scholarly journals The role of urban trees in reducing land surface temperatures in European cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Schwaab ◽  
Ronny Meier ◽  
Gianluca Mussetti ◽  
Sonia Seneviratne ◽  
Christine Bürgi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Fabric ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Land Surface Temperatures

AbstractUrban trees influence temperatures in cities. However, their effectiveness at mitigating urban heat in different climatic contexts and in comparison to treeless urban green spaces has not yet been sufficiently explored. Here, we use high-resolution satellite land surface temperatures (LSTs) and land-cover data from 293 European cities to infer the potential of urban trees to reduce LSTs. We show that urban trees exhibit lower temperatures than urban fabric across most European cities in summer and during hot extremes. Compared to continuous urban fabric, LSTs observed for urban trees are on average 0-4 K lower in Southern European regions and 8-12 K lower in Central Europe. Treeless urban green spaces are overall less effective in reducing LSTs, and their cooling effect is approximately 2-4 times lower than the cooling induced by urban trees. By revealing continental-scale patterns in the effect of trees and treeless green spaces on urban LST our results highlight the importance of considering and further investigating the climate-dependent effectiveness of heat mitigation measures in cities.

scholarly journals Estimation of the Allergenic Potential of Urban Trees and Urban Parks: Towards the Healthy Design of Urban Green Spaces of the Future

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cariñanos ◽  
Grilo ◽  
Pinho ◽  
Casares-Porcel ◽  
Branquinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Allergenic Potential ◽  
Causative Agents ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ornamental Species

The impact of allergens emitted by urban green spaces on health is one of the main disservices of ecosystems. The objective of this work is to establish the potential allergenic value of some tree species in urban environments, so that the allergenicity of green spaces can be estimated through application of the Index of Urban Green Zones Allergenicity (IUGZA). Multiple types of green spaces in Mediterranean cities were selected for the estimation of IUGZ. The results show that some of the ornamental species native to the Mediterranean are among the main causative agents of allergy in the population; in particular, Oleaceae, Cupressaceae, Fagaceae, and Platanus hispanica. Variables of the strongest impact on IUGZA were the bioclimatic characteristics of the territory and design aspects, such as the density of trees and the number of species. We concluded that the methodology to assess the allergenicity associated with urban trees and urban areas presented in this work opens new perspectives in the design and planning of urban green spaces, pointing out the need to consider the potential allergenicity of a species when selecting plant material to be used in cities. Only then can urban green areas be inclusive spaces, in terms of public health.

scholarly journals Multi-Temporal Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Greenness in Urban Green Spaces of Puebla, Mexico

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Filoteo Gomez-Martinez ◽  
Kirsten M. de Beurs ◽  
Jennifer Koch ◽  
Jeffrey Widener
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Population Expansion ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Heat

The urban heat island (UHI) effect is a global problem that is likely to grow as a result of urban population expansion. Multiple studies conclude that green spaces and waterbodies can reduce urban heat islands. However, previous studies often treat urban green spaces (UGSs) as static or limit the number of green spaces investigated within a city. Cognizant of these shortcomings, Landsat derived vegetation and land surface temperature (LST) metrics for 80 urban green spaces in Puebla, Mexico, over a 34-year (1986–2019) and a 20-year (2000–2019) period were studied. To create a photo library, 73 of these green spaces were visited and the available land cover types were recorded. Green spaces with Indian laurel were found to be much greener and vegetation index values remained relatively stable compared to green spaces with mixed vegetation cover. Similarly, green spaces with large waterbodies were cooler than those without water. These results show that larger green spaces were significantly cooler (p < 0.01) and that size can explain almost 30% of temperature variability. Furthermore, green spaces with higher vegetation index values were significantly cooler (p < 0.01), and the relationship between greenness and temperature strengthened over time.

scholarly journals Reading Urban Green Morphology to Enhance Urban Resilience: A Case Study of Six Southern European Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9163
Author(s):  
Michèle Pezzagno ◽  
Barbara M. Frigione ◽  
Carla S. S. Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Morphology ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
European Cities

A loss of natural capital within cities and their surrounding areas has been noticed over the last decades. Increasing development associated with higher sealing rates has caused a general loss of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) within the urban environment, whereas urban sprawl and the improvement of road networks have deeply fragmented the surrounding landscape and jeopardized ecosystems connectivity. UGS are an essential component of the urban system, and their loss has a greater impact on, e.g., ecological and hydrological processes, threatening human well-being. Different types and spatial configurations of UGS may affect their own ability to provide ecosystem services, such as biodiversity support and water regulation. Nevertheless, the study of UGS spatial patterns is a research branch poorly addressed. Moreover, UGS analyses are mainly focused on public and vast green spaces, but seldom on informal, private, and interstitial ones, returning a myopic representation of urban green areas. Therefore, this study investigates the UGS spatial patterns within six Southern European cities, using the urban morphology analysis to assess all urban vegetated lands. Results revealed three main Urban Green Spatial Patterns (UGSPs): Fragmented, Compact, and Linear Distributions. UGSPs taxonomy represents a novelty in the urban morphology field and may have important implications for the ability to provide ecosystem services and, thus, human well-being.

scholarly journals Scalable Green Infrastructure—The Case of Domestic Private Gardens in Vuores, Finland

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4571
Author(s):  
Outi Tahvonen
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Stormwater Management ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Vegetation ◽  
Urban Fabric ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Water Vegetation

The planning, implementation, and everyday use of the built environment interweave the green and grey components of urban fabric tightly together. Runoff from grey and impermeable surfaces causes stormwater that is managed in permeable surfaces that simultaneously act as habitats for vegetation. Green infrastructure (GI) is one of the concepts that is used to perceive, manage, and guide the components of urban green spaces. Furthermore, GI pays special attention to stormwater management and urban vegetation at several scales at the same time. This study concentrated on scalable GI in domestic private gardens. A set of garden designs in Vuores, Finland were analyzed and developed by Research by Design. The aim was to study how garden scale choices and designs can enhance GI at the block and neighbourhood scales to rethink design practices to better integrate water and vegetation throughout the scales. As a result, we propose a checklist for designers and urban planners that ensures vegetation-integrated stormwater management to enhance habitat diversity in block scale and possibility to use blocks of private plots for ecological networks. The prerequisite for garden designers is to be capable to balance between water, vegetation, and soil, and their processes and flows in detail the scale.

The role of urban green spaces in care facilities for elderly people across European cities

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 203-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Artmann ◽  
Xianwen Chen ◽  
Cristian Iojă ◽  
Angela Hof ◽  
Diana Onose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Care Facilities

scholarly journals Modelling Accessibility to Urban Green Areas Using Open Earth Observations Data: A Novel Approach to Support the Urban SDG in Four European Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 422
Author(s):  
Gregory Giuliani ◽  
Ekkehard Petri ◽  
Eduard Interwies ◽  
Veronika Vysna ◽  
Yaniss Guigoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Earth Observations ◽  
European Cities

Cities are recognised as key enablers for the world’s sustainable future. Urban sprawl and inefficient use of land are important issues significantly impacting the provision and use of open green spaces. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 11.7.1 aims at globally monitoring the amount of land that is dedicated by cities for public space. In Europe, the indicator “Share of urban population without green urban areas in their neighbourhood” is supposed to correspond to the SDG11.7.1 but is currently on-hold due to methodological issues and lack of data. Moreover, to efficiently assess public space conditions, timely and spatially disaggregated information is essential but not yet widely adopted by urban practitioners. Hereafter, we use a combination of satellite and crowdsourced Earth Observations (EO) to model physical accessibility to urban green spaces in four European cities. Findings suggest that it is technically feasible to derive information on the share of urban population without green urban areas in their neighbourhood. Results demonstrate that the proposed methodology represents a consistent, valid, reliable, low-cost, timely and continuous source of information for sustainable urban development. Open and free EO data can be a good complement to enhance official and traditional statistics on urban areas facilitating EU reporting against the SDG indicator for better comparison between EU countries.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Cooling Effect of Urban Green Spaces in Mitigating Micro-climate Change Using Geospatial Techniques in Adama City, Central Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biratu Bobo Merga ◽  
Kenate Worku Tabor ◽  
Girma Alemu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Abstract Nowadays, addressing urban climate in urban planning through mapping has got world-wide attention. Greening urban environment is one of the best mechanisms to combat the effects of micro-climate change. Therefore, this study aims at analyzing the cooling effects of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) in mitigating micro-climate change in Adama City with special emphasis on land surface temperature variation with respective to vegetation cover for the last two decades i.e. from 2000 to 2020. Three different remotely sensed data of Landsat7 ETM+ (2000 and 2010) as well as Landsat8 OLI/TIRS (2020) were used in the study. The consistent land surface temperature data were retrieved from Landsat7 ETM+ and Landsat8 OLI/TIRS using mono window and split window algorithms, respectively. Regression and correlation analysis among Land Surface Temperature (LST), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) were also performed in Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS V23). The study reveals that the proportion of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) to other land use/land cover particularly, dense vegetation cover were reduced from 29.3Km2(21.20%) in 2000 to 18.17Km2 (13.15%) in 2020. The main land dynamic process, which could considerably contribute to the increase in Land Surface Temperature, was the rapid expansion of built-up areas in the study area. The model produced through multiple linear regression analysis clearly indicates that the two urban parameters (built up and green areas) contributed 75.2% of the Land Surface Temperature (LST) variations in Adama City. The cooling efficiency (CE) and the threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) of green space in Adama City were calculated as 5.5 ± 0.5 ha. This finding implies that when Adama City municipality implements urban planning, allocating a green space area of 5.5 ± 0.5 ha reduces surface temperature by about 2.85 0C which is the most efficient to reduce heat effects. The study suggests that strengthening of plan execution capacity, public participation in urban planning and strengthening the development of urban green spaces as an important strategy to mitigate the effects of micro-climate change.

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