Challenges of urban green space management in the face of using inadequate data

Effective urban planning, and urban green space management in particular, require proper data on urban green spaces. The potential of urban green spaces to provide benefits to urban inhabitants (ecosystem services) depends on whether they are managed as a comprehensive system of urban green infrastructure, or as isolated islands falling under the responsibility of different stakeholders. Meanwhile, different urban green space datasets are based on different definitions, data sources, sampling techniques, time periods and scales, which poses important challenges to urban green infrastructure planning, management and research. Using the case study of Lodz, the third largest city in Poland, and an additional analysis of 17 other Polish cities, we compare data from five publicly available sources: 1) public statistics, 2) the national land surveying agency, 3) satellite imagery (Landsat data), 4) the Urban Atlas, 5) the Open Street Map. The results reveal large differences in the total amount of urban green spaces in the cities as depicted in different datasets. In Lodz, the narrowly interpreted public statistics data, which are aspatial, suggest that green spaces account for only 12.8% of city area, while the most comprehensive dataset from the national land surveying agency reveals the figure of 61.2%. The former dataset, which excludes many types of green spaces (such as arable land, private and informal green spaces), is still the most commonly used. The analysis of the 17 other cities confirms the same pattern. This results in broader institutional failures related to urban green infrastructure planning, management, and research, including a lack of awareness of green space quality (e.g. connectivity) and benefits (ecosystem services), and the related political disregard for urban green spaces. Our comparison suggests that a better understanding of green space data sources is necessary in urban planning, and especially when planning urban green infrastructure.     

The multifunctionality concept in urban green infrastructure planning: A systematic literature review

Urban green infrastructure is critical for providing a wide range of ecosystem goods and services that benefit the urban population. Past studies have suggested that multifunctionality concerning urban infrastructure services and functions is a prerequisite for targeting effective and impactful urban green infrastructure. Moreover, urban green infrastructure with multiple functions can offer socio-economic and environmental benefits. However, there has been a knowledge gap in the planning literature to elaborate multiple ecosystem functions in urban green infrastructure. In particular, existing methods and approaches are lacking for quantifying and monitoring such ecological services and biodiversity in urban green infrastructures at different spatial scales. Therefore, this research aims to review studies focusing on the multifunctionality concept in urban green infrastructure planning. The study highlights the current status and knowledge gaps through a systematic review. Our analysis revealed that current studies on green infrastructure multifunctionality have focused on five main themes: 1) planning methods for urban green infrastructure, 2) assessment approaches of urban green infrastructure, 3) ecosystem services and their benefits, 4) sustainability and climate adaptation, and 5) urban agriculture. The study found that the five themes are somewhat connected to each other. The study has revealed a knowledge gap regarding incorporating multifunctional green infrastructure in the planning principle. The results suggest at least five critical elements to ensure multiple functions in urban infrastructure. The elements are spatial distribution, optimal distance, integrated network, accessibility, and public participation and engagement. The study further recommends research directions for future analysis on green infrastructure multifunctionality that are critical for urban planning.     

Supplying urban ecosystem services through multifunctional green infrastructure in the United States

This paper summarizes a strategy for supplying ecosystem services in urban areas through a participatory planning process targeting multifunctional green infrastructure. We draw from the literature on landscape multifunctionality, which has primarily been applied to agricultural settings, and propose opportunities to develop urban green infrastructure that could contribute to the sustainable social and ecological health of the city. Thinking in terms of system resilience, strategies might focus on the potential for green infrastructure to allow for adaptation and even transformation in the face of future challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, and limited resources. Because planning for multiple functions can be difficult when many diverse stakeholders are involved, we explored decision support tools that could be applied to green infrastructure planning in the early stages, to engage the public and encourage action toward implementing a preferred solution. Several specific ecosystem services that could be relevant for evaluating current and future urban green spaces include: plant biodiversity, food production, microclimate control, soil infiltration, carbon sequestration, visual quality, recreation, and social capital. Integrating such ecosystem services into small-scale greening projects could allow for creativity and local empowerment that would inspire broader transformation of green infrastructure at the city level. Those cities committing to such an approach by supporting greening projects are likely to benefit in the long run through the value of ecosystem services for urban residents and the broader public.     

The effects of naturalness,gender, and age on how urban green space is perceived and used

Neighbourhood green space serves an important function for the urban population, and provides valuable ecosystem services for human well-being. In this article, we investigate the effects of naturalness, gender, and age on the activities, aesthetics, and self-reported well-being associated with urban green space. Our findings are based on a postal survey of residents living in close proximity to six different green spaces in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. It is shown that higher perceived naturalness generated more activities and higher aesthetic values and self-reported well-being for residents living close to urban green spaces. The results also indicated that, regardless of the type of naturalness, women were more active in urban green spaces than were men. Women also saw greater aesthetic value in green spaces than men did, and had higher self-reported well-being associated with the urban green spaces. Finally, older residents were shown to participate in a greater number of nature-related activities than younger residents. Older residents also saw greater aesthetic values and had higher self-reported well-being associated with urban green spaces than younger people did. Seemingly, this poses a considerable planning challenge if areas of perceived naturalness are to be retained in cities, since the present trend is for reduced green spaces in cities and a ‘parkification’ of surviving natural areas. Further, because of the importance of perceived natural areas to the elderly, and in particularly women, distances to urban green areas should not be too great.     

The Nature Smart Cities business model: A rapid decision-support and scenario analysis tool to reveal the multi-benefits of green infrastructure investments

Incorporating natural spaces within urban areas has been shown to have multiple benefits. However, despite greening and adaptation strategies at different levels of government, progress remains slow with a lack of easy to use and comprehensive tools identified as key to overcoming this. This paper presents a co-designed tool with academic and local authority partners to demonstrate the ecosystem service benefits of small-scale urban green infrastructure projects. Through the tool, users can readily assess the impact of green infrastructure investments on the delivery of a selection of ecosystem services in the early stages of a project. Furthermore, the tool provides a standardised assessment of cultural ecosystem services’ contributions, as well as offering a method to score spatial designs on the impact on habitat for biodiversity. Use of the tool is demonstrated using a pilot study in Kapelle, the Netherlands. The results set out an overview of the impacts of the spatial design on estimated ecosystem service delivery. They also show the tool’s potential to add value in early project stages and as a planning and design tool, helping to maximise the benefits that can be achieved through green infrastructure design. Complementing these arguments with ball-park estimations on green infrastructure costs, the Nature Smart Cities Business Model aims to offer public sector officers the means to create a business case for green infrastructure measures, facilitating the translation from strategies to actual plans, thus benefitting green infrastructure implementation in the public realm.     

Assessing the potential of strategic green roof implementation for green infrastructure: Insights from Sumida ward,Tokyo

Urban green spaces, and green infrastructure more generally, provide multiple benefits that can enhance urban livability and sustainability. These range from the mitigation of air pollution and urban heat island (UHI) effect, to multi-dimensional benefits to human wellbeing and biodiversity. However, the expansion of urban green spaces is not always feasible in many cities. In such urban contexts, there have been proposals to utilize rooftops as green roofs in order to gain some of these benefits. This study spatially identifies areas where roofs have the potential to provide different types of benefits associated with urban green spaces if they are retrofitted with green roofs. Through a GIS-based approach we catalogue available roof space in Sumida ward in Tokyo for green roof implementation, and subsequenlty evaluate the potential of each roof patch to offer four types of benefits if retrofitted with a green roof, namely UHI effect mitigation, air pollution mitigation, and benefits to subjective wellbeing and biodiversity. Approximately 25% of the total roof surface in Sumida ward can potentially be used for green roof implementation. Furthermore, about 5.2% and 59% of this area has a respectively high and moderate potential to provide all four benefits if retrofitted with green roofs. This could increase the extent of green spaces by 10% and 120% respectively across the Sumida ward. In this sense, green roofs can become a major element of green infrastructure with ripple positive effects for urban livability and sustainability through the provision of UHI effect and air pollution mitigation, and benefits to subjective wellbeing and biodiversity.     

Public green spaces and human wellbeing: Mapping the spatial inequity and mismatching status of public green space in the Central City of Shanghai

Public green spaces are fundamental and indispensable to urban settlements, given the diverse social, economic and environmental benefits that they can provide. However, the absence of knowledge regarding the allocation and access status quo consistently hinders the suitability and rationality of follow-up green space planning, which could eventually impair the livability and sustainability of cities. This study evaluates disparities in access to public green space for urban residents and the spatial mismatches among public green space provision, residents’ visits and the demands of socially vulnerable groups within the Central City of Shanghai. The results show that disparities in public green space accessibility exist pertaining to social status and household composition status. Sub-districts with higher social status or larger proportions of family households composed by children and married inhabitants tend to have better public green space access. In contrast, sub-districts with larger proportions of aged or unemployed populations unexpectedly show worse public green space access. To a certain degree, this reduced access can be considered to be an environmental injustice. Additionally, the mismatches among public green space provision, residents’ visits and the demands of socially vulnerable groups are observed to vary in space, indicating potential problems of resource shortage, supply-demand mismatch, underuse and congestion. The findings could offer urban planners and policy-makers insights into optimizing public green space resources and equitably providing proximal public green space to urban residents, especially vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly and the unemployed.     

Combining the preferences of residents for neighborhood green spaces and conservation of avian diversity: Case study from Beijing

Cities in China support higher human population densities compared to those in western countries; consequently, the high pressure placed on cultural ecosystem services (CES) provision of residential green spaces might hinder overall human wellbeing and the maintenance of avian diversity. Thus, this study aimed to identify how to meet the main preferences of citizens for residential green spaces while simultaneously enhancing bird diversity in city neighborhoods, generating a win-win scenario for human needs and biodiversity. This study was implemented using 568 questionnaires for residents and GLMM for bird-environment statistical analyses. Residents in Beijing preferred higher levels of bird species richness than individual abundance in neighborhoods. Residential green space appeared to serve as the movement corridor for some rare species, indicating the importance of promoting the presence of migrant bird guilds, which is currently incidental. The cultivation of fruit-bearing shrubby plants was supported by most city residents, and would also promote the presence of migratory birds in green spaces. In contrast, while increasing the width of residential green spaces would benefit migratory birds, it had less public support. This multi-disciplinary study clearly demonstrated that both the quality of life of humans in cities and biodiversity conservation could be efficiently incorporated in green space plans, even under highly urbanized circumstances.     

Urban green spaces and stress during COVID-19 lockdown: A case study for the city of Madrid

Due to the unexpected emergence of COVID-19, different cities improvised responses to prevent the virus from spreading and infecting the population. Madrid, capital of Spain and one of the most affected cities in Europe, confined everyone home and closed most public and private spaces, including public parks. The whole situation was surely to be responsible for stress-levels to peak. We developed an online survey to better understand the relationship between people and Urban Green Spaces prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new bond that may have emerged from this interruption. We recruited participants, without gender or age preference, excluding underage children and teenagers, using a combination of convenience sample and a snowball approach. A total of 132 responses were logged. The study was limited to mental health inferences, specifically related to stress and its most frequent manifestations among the urban population. These indicators included physical, mood or behavioral changes and were studied on those participants who had access to UGS before and during confinement. Among the most important findings, we confirmed that when people are confronted with stressful situations, indoor plant interaction is not a substitute for different outdoor green experiences; those who interacted with green spaces in a daily manner managed stress levels better than people who didn’t (but their effects might lose strength over time); and turning to green spaces for comfort during stressful times when you don’t usually do so helps overcome difficult situations. This article contributes to the growing study of green spaces as a means towards improved mental well-being in urban areas.     

The green walk—An analysis for evaluating the accessibility of urban green spaces

The importance of urban green spaces in providing ecosystem services to the population is increasingly being recognised by scientists, policy makers and the general public. Across cities, urban planners are seeking to reconcile the location of urban green spaces and accessibility of the public. The main aim of our paper is to assess the accessibility of urban green spaces and to identify perceived benefits along the travel route to urban green spaces, starting from a selected case study in Romania. We started from a spatial analysis of a service area for an urban park in Bucharest (Tineretului). With the help of network analyst in ArcGis Pro we established the boundaries of the service area (using urban park boundaries, street network, traffic restrictions) and applied two methods of travel to the park (walking and cycling). We applied a survey to 202 respondents, collecting information on the routes and methods of reaching the park, as well as the perceived benefits and disservices of selecting the preferred method and route. The main results revealed different patterns delimited by a number of criteria: age (elder population preferred public transport and shaded routes), income (people with higher incomes selected travelling by car and accessing elements with parking facilities), group structure (people with children selected routes perceived as safe). This type of analyses can represent useful instruments for urban planners in developing and managing urban green spaces in close relation with neighbouring spaces and facilities.     

Willingness of residents to pay and motives for conservation of urban green spaces in the compact city of Hong Kong

People attach multiple values to urban green spaces which play varied roles in cities. Properly designed monetary valuation surveys can ascertain their non-market value and underlying motives. This study investigates Hong Kong residents’ recreational use of urban green spaces and assesses the monetary value of these areas. A total of 495 urban residents from different neighbourhoods and socio-economic groups were interviewed. About 70% of the respondents visited urban green spaces at least weekly. Major companions during patronage were family members and then children. Exercises and clean air topped the list of visit purposes. The recreational pattern is associated with the cramped private living condition that pushes people to public open areas which are construed as extension of home space. The valuation question solicited overwhelming support, with over 80% of the respondents willing to pay to recover a possible loss of urban green spaces area by 20%. It yielded a monthly average payment of HK$77.43 (approx. 9.90 USD) per household for five years. Non-instrumental aspects played some role in the respondents’ bidding decision. The findings could assist green space planning and nature conservation, and hinted the need to consider the pluralistic community views and expectations in relevant public policies.     

Towards an integrated understanding of green space in the European built environment

In recent years social, economic and environmental considerations have led to a reevaluation of the factors that contribute to sustainable urban environments. Increasingly, urban green space is seen as an integral part of cities providing a range of services to both the people and the wildlife living in urban areas. With this recognition and resulting from the simultaneous provision of different services, there is a real need to identify a research framework in which to develop multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research on urban green space. In order to address these needs, an iterative process based on the delphi technique was developed, which comprised email-mediated discussions and a two-day symposium involving experts from various disciplines. The two outputs of this iterative process were (i) an integrated framework for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and (ii) a catalogue of key research questions in urban green space research. The integrated framework presented here includes relevant research areas (i.e. ecosystem services, drivers of change, pressures on urban green space, human processes and goals of provision of urban green space) and emergent research themes in urban green space studies (i.e. physicality, experience, valuation, management and governance). Collectively these two outputs have the potential to establish an international research agenda for urban green space, which can contribute to the better understanding of people's relationship with cities.     

Analyzing spatial inequalities in use and experience of urban green spaces

As cities become more densely populated, urban green spaces (UGS) are increasingly important due to the environmental and social benefits they provide. Cities are confronted with the challenge of equitable supply of high-quality urban green that meets the demand of residents. This is particularly relevant in lower-income neighborhoods, which tend to suffer from the lowest supply of (high quality) UGS. In this paper, we perform spatial analysis on the responses of an online user survey to explore how UGS frequency of use, choice, and satisfaction differ by use pattern and place of residence in the Brussels Capital Region. Additionally, we identify the “push-pull” factors of individual UGS by identifying the desirable (pull) and undesirable (push) qualities that may attract or repel the use of a UGS. We find that use pattern is related to choice and experience of UGS. Compared to people who use UGS for social purposes, those who use UGS for nature-oriented reasons more often choose to visit UGS that are substantially farther from their home but are more often satisfied with the UGS they use. Our findings also show that respondents living in areas with higher proportions of disadvantaged groups tend to travel substantially farther to reach their UGS and are more often dissatisfied with the UGS they visit. Finally, our push-pull analysis indicates that characteristics that are important to nature-oriented users, such as quietness and calmness, are often more negatively experienced in dense city center UGS. Our research thus demonstrates the need to bring more green, particularly green that elicits a feeling of “naturalness”, to areas of the city where low green space quality and quantity overlap with areas inhabited by vulnerable populations.     

Effect of green infrastructures supported by adaptative solar shading systems on livability in open spaces

Lack of thermal comfort in the existing building stock in many warm summer climates and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased residents' temporary occupation of urban open spaces. However, climate change and other effects such as urban heat islands are also negatively affecting the livability of these spaces. Therefore, strategies are needed to improve the thermal conditions in these areas. In this context, the research designs, simulates and assesses an urban green infrastructure supported by an adaptative solar shading system. For this purpose, a public square to be renovated in Seville (Spain) is chosen. After an analysis of the current situation, more vegetation is added. However, trees are not planted fully grown, so their cover is not enough in the short term and an artificial system that protects from the sun by casting shade and that adapts to both their growth and the seasons is included. The urban space is characterized by on-site measurements, proposing four (initial, intermediates and final) scenarios using computational fluid dynamics simulations in an holistic microclimate modelling system. In turn, changes in thermal comfort are analyzed using the COMFA model. Results show that the air and surface temperature are decreased, reducing the number of hours in discomfort by 21% thanks to incorporating the green structure and by 30% due to the vegetation. It can be concluded that the use of these temporary urban prostheses enables urban spaces regenerated with vegetation to be enjoyed without waiting 20 or 30 years for the trees to mature, encouraging people to spend more time outdoors from the start of the intervention.     

RFID-plants in the smart city: Applications and outlook for urban green management

A city may become smart and green through strategic deployment of Information and Communication Technology infrastructure and services to achieve sustainability policy objectives in which trees have to be involved. Plants not only constitute green space useful to contrast urban pollution effects or provide ecosystemic benefits to residents but they can also be used as bioindicators and their involvement in communication networks can represent a significant contribution to build a smart, green city. The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) envisages that objects that surround us will be connected and there are no reasons to exclude urban trees from among the “wired object”. Radio frequency identification devices (RFID) may represent a prerequisite of IoT application and they can be used for tree protection and management, thanks to tagging experience carried out on various plant species. RFID tags can be easily associated with plants, externally or internally. This latter approach is particularly indicated if the identification of trees needs to be secured since its production, eliminating the risk of tag losses or removal. Interesting applications may be derived by implementing RFID tags in biomonitoring systems in order to guarantee a real-time data communication in which tags may act as antennas for multifunctional green spaces. Moreover, the virtualization of green areas using sensors and mobile devices can lead to the desktop management of the urban green with the possibility of implementing a real-time navigation throughout the areas. A complex relational network in which data can be collected thanks to geospatial methods can be integrated by an IoT approach in which RFID-plants can play a significant role.     

Adaptive governance of urban green spaces across Latin America – Insights amid COVID-19

Urban green spaces’ well documented role as a hub for physical and mental health was enhanced by restrictions to mobility issued worldwide as a response to COVID-19. In this context, managers of urban green spaces (UGS) were prompted to provide controlled access under impromptu safety protocols. This unprecedented challenge required planning and operational strengths reflecting flexibility, innovation and learning. These management features are essential for an adaptive governance – an underdeveloped research topic within the study of UGS. Using eighteen semi-structured interviews from six countries, we analyze adaptive governance as reflected by UGS managers’ responses across Latin America – a region where access to UGS is a matter of public health and of environmental justice. We document responses that can be categorized based on the governance arrangement in place. On one hand, both polycentric and dedicated-management governances have been able to learn through piloting ideas, adapting personnel roles and the function of UGS infrastructure, and adjusting their decision-making process. On the other hand, managers within municipal public services areas – the most prevalent governance arrangement across Latin America – report difficulty to adapt – likely due to their dependence on political will, limited autonomy, insufficient budgets, absence of formal paths to self-funding, shortage of technical know-how, and insufficient citizens’ involvement. We discuss implications of UGS adaptive governance in terms of capacity to deal with future public health, climate-related or other types of shocks.     

Public perceptions and attitudes toward green infrastructure on buildings: The case of the metropolitan area of Athens,Greece

As the impact of green space shrinkage in urban centers becomes obvious, local and regional authorities must adopt environmental planning policies that can help create new green areas to ensure a good quality of life for citizens, along with the rehabilitation of the natural environment. One approach is the promotion of green infrastructure on buildings, including multi-dwelling apartment buildings. In order to effectively promote green infrastructure on buildings, it is essential to comprehend public attitudes toward green infrastructure, so that suitable and effective strategies can be implemented by policy makers. In this study, eight hundred respondents were asked to provide their views on green infrastructure on buildings, on construction that should take place on blocks of apartments in order to accommodate green infrastructure and on the related benefits that may arise from creating green spaces on buildings. A structured questionnaire and stratified sampling were used for the interviews, which were conducted with apartment owners in two regional units of Athens. The results showed that most citizens are willing to proceed with the installation of a green roof, trellis or vertical garden, in order to improve the aesthetics and functionality of the building they live in. Most of the respondents are not familiar with the energy savings that may occur from the installation of a green roof, vertical trellis or garden and wish for a subsidy from the state in order to implement green building solutions. To conclude, the participants in our study are not environmentally aware, since they are not interested in energy conservation but only about the aesthetics of their building; furthermore, they expect to receive financial support from the state in order to make any changes to their home.     

Assessment of joint soil ecosystem services supply in urban green spaces: A case study in Northern Italy

The multiple functions of urban soils secure the supply of ecosystem services to the urban population, but they are seldom taken into account in current urban planning. The purpose of this study is to highlight the multifunctionality of the soils of urban green spaces and to assess the influence of different types of urban green (i.e. parks and gardens, roadside green and agricultural fields) on the joint supply of soil-based ecosystem services. In a case study area in the city of Carpi (NE Italy), we focused on a set of soil functions underpinning ecosystem services and on possible synergies and trade-offs between them. We surveyed and sampled 19 urban green areas to assess the following soil functions: biological fertility, potential habitat for organisms, water regulation and storage, soil buffering capacity and carbon stock. Results showed differences and trends in the bundles of ecosystem services provided by the soils of urban green areas, highlighting the relevance of soil disturbance and vegetation cover density in affecting soil functions. For biological indicators, results showed a negative significant correlation to CaCO₃ content, which is associated with the degree of soil disturbance, and that soils in urban areas do not always have compromised soil fauna and may provide the same level of biological quality as agricultural soils or forests.     

Carbon sinks in urban public green spaces under carbon neutrality: A bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review

Urban green spaces play essential roles in regulating the global carbon cycle and reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. However, research on the carbon sequestration efficiency of urban public green spaces, which is closely related to the human settlement environment, has not received enough attention. Thus, we systematically analyzed the existing literature in the Web of Science core database using bibliometrics and network analysis combined with the CiteSpace visualization tool. The aim of this review was to elucidate the focus and development trend of research conducted between 2007 and 2022 on carbon sinks in urban public green spaces. Our results demonstrated that: 1) Numbers of related publications are increasing annually, indicating that the subject is receiving increasing global attention. Related research topics primarily focus on two aspects: carbon sink measurement methods and sustainable carbon sink design for urban public green spaces. 2) Methods for measuring and monitoring carbon sinks in the urban public green spaces include sample plot measurement, the assimilation method, the micrometeorological method, the remote sensing (RS) estimation method, and laboratory work. Most methods follow the forestry system approach and lack the methods and techniques to directly assess the carbon sink effectiveness of urban public green spaces. 3) Key factors affecting the carbon sink capacity of urban public green spaces are: plant species selection, plant community structure, green space characteristics, and maintenance management. 4) Future research should focus on encouraging public participation in the design of sustainable carbon sinks in urban public green spaces, advancing biodiversity research on carbon sinks in urban public green spaces, and enhancing the precision of measurements while addressing regional differences. This study contributes to the integration of research on the effectiveness of carbon sinks in urban public green spaces and provides a theoretical reference and guidance reduces prospective urban emission and achieves climate goals.