 1950s through the 1970s. It does so through the lenses of urban design and landscape planning, by tracking the evolution of narratives that underpin the current urban regime, and by assessing their legitimacy from the perspective of residents. The findings highlight a persistent mismatch between Toronto’s dominant urban design paradigm and the sociomaterial context of its uncritical application. Exemplar episodes of tower infill show two discursive tropes to justify compactness: the alleged underuse of open spaces, and the creation of a proper public realm by replacing these spaces with buildings and streets. Beyond uncovering the fallacy of both claims, this paper outlines an alternative perspective for more equitable strategies for common green spaces, outside unconditional protection and zealous quest for “value uplift.”

Problems and countermeasures of soil health quality in urban green space

Soil quality of urban green space (UGS) is the basis for ensuring healthy growth of plants and maintaining the healthy ecosystem services for the residents and the sustainable development of city. At present, in order to improve the soil quality of UGS, more attention has been paid to fertility quality and environmental quality, but less to the health quality. We analyzed the concept, connotation, and assessment indicator of soil health quality, summarized the main problems and challenges of soil health quality of UGS. Finally, we put forward the ways and strategies to improve soil health quality of UGS, and prospected future research direction. Our aim was to attract the attention to the soil quality of UGS, especially soil health quality, and the importance of comprehensively improving soil quality of UGS, eventually providing strong technical support for urban sustainable development and eco-city construction.

Assessment of Change in Urban Green Spaces Using Sentinel 2 MSI Data and GIS Techniques: A Case Study in Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam

This paper presents the results of an assessment of change in urban green spaces in Thanh Hoacity (Vietnam). Sentinel 2 MSI data in 2015 and 2021 are used to calculate 3 parameters: percentage ofgreen, weight of green types, and weight of proximity to green. These parameters are used to calculate theWeighted Urban Green Space Index (WUGSI). The final result shows the distribution of green space inthe study area consisted of very high-quality green, high-quality green, moderate quality green, and lowquality green. The obtained results show that the quality of urban green space in Thanh Hoa city haschanged significantly in the period 2015-2021, in which the area with category “low quality green space”increased from 7.17% up to 9.48%; areas with category “very high-quality green space” reduced from65.02% to 47.39%.

Urban green space quality in China: Quality measurement, spatial heterogeneity pattern and influencing factor

Quantifiable information on urban green spaces (UGS) (with their quality and distribution) is critical for sustainable urban development. The timely monitoring of UGS quality allows us to reveal relevant spatial differentiation laws at different scales and propose effective green planning guides. However, UGS quantity and quality in China remain unknown owing to a lack of large-scale studies. We utilized an urban neighborhood green index (UNGI) model to accurately characterize the UGS quality at a 100-m grid-scale in Chinese built-up areas using the FROM-GLC10 land-cover product and building height data. Furthermore, we explored the differentiation law of UGS quality at various spatial scales and its influencing factors using the geographic detector model. The results demonstrate that the average UNGI value in China is 52.17, and its overall quality is at a medium level. The UNGI values in most cities present a spatial differentiation pattern of “low core and high periphery.” UNGI values in the western and northeastern regions are slightly higher than those in the eastern and central regions. At the urban scale, the UNGI values in most cities are from 45 to 60. At the urban functional area scale, the UNGI values for public service land are significantly higher than those for other urban functional areas. Furthermore, the UGS quality correlates with different hierarchical cities and urbanization development stages. The UNGI values in super-megacities, megacities, and small cities are higher than those in large and medium cities. Additionally, the UGS quality in the final urbanization development stage was significantly higher than that in the initial stage. The geographic detector model’s results demonstrate that numerous and complex factors affect the UGS quality, and population plays a dominant role in UGS. These results can assist urban administrators in green space planning and sustainable urban development.

Rapid Mapping and Annual Dynamic Evaluation of Quality of Urban Green Spaces on Google Earth Engine

In order to achieve the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to green spaces, monitoring dynamic urban green spaces (UGSs) in cities around the world is crucial. Continuous dynamic UGS mapping is challenged by large computation, time consumption, and energy consumption requirements. Therefore, a fast and automated workflow is needed to produce a high-precision UGS map. In this study, we proposed an automatic workflow to produce up-to-date UGS maps using Otsu’s algorithm, a Random Forest (RF) classifier, and the migrating training samples method in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. We took the central urban area of Beijing, China, as the study area to validate this method, and we rapidly obtained an annual UGS map of the central urban area of Beijing from 2016 to 2020. The accuracy assessment results showed that the average overall accuracy (OA) and kappa coefficient (KC) were 96.47% and 94.25%, respectively. Additionally, we used six indicators to measure quality and temporal changes in the UGS spatial distribution between 2016 and 2020. In particular, we evaluated the quality of UGS using the urban greenness index (UGI) and Shannon’s diversity index (SHDI) at the pixel level. The experimental results indicate the following: (1) The UGSs in the center of Beijing increased by 48.62 km2 from 2016 to 2020, and the increase was mainly focused in Chaoyang, Fengtai, and Shijingshan Districts. (2) The average proportion of relatively high and above levels (UGI > 0.5) in six districts increased by 2.71% in the study area from 2016 to 2020, and this proportion peaked at 36.04% in 2018. However, our result revealed that the increase was non-linear during this assessment period. (3) Although there was no significant increase or decrease in SHDI values in the study area, the distribution of the SHDI displayed a noticeable fluctuation in the northwest, southwest, and northeast regions of the study area between 2016 and 2020. Furthermore, we discussed and analyzed the influence of population on the spatial distribution of UGSs. We found that three of the five cold spots were located in the east and southeast of Haidian District. Therefore, the proposed workflow could provide rapid mapping and dynamic evaluation of the quality of UGS.

Assessing Emotional Responses to the Spatial Quality of Urban Green Spaces through Self-Report and Face Recognition Measures.

Although creating a high-quality urban green space (UGS) is of considerable importance in public health, few studies have used individuals’ emotions to evaluate the UGS quality. This study aims to conduct a multidimensional emotional assessment method of UGS from the perspective of spatial quality. Panoramic videos of 15 scenes in the West Lake Scenic Area were displayed to 34 participants. For each scene, 12 attributes regarding spatial quality were quantified, including perceived plant attributes, spatial structure attributes, and experiences of UGS. Then, the Self-Assessment-Manikin (SAM) scale and face recognition model were used to measure people’s valence-arousal emotion values. Among all the predictors, the percentages of water and plants were the most predictive indicators of emotional responses measured by SAM scale, while the interpretation rate of the model measured by face recognition was insufficiently high. Concerning gender differences, women experienced a significantly higher valence than men. Higher percentages of water and plants, larger sizes, approximate shape index, and lower canopy densities were often related to positive emotions. Hence, designers must consider all structural attributes of green spaces, as well as enrich visual perception and provide various activities while creating a UGS. In addition, we suggest combining both physiological and psychological methods to assess emotional responses in future studies. Because the face recognition model can provide objective measurement of emotional responses, and the self-report questionnaire is much easier to administer and can be used as a supplement.

Young women’s site-specific fear of crime within urban public spaces in Seoul

ABSTRACT Many studies revealed that vegetation in parks evokes fear of crime for women in a certain environmental context, and it significantly inhibits the restorative qualities of urban green spaces. A quasi-experimental on-site study was conducted at two privately owned public spaces in a central business district of Seoul, to investigate what aspects of sites trigger women’s fear of crime and why. Female participants visited two contrasting sites (N = 30) – one with dense trees and one with an open lawn – at both day and night and indicated perceived fear intensity on interactive maps with four levels (0–3). In total, 540 overlaid grid cells were encoded using the presence of physical attributes, such as vegetation, street furniture, lighting, security camera, artwork, borders of buildings, and roads. A generalized linear model estimated the effects of the physical attributes to determine whether they were positively or negatively associated with assessed fear intensity. Insufficient lighting and absence of people after working hours at the wooded site induced a large increase in perceived fear intensity from daytime. In geographically mapping fear of crime, participants showed the highest level of fear for violence and sex crimes in the alley enclosed with woods.

Metropolitan children's physical fitness: The relationship between overweight and obesity prevalence, socioeconomic status, urban green space access, and physical activity

Children’s access to green spaces in urban areas is highly associated with their physical and psychological wellbeing. In the last two decades, children’s access to urban outdoors has reduced, and concerns about children’s physical health have increased. The number of overweight and obese children has considerably risen from both developing and developed countries. Turkey is a developing country, where studies about childhood obesity and its relationship with access and use to urban green spaces are limited.Therefore, this study first investigates the relationship between children’s visits to urban green spaces and age, gender, proximity, quality and physical health; Second, it also investigates obesity prevalence in school children (aged six to eighteen) and identifies the relationship between physical fitness and availability of green spaces close to children’s living arrangements, visits to green spaces, regular physical activity in green spaces and socioeconomic status (SES). This study includes 2668 student from 24 state schools in 4 different districts of Istanbul. In each region, two schools from each education level (primary, secondary and high school) were retrieved. Physical fitness indicators (weight and height) were measured, and children were asked to take part in questionnaires about their green space use.This study identified that children were more likely to visit green areas, if they were existed within proximity to their homes and quality of urban green spaces was an essential factor for visits. Visiting green spaces were significantly correlated with age, and younger children were more likely to visit compared to older children. A quarter of children (25.67 %) were overweight or obese. Gender [0.82; p=0.038), and age [Age<10 was 2.06; p= 0.000 and Age 10−14 was 1.93; p = 0.000) were statistically significant variables for overweight and obesity. It was identified that odds of children who lived in gated communities, being overweight or obese were 29 % [1.29; p=0,048] higher then children living in traditional neighbourhoods. Children visiting urban green spaces for physical activity were 29 % [0.71; p=0.032) less likely to be under the risk of being overweight or obese. The study identified obesity prevalence is higher in younger children, which might indicate a growing number of overweight and obese children and needs monitoring in the future.

A systematic review into the suitability of urban refugia for the Eurasian red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

Abstract Urban growth and intensification are projected to increase as the global human population increases. Historically, urban areas have been disregarded as suitable wildlife habitat, but it is now known that these areas can be biodiverse and that wildlife species can adapt to the environmental conditions. One such urban‐dwelling species is the Eurasian red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris, which has suffered population declines in several countries throughout its range in recent decades. The current published literature was systematically reviewed to determine whether or not urban habitats are suitable refugia for red squirrels, through identifying and discussing key topics regarding the urban ecology of red squirrels. Urban environments can support higher population densities of red squirrels than rural areas, probably due to the widespread and reliable provision of anthropogenic supplemental food alongside natural food sources. The availability and quality of urban greenspaces are important determinants of the suitability of urban habitats for red squirrels, as they provide natural food sources and nesting sites. Despite the barriers present in urban landscapes (e.g. roads), red squirrels can still disperse and maintain gene flow at the population level. Road traffic accidents appear to be a significant cause of mortality in some urban red squirrel populations, and seasonal peaks of mortality occur during the autumn months. Diseases (e.g. squirrelpox virus) can also be a significant cause of mortality, although effects differ between populations and depend on whether grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis are present. Many of the predation events that affect red squirrels appear to be due to free‐ranging domestic and feral cats Felis catus, although there is currently little evidence to suggest that predation is a limiting factor for urban red squirrel populations. We conclude that urban areas can be suitable refugia for red squirrels, provided that high‐quality greenspaces are maintained. Mitigation measures may also be necessary to reduce population mortality and to prevent disease outbreaks.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Urban Green Space Influenced by Rapid Urbanization and Land Use Policies in Shanghai

Urbanization has led to the continuous expansion of built-up areas and the ever-growing urban population, threatening the quantity and quality of urban green space (UGS). Exploring the spatiotemporal variations of UGS is substantially conducive to the formulation of land-use policies to protect the ecosystems. As one of the largest megacities all around the world, Shanghai has experienced rapid urbanization in the past three decades. Insights into how UGS changes in response to urbanization and greening policies are essential for guiding sustainable urban development. This paper employed integrated approaches to characterize the changing patterns and intensities of green space in Shanghai, China from 1990 to 2015. The spatiotemporal dynamics of the UGS pattern were derived through four main methods: green space ratio, dynamic change degree (DCD), transition matrix and landscape metrics. The results showed that Shanghai’s green space decreased from 84.8% in 1990 to 61.9% in 2015 while the built-up areas increased from 15.0% to 36.5%. Among the green space sub-types, farmland was largely encroached and fragmented by urban sprawl, especially in the Outer Ring Expressway and Suburban Ring Expressway belts of the city. About 1522 km2 of the green space has transferred into built-up areas, followed by farmland, waterbody, forest, and grassland in descending order. The 2000–2010 period witnessed the strong urban expansion and dramatic changes in UGS, but then the change around 2015 turned down and stable. The landscape pattern metrics showed that the entire green space in Shanghai was growingly fragmented and isolated during the past 25 years. Combined with the green space-related planning and policies issued in 1990–2015, the results revealed that both rapid urbanization and greening policies accounted for the spatiotemporal dynamics of UGS. Based on the results, some implicants to new urban planning and policies of Shanghai were highlighted.