Urban parks can maintain minimal resilience for Neotropical bird communities

Birds may use urban parks as shelter and refuge, contributing with numerous ecosystem services upon which humans and other organisms depend on. To safeguard these services, it is important that bird communities of urban environments hold some degree of resilience, which refers to the capacity of a system to absorb disturbances and changes, while maintaining its functions and structures. Here we assessed the resilience of the bird community inhabiting an urban park in the Southeast region of Brazil. We classified birds in feeding guilds and identified discontinuities and aggregations of body masses (i.e., scales) using hierarchical cluster analysis. We then calculated five resilience indices for our urban park and for a preserved continuous forest (reference area): the average richness of functions, diversity of functions, evenness of functions, and redundancy of functions within- and cross-scale. The urban park had less species, lower feeding guild richness, and lower within-scale redundancy than the reference area. However, they had similar proportion of species in each function, diversity of functions, evenness of functions, and cross-scale redundancy. The lower species richness and, consequently, the lack of some species performing some ecological functions may be responsible for the overall lower resilience in the urban park. Our results suggest that the bird community of the urban park is in part resilient, as it maintained many biological functions, indicating some environmental quality despite the high anthropogenic impacts of this area. We believe that urban forest remnants with more complex and diverse vegetation are possibly more likely to maintain higher resilience in the landscape than open field parks or parks with suppressed or altered vegetation. We propose that raising resilience in the urban park would possibly involve increasing vegetation complexity and heterogeneity, which could increase biodiversity in a large scale.     

Urban non-timber forest products stewardship practices among foragers in Seattle,washington (USA)

Our research seeks to expand the concept of urban environmental stewardship to include the everyday stewardship practices of urban nontimber forest products foragers. Ethnographic data from 58 urban foragers and 18 land stewards in the city of Seattle (USA) revealed that foragers reported using a variety of practices to enhance and minimize negative desirable species and their habitats. Many of these practices were identical to those practiced by restoration volunteers in formal programs and align with Seattle Parks Department management objectives. Foragers actively sought to learn more about what practices are sustainable; many mentored others in sustainable harvesting practices. Most foragers emphasized the importance of treating plants and their environment with respect. The land stewards voiced some concerns about foraging in city parks, but most were cautiously supportive of opening up the parks to foragers. The study results suggest that an opportunity exists for park managers to develop alliances with foragers so as to leverage foragers’ everyday stewardship practices and accomplish some of their park restoration objectives. Doing so will require park managers to acknowledge the positive contributions that humans can to make novel ecosystems and foragers to develop or strengthen self-regulation norms.     

Protest response and contingent valuation of an urban forest park in Fuzhou City,China

Urban forest parks, such as Fuzhou National Forest Park (FNFP), provide residents with landscape amenities, recreational opportunities, and interaction with nature. Understanding the recreational quality of green spaces and visitors’ behaviors and preferences is essential for effective forest park conservation strategy. We aimed to assess the recreational use and amenities of FNFP and calculate the monetary value of provided services using a contingent valuation method (CVM). A total of 249 park visitors were interviewed face-to-face based on a questionnaire using entrance fee as the payment vehicle, in October 2015 and January 2016. A considerable number of protest responses may cause selectivity bias; consequently, we used models excluding protest zeros. Sample selection models were estimated using Heckman’s two-step and full information maximum likelihood methods The average willingness-to-pay (WTP) was estimated to be 13.79 RMB (equivalent to 2.00 USD) for the unconditional model, and the lower mean values were estimated for two selectivity bias corrected models. In this case, park visitors would be willing to pay an average 11.6 RMB (equivalent to 1.69 USD) per person according to the full information maximum likelihood estimate and an average 10.96 RMB (equivalent to 1.60 USD) per person by the two-step method. Respondents’ satisfaction of forest park facilities and service significantly influenced their WTP value for forest park improvements. Socio-demographic features could not effectively discriminate the protest bidders and the other non-protest bidders. Our results suggest that protesters may value the resource less than positive bidders. The high percentage of protest respondents may be due to the current free use of FNFP and payment vehicle of entrance fee. The CVM approach takes residents’ preferences into consideration and allows the study of heterogenous socio-demographic groups; thus, our data may help to develop effective management plans for improving urban forest parks in China.     

都市农业科技园区规划建设的实践与思考——以福州榕商都市农业科技示范园区规划建设为例

福州榕商都市农业科技示范园区乘打造＂福州大都市区＂之东风,在深刻领会都市农业科技园区内涵的基础上,探讨园区规划建设的功能定位、基本原则和分区布局,规划建设综合管理服务区、设施农业观光区、农业科教文化区、森林养生保健区、立体农业种养区、观光果（竹）园,并建立＂公司加农户,企业带新村＂的经营机制和管理模式,发挥园区优势带动新农村建设。文章还就如何进一步完善与发展都市农业科技园区规划建设提出对策建议。     

COVID-19 pandemic changes the recreational use of Moscow parks in space and time: Outcomes from crowd-sourcing and machine learning

The limited access to urban green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the human-nature interaction in cities and human well-being. Number of visitors to green areas, initially declined due to imposed restrictions, was restored after they were lifted as established by several studies across the globe However, little is still known about changes in behavior and preferences of park visitors in the post-COVID time. In this study, we investigated spatial-temporal patterns of recreational activities in the three urban parks in Moscow (Russia) prior, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown (in 2019 and 2020). The selected parks represent two different types: a centrally located park with much infrastructure and open landscapes (Gorky Park) and parks located at the outskirts of the city center with a more forested landscape and little infrastructure (Timiryazevski and Sokolniki parks). Recreational activities were identified based on the analysis of social media photos using machine-learning algorithms. As expected, park closures during lockdown resulted in overall decrease in the number of taken photos. After the parks were re-opened, however, the number of photos did not grow immediately. The number of photos only restored after almost three months, and the visiting peak shifted to autumn. Differences between parks were related to the type of the park and its landscape structure. The lowest decrease in the number of photos was observed for the Timiryazevsky park – a semi-natural green area, while the centrally located Gorky Park was the most affected, likely due to the strictest control measures. In comparison to 2019, photos in 2020 were more evenly distributed across the area in all the three parks. Besides, ‘natural’ areas became the main attractors for the visitors - photos under ‘nature observation’ category became the most popular. Spatial distribution of the recreational activities in post-lockdown period was characterized by larger distances between photos, likely corresponding to the social distancing. COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of green areas for citizens, but also changed their recreational preferences and overall behavior in parks. The observed shift from high density of visitors around entertainments and attractions in 2019 to a more homogeneous and less dense distribution along the natural zones in 2020 reveals a new pattern in visitors behavior and preference, which shall be considered in spatial planning of the parks. Increasing availability of natural green areas and their integration in urban green infrastructures can become the most relevant policy to consider the crucial role of urban nature as a source of resilience in turbulent times.     

Urban parks,value uplift and green gentrification: An application of the spatial hedonic model in the city of Brisbane

This paper explores the impact of urban parks on real estate prices making use of a hedonic price approach. Focusing on Brisbane, Australia, as a case study site, we use spatial hedonic models to analyse housing sales data across 15,000 sales transactions to investigate the effects of parks on nearby housing prices, paying attention to park typology and classification. Our findings indicate that recreational and sport parks are differently associated with price variations. The study also examines a specific and significant inner-city park currently undergoing a major redevelopment—namely Victoria Park. Our analysis of the Victoria Park site seeks to quantify the value uplift, that is, the future increase in property prices as a result of the transformation of the current private golf course in this location into a new publicly accessible parkland. This study’s property economics modelling analysis indicates the conversion of Victoria Park from a golf course to public parkland will increase property prices by an average of 3 % for properties located within 750 m of the park. The article concludes with a discussion of value capture opportunities that these findings present as well as challenges of green gentrification for this and similar urban renewal projects and possible policy responses.     

Users’ recreation choices and setting preferences for trails in urban forests in Nanjing,China

With increased demand for outdoor recreational spaces, it is imperative to understand the experience of recreational hikers. This study explored users’ recreation choices and behavior-based setting preferences for certain trails in one forest park. Using on-site intercept surveys, a total of 1019 samples were collected from users of hiking trails and greenways in Purple Mountain Forest Park, Nanjing, China. The results from multiple regressions revealed that visitors’ recreation choices for trail settings, companions, and activities were associated with personal attributes, usage patterns, visitor motivations, and their preferences for the trail’s landscape attributes. The findings provide insights for the design and maintenance of trail settings in forest parks to satisfy the needs of various recreational hikers.     

Effects of urban parks on the local urban thermal environment

Air temperatures in and outside of 60 parks in Taipei city were surveyed to study the effect of different urban parks on their surrounding thermal gradients. Results suggest that the factors governing the temperature of park surroundings are not identical to those of park interiors. Air-temperature gradients surrounding urban parks are influenced by both the horizontal transport of cool or warm air mass above parks and the evapotranspirative air-parcels from trees, creating a cool island larger than the boundaries of cool-island parks, a heat-island larger than the boundaries of strong heat-island parks, and a cool-ring outside weak heat-island parks. Such horizontal air movement is not easily detected using remotely sensed data. During daytime, the thermal environment within a park is dominated by the amount of solar input absorbed by unshaded paved area, which, when strong, can overflow to increase the temperatures of park surroundings; at night, despite park trees causing a warming effect inside parks, park surroundings are cooled by horizontal flow of evapotranspirative air-parcels from park trees. In business and other districts used mostly during daytime, it is recommended that parks and other open spaces be designed with less than 50% paved area and at least 30% trees, shrubs, and other shadings. In residential districts that are used mostly during nighttime, parks and other open spaces are recommended to be designed with more trees. Night irrigation, a measure commonly recommended for the conservation of water, is also recommended to further enhance this nighttime cooling.     

国家森林公园建设发展情况及其空间格局

为探索国家森林公园建设发展情况并揭示其空间分布规律,本研究采用知识图谱及GIS空间技术对我国国家森林公园的研究进展和空间格局进行了可视化的探索分析.结果 显示:(1)国家森林公园、生态旅游、森林旅游、风景园林、生物多样性、自然保护区、评价、群落结构等是我国森林公园的历史研究热点领域.(2)我国国家森林公园总体呈现东密西疏的空间格局,东北区域及西南区域公园分布较为集中,青海及西藏地区相反.(3)1992-2017年期间国家森林公园的面积得到了更为显著的提升,黑龙江、西藏、新疆、内蒙古4省贡献的面积较多,天津、上海、宁夏、海南4省市对全国国家森林公园建设面积的贡献较小.西部地区国家森林公园的数量有待提升,宁夏、海南2省的国家森林公园总面积有较大理论拓展空间,未来可以加强国家森林公园动态监测评价、森林公园管理制度保障、森林公园建设成效评价、智慧森林公园等方面的研究,以此来推动全国森林公园的全面健康发展.     

Exploring preferences for biodiversity and wild parks in Chinese cities: A conjoint analysis study in Hangzhou

There has been a transformation of value orientation from an anthropocentric to eco-centric view in Chinese urban park design. Biodiversity enhancement has been increasingly seen as a prioritised park design aim by landscape designers. This promotes the rise of a novel park style with wild, less manicured appearance in cities, which shows strong contrasts to the traditional park style with ornamental, manicured characteristics. However, in this urban park transformation process, people’s opinion has been almost ignored. This research investigated the importance of biodiversity compared with other relevant urban park attributes (i.e., Facilities, Woodlands, Maintenance, and Seasonal views) identified from preliminary focus groups. The research further predicted preferences between wild and traditional urban parks. Conjoint analysis was used to address these questions. Five urban park attributes (i.e., Biodiversity, Facilities, Woodlands, Maintenance, and Seasonal views) were included in the conjoint questionnaire survey. The survey (N = 187) was conducted with the public and ecology/landscape professionals in Hangzhou, China. Results showed that for professionals, biodiversity was the most important attribute relative to others; for the public, both facilities and biodiversity were the most important attributes. Preferences for the two park styles varied between the two groups: professionals preferred wild parks, whereas the public preferred traditional parks. Yet, public preferences for wild parks were enhanced by improving maintenance levels and providing recreation facilities. The study concluded the appreciation of biodiversity among both the public and professionals. Differences in professional preferences for wild parks compared to the public should be considered when professionals design wild parks in the future.     

Matrix configuration and patch isolation influences override the species–area relationship for urban butterfly communities

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of urban public parks in maintaining connectivity and butterfly assemblages. Using a regression framework, we first test the relative importance of park size and isolation in predicting abundance and species richness of butterfly assemblages across a set of 24 public parks within a large metropolitan area, Marseille (South-East France). Then, we focus on landscape features that affect diversity patterns of the recorded butterfly communities. In this second part, the urban landscape surrounding each park is described (within a 1 × 1 km window) according to two major components: vegetated areas (habitat patches) and impervious or built areas (matrix patches). Specifically, we aim to test whether the incorporation of this built component (matrix) in the landscape analysis provides new insights into the understanding of ecological connectivity in the urban environment. We found a significant effect of both matrix configuration (shape complexity of the built patches) and distance from regional species pool (park isolation) on diversity of butterflies that overrides park size in their contribution to variation in species richness. This result suggests that many previous studies of interactions between biodiversity and urban landscape have overlooked the influence of the built elements.     

哈尔滨市曙光滨水公园的生态敏感性分析

在进行区域景观规划与设计时,首先应对规划区域进行生态敏感性分析。因高敏感区的环境承载能力低,对人类活动的干扰敏感性强,因此要根据不同的敏感性进行合理规划。生态敏感性分析作为理论成熟、应用广泛的技术方法,能够为城市规划提供科学有效的依据。该研究的公园地形起伏较大,全园坡向多样化,且马家沟河由北向南穿越项目场地,这些都成为公园景观规划与设计的限制性因素。采用GIS技术、层次分析法(AHP)和加权叠加法等方法,确定全园敏感因子及其权重。结果表明:高程、坡向、水域是曙光滨水公园的3个生态敏感性单因子;公园的高程处于中度和低度敏感等级,坡向处于中度敏感和不敏感等级,水域处于低度敏感与不敏感等级之间;3个生态敏感性单因子按不同权重叠加后,曙光滨水公园的生态极敏感、高度敏感、中度敏感、低度敏感和不敏感区域面积分别占园区总面积的0.54%、11.33%、37.47%、29.06%、10.80%;滨水公园的综合性生态敏感性等级为中度敏感和低敏感,利于景观规划设计与建设开发。     

The inequity of distribution of urban forest and ecosystem services in Cali,Colombia

Little is known about urban forest planning, management and its benefits in emerging countries. The uneven distribution of tree canopy cover and parks in urban area is related to environmental justice, especially with disadvantaged socio-economic and marginated communities. However, the inequity of urban forest in many cities of emerging countries where often found irregular and unregulated land use patterns and social and socio-economic inequities, is hardly highlighted. This study explores the inequity of distribution of tree canopy cover and public park in Cali, Colombia. Utilizing the traditional socio-economic indices, the stratification, linear regression analysis is conducted to describe relationship between total tree canopy cover, tree canopy cover of various land use types, number of parks and park area per capita. The result demonstrates that lower income communities have lower tree canopy cover, fewer parks and smaller park area than higher income communities. This paper discusses importance of accounting for urban forests and ecosystem service in city planning efforts and better strategies of reducing inequity in emerging countries. Addressing the inequity of urban forest could be a better strategy to create resilient, sustainable, safe and livable cities in emerging countries.     

Urban park use and self-reported physical,mental, and social health during the COVID-19 pandemic: An on-site survey in Beijing,China

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for people’s health. Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of urban green spaces, particularly urban parks, on physical and mental health. However, few studies have evaluated social health, which is a component of human health, and more understanding of the relationship between urban parks and human health during the COVID-19 pandemic is required. This study examined the effects of urban parks on people’s health using a canonical correlation model. Physical, mental, and social health were the dependent health variables, and five factors related to urban parks were the independent variables. This study investigated 22 urban parks inside the Forth Ring Road in Beijing, China using a questionnaire survey. The results demonstrated a positive association between urban parks and human health during the pandemic. Distance to the parks, park area, and park size were positively correlated with physical, mental, and social health. Furthermore, frequency and duration of visits to urban parks were positively associated with mental health and contact with neighbors. The health effects of urban park use varied with park types and locations’ urbanization background. These findings can provide insights for health-oriented urban park planning and construction.     

Comparison of two methods for assessing the pollen allergy risk of urban parks in Chengdu City,China

The urban green space is an important inducer of pollen allergy. In recent years, the incidence of pollen allergy in China has increased from 5 % to 17.8 %, and it still rapidly increases. However, only few assessment methods of pollen allergy risk have been developed and applied in the urban green spaces. The feasibility and the accuracies of the assessment results of these methods has been unknown. Therefore, in this paper, the two best-known methods, total pollen concentration monitoring method and urban green zone allergenicity index (I_UGZA) method, were both used to assess the pollen allergy risk of the same urban park (the People’s Park of Chengdu City, China). The impact factors and prediction consistency of both models were compared. The results showed that the proportion of medium and highly allergenic tree species reached up to 75.93 % in People’s Park. The total I_UGZA value of this park was 0.69. A total of 36,171 pollen grains were collected here. The average pollen concentration of this park was 125.88 grains/cm² per day. Both methods showed that the pollen allergy risk of the People's Park was the highest in spring. Correlation analysis showed that no vegetation characteristics of this park were correlated with I_UGZA values and total pollen concentration. However, pollen concentration was extremely significantly correlated with air temperature and solar radiation in autumn and winter. Kendall’s concordance coefficient identified a super high consistency between total pollen concentration and I_UGZA values in this park. This result means that both methods for assessing the risk of pollen allergy are effective. Based on the total pollen concentration, a polynomial formula was established for succinctly calculating the I_UGZA. A three-step greening strategy is proposed to minimize the volume of allergen production and increase the well-being of users of urban parks in Chengdu City.     

森林公园体验化景观规划初探——以湖南浏阳大围山森林公园为例

通过体验化设计的途径来探讨森林公园景观规划设计,意在丰富森林公园的功能需求以及设计元素,并就营造吸引游人的体验环境,提出森林公园体验化设计的具体实施方法,使得森林公园的功能丰富多样,营造更加宜人和富有吸引力的环境。     

Spatio-temporal non-uniformity of urban park greenness and thermal characteristics in a semi-arid region

Thermal characteristics of urban parks often vary city-wide due to different landscape properties of parks themselves or their surrounding environments. Understanding such heterogeneity is critical for strategic use of urban forest elements to mitigate extreme heat and provide various ecological amenities; however, relatively few studies to date have assessed such variability at the whole-city scales and across different seasons. This study investigated seasonal variation, statistical association and local spatial clustering in satellite image-based proxies of vegetation greenness and surface temperature (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and at-sensor surface brightness temperature (T_b), respectively) among 135 parks in a part of California, USA on ten different-season dates in 2014. Both metrics varied among parks and dates and exhibited a significant negative linear relationship which was stronger on warmer-season dates. Regressions with NDVI explained 2–17% more variance in T_b when they also included the proportion of woody plant cover (negative effect on T_b) or the proportion of grass cover (positive effect on T_b) on all dates, and park area on some dates (negative effect on T_b). The analysis of spatial variation in park properties revealed several significant local clusters of parks with higher T_b that persisted among warmer dates and had significantly smaller area and warmer neighborhoods than did significant clusters of greener or cooler parks. These results highlight potential under-provisioning of park microclimatic benefits in the associated neighborhoods and calls for further research on environmental and social implications of these results to inform mitigation of urban heat in this region and similar climates.     

Investigating the spatial distribution of urban parks from the perspective of equity-efficiency: Evidence from Chengdu,China

Urban parks play a crucial role in urban public green infrastructure, providing recreational places for urban residents while carrying values of aesthetics, ecology, humanities, economy, life, and society. However, achieving an equitable and efficient spatial layout of urban parks is a challenging task due to limited urban space resources, which requires further exploration. This study employed multisource big data and GIS technology to constructed an indicator system for evaluating the equity-efficiency of urban park spatial distribution. We examined the spatial distribution of 85 parks across 62 sub-districts in the main urban area of Chengdu, the largest city in western China and the first Park City of China. The results demonstrated that equity was polarized, with an indicator value ranging from 0 to 0.77 and an average value of 0.32. The sub-district of Sansheng had the highest equity, while Wenjia and Kanghe had the lowest equity. Twenty-one sub-districts had no parks, and the equity of park spatial distribution in these areas was low. The efficiency indicator ranged from 0.20 to 0.62, with an average value of 0.40. The efficiency of the main urban area was high in the southwest and low in the northeast. The sub-district of Huangtianba had the highest efficiency, while Jinguanyi had the lowest efficiency. In the two-dimensional quadrant of equity-efficiency, 24 sub-districts had high equity and high efficiency, 13 sub-districts had high equity and low efficiency, 4 sub-districts had low equity and high efficiency, and 21 sub-districts had low equity and low efficiency. At the district level, only Chenghua District’s park was spatial equitable and efficient, surpassing the average level of the main urban area. Finally, we discussed the findings in the context of planning policies for Chengdu in recent years. We proposed that strengthening the construction of small urban parks and green spaces, improving park facilities to meet the diverse social needs of people, and enhancing the quality and attractiveness of the parks are crucial for the future development of park green spaces in the main urban areas of Chengdu.     

Dwindling resources and fragmentation of landscapes around parks: wetlands and forest patches around Kibale National Park,Uganda

Landscapes surrounding parks in most of the developing world, while still containing considerable biodiversity, also have rapidly growing human populations and associated agricultural development. Since the establishment of Kibale National Park first as a Crown Forest Reserve in 1932 and later as a park in 1993 in western Uganda, most access and resource extraction has been prohibited. The park has become nearly a complete island of forested land cover surrounded by intensive small-scale agriculture and some large-scale tea plantations, along with a network of wetland and forest patches. As the population grows outside the park and land becomes more scarce, remaining forests and wetlands are being used more intensively for material resources (e.g., fuelwood, building poles) and converted to other land uses (e.g., pasture, agriculture). This study uses both discrete and continuous data analyses of satellite imagery to examine these diminishing resource bases at the landscape level placing the results within the social context of conservation and parks. Findings reveal that the park boundaries have remained fairly intact whereas, the landscape surrounding the park has become increasingly fragmented. From a landscape perspective, while the park has indeed maintained its forest cover, it has become increasingly islandized with wetland and forest patches in the surrounding landscape becoming smaller in number and size. Those that have survived are now more isolated and even lower productivity than in 1984, which may be a precursor to their eventual loss in this landscape.     

A review of the concept ‘management’ in relation to urban landscapes and green spaces: Toward a holistic understanding

The management of urban landscapes concerns existing urban open spaces such as public parks, playgrounds and residential green spaces. It involves many different actors and organizations and its practice is of importance for the sustainable development of cities. As a research field, it needs further theoretical development and common definitions. For example, the central term ‘management’ is seldom defined in the relevant literature regarding an urban landscape context, and public participation in management processes is unusual. This paper introduces urban landscape management as an overarching concept that brings together knowledge about management of urban landscapes from fields such as urban forestry, park management and landscape planning. Based on a literature review, a common understanding of management in an urban landscape context is proposed, including organizational and strategic aspects of managerial activities. Our approach is that urban landscapes are ultimately managed to provide user benefits. Urban landscape management can be viewed as a complex process that includes a number of different actors, elements and relationships, mutually affecting each other. This view supports future studies of urban landscape management and its role in sustainable urban development.