Patterns of human behaviour in public urban green spaces: On the influence of users' profiles,surrounding environment,and space design

Public urban green spaces (PUGS) play a vital role in the dense urban fabric as places of Nature-Society contact and socialization. Despite some advances in the field, the relationship between the PUGS surroundings and their users' behaviours remains unclear. This study examined the patterns of human behaviour in four PUGS of the city of Porto, on the north Portuguese coast, where the behavioural mapping method was applied. Observational data regarding 979 PUGS users' socio-demographics and behaviours were recorded on a base map and a grid between August and November 2020. The use patterns during different times of the day were disaggregated across behaviours and users' profiles, and their relationship with the surroundings and design elements was assessed with ANOVA, Chi-Square test, and Pearson correlation. The findings presented may pave the way for future studies and inform the urban planning and design of the effectiveness of new interventions, namely providing more accurate aligning between the greenspace design language with users' needs. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of considering the sociodemographic background of PUGS users and the surroundings to guide designers and planners.     

Examining the role of business improvement districts (BIDs) as contemporary alternatives for Green Infrastructure funding in London,UK

Sustainable sources of funding for investment in Green Infrastructure have become increasingly difficult to identify due to centralised government financing cuts in the UK. Although local government, as traditional normative funders, have adopted innovative approaches to capital and revenue spending there remains a significant gap in how and what resources are supported. Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are one set of stakeholders that potentially have a role to play in addressing funding deficits. As subscriber funded organisations, they work at a local level to enhance economic prosperity, as well as delivering socio-cultural and ecological enhancement in identified urban areas. This paper examines the experience of BIDs in London to debate the influences and barriers to their investing in Green Infrastructure. It argues that BIDs can act as critical advocates for Green Infrastructure planning where the latter aligns with local economic objectives. Moreover, we identify spatial variations in the extent to which BIDs in London engage with Green Infrastructure in their documentation and practice, illustrating differences in the perceived value of the concept. We conclude that BIDs hold the potential to facilitate investment in Green Infrastructure due to their position as conduits of business, local government, and community objectives. However, to fully embrace this role balance is needed between the setting of environmental objectives and the need to support local business needs, land ownership issues, and capital/revenue financing considerations.     

How to promote residents’ use of green space: An empirically grounded agent-based modeling approach

One focus of those responsible for making urban policies has been the improvement of green space effectiveness, including environmental plans and eco-city initiatives. In the evaluation of policy effectiveness, residents’ needs, values and preferences are critical but often overlooked. This study proposes an agent-based model (ABM) for simulating the effectiveness of policy measures on residents’ decision making with regard to the use of green space. Using a residential questionnaire survey conducted in Shanghai, China, we model individual decision making with artificial neural networks that account for the heterogeneous characteristics and imperfect rationality in the decision-making process, and compare three policy scenarios in local green space provision. The results of the model illustrate the unequal effectiveness of green space policies among different social groups and different types of green space (i.e., urban parks, neighborhood parks, and community gardens), and the sensitivity analysis suggests the key factors in different stages of green space provision. Based on the results, we argue that tailored policies are needed in order to meet residents’ heterogeneous needs; in fact, relatively “soft” policies, particularly those that promote social interaction and participation, play a significant role in the appeal of green space use. Finally, policy suggestions are provided for the optimization of green space provision.     

Scaling up nature-based solutions for climate-change adaptation: Potential and benefits in three European cities

Many exemplary projects have demonstrated that Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can contribute to climate change adaptation, but now the challenge is to scale up their use. Setting realistic policy goals requires knowing the amount of different NBS types that can fit in the urban space and the benefits that can be expected. This research aims to assess the potential for a full-scale implementation of NBS for climate-change adaptation in European cities, the expected benefits and co-benefits, and how these quantities relate to the urban structure of the cities.We selected three case studies: Barcelona (Spain), Malmö (Sweden), and Utrecht (the Netherlands), and developed six scenarios that simulate the current condition, the full-scale implementation of different NBS strategies (i.e., installing green roofs, de-sealing parking areas, enhancing vegetation in urban parks, and planting street trees), and a combination of them. Then we applied spatially-explicit methods to assess, for each scenario, two climate change-related benefits, i.e. heat mitigation and stormwater regulation, and three co-benefits, namely carbon storage, biodiversity potential, and overall greenness. Finally, by breaking down the results per land use class, we investigated how the potential and benefits vary depending on the urban form.Most scenarios provide multiple benefits, but each one is characterized by a specific mix. In all cities, a full-scale deployment of green roofs shows the greatest potential to reduce runoff and increase biodiversity, while tree planting -either along streets or in urban parks– produces the greatest impact on heat mitigation and greenness. However, these results entail interventions of different size and in different locations. Planting street trees maximizes interventions in residential areas, but key opportunities for integrating most NBS types also lie in commercial and industrial areas. The results on the pros and cons of each scenario can support policy-makers in designing targeted NBS strategies for climate change adaptation.