scholarly journals A Framework for Fairness Evaluation and Improvement of Urban Green Space: A Case of Wuhan Metropolitan Area in China

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 890
Author(s):  
Peng Cheng ◽  
Min Min ◽  
Weiyan Hu ◽  
Anlu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
The Gini Coefficient ◽  
Wuhan Metropolitan Area

Urban green space (UGS) provides a wide range of ecosystem services for human beings. The fairness of UGS distribution has important implications for sustainable urban development and human well-being. However, many current studies on green space fairness are limited to within specific cities, and UGS fairness in rapidly developing metropolitan areas is still largely neglected. This study quantifies the change in green space fairness in the Wuhan metropolitan area from 2000 to 2020 based on a long time series of land cover and population spatial distribution products. We incorporated green space types and population distribution into the fairness evaluation framework, quantified the value of green space ecosystem services available to people through nested buffers, and analyzed the spatial and temporal variation of green space fairness in the study area based on the Gini coefficient of each city. The results show that the supply of green space services in most cities has shown a trend of “decreasing and then increasing” in the past 20 years. The fairness of green space in three cities has shown an improving trend, and the Gini coefficient in four cities is still above 0.50 in 2020. Based on the current green space and related indicators in each city, we propose future greening policies for each city. The methodology and conclusions of this study will help improve future green space planning recommendations in metropolitan areas and urban agglomerations, thus promoting regional public infrastructure coproduction and sharing.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Equity and Regional Management of Some Urban Green Space Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Main Urban Area of Xi’an City

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Hui Dang ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Yumeng Zhang ◽  
Zixiang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Deposition Flux ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Xi’An City

Urban green spaces can provide many types of ecosystem services for residents. An imbalance in the pattern of green spaces leads to an inequality of the benefits of such spaces. Given the current situation of environmental problems and the basic geographical conditions of Xi’an City, this study evaluated and mapped four kinds of ecosystem services from the perspective of equity: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, air purification, and climate regulation. Regionalization with dynamically constrained agglomerative clustering and partitioning (REDCAP) was used to obtain the partition groups of ecosystem services. The results indicate that first, the complexity of the urban green space community is low, and the level of biodiversity needs to be improved. The dry deposition flux of particulate matter (PM2.5) decreases from north to south, and green spaces enhance the adsorption of PM2.5. Carbon sequestration in the south and east is higher than that in the north and west, respectively. The average surface temperature in green spaces is lower than that in other urban areas. Second, urban green space resources in the study area are unevenly distributed. Therefore, ecosystem services in different areas are inequitable. Finally, based on the regionalization of integrated ecosystem services, an ecosystem services cluster was developed. This included 913 grid spaces, 12 partitions, and 5 clusters, which can provide a reference for distinct levels of ecosystem services management. This can assist urban managers who can use these indicators of ecosystem service levels for planning and guiding the overall development pattern of green spaces. The benefits would be a maximization of the ecological functions of green spaces, an improvement of the sustainable development of the city, and an improvement of people’s well-being.

scholarly journals The Value of Urban Nature in Terms of Providing Ecosystem Services Related to Health and Well-Being: An Empirical Comparative Pilot Study of Cities in Germany and the Czech Republic

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Ralf-Uwe Syrbe ◽  
Ina Neumann ◽  
Karsten Grunewald ◽  
Patrycia Brzoska ◽  
Jiři Louda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Urban Nature ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

The quality of life in our cities critically depends on the intelligent planning and shaping of urban living space, in particular urban nature. By providing a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), urban nature essentially contributes to the well-being of city dwellers and plays a major role in avoiding common diseases through its positive impact on physical and mental health. Health is one of the most important factors underlying human welfare and is, thus, vital to sustainable development. The ES of urban green space provide other social-cultural functions alongside public health, for example by fostering environmental justice and citizenship participation. Thus, they should always be considered when searching for solutions to urban problems. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of green areas in three selected cities on the health and well-being of people by self-reporting of green areas’ visitors. To this end, we posed the research question: which types and characteristics of urban green space are most appreciated by city dwellers? Based on our findings, we have drawn up recommendations for practices to promote better living conditions. We have also pinpointed obstacles to and opportunities for leisure time activities as well as ways of supporting the public health of citizens.

scholarly journals A place‐based participatory mapping approach for assessing cultural ecosystem services in urban green space

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizzie Jones ◽  
Robert A. Holland ◽  
Jennifer Ball ◽  
Tim Sykes ◽  
Gail Taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Participatory Mapping ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Mapping Approach

scholarly journals Roślinność wieloletnich nieużytków miejskich – systematyka zbiorowisk, ich struktura i pełnione usługi ekosystemowe = Vegetation of perennial urban wastelands – syntaxonomy, structure and ecosystem services

2021 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-363
Author(s):  
Piotr Archiciński ◽  
Piotr Sikorski ◽  
Daria Sikorska ◽  
Arkadiusz Przybysz
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Forest Communities ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Urban Green

There is wide recognition that urban green space provides city residents with considerable benefits, inter alia of an environmental, economic and health-related profile. However, the different types of urban greenery include a rather large proportion taking the form of vegetation on abandoned sites that remain uncultivated, to the extent that a plant cover develops without much active human involvement. Almost by definition, there is only a poor level of recognition of the ecological potential such sites (here referred to as “informal green spaces” – IGS) enjoy, or of their capacity to render a variety of different ecosystem services. Against that background, the work presented here entailed in-depth study of the flora and plant communities present in Warsaw’s informal green spaces, the aim being to better ascertain their role in preserving biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services. Specifically, we identified the plant species composition present at 75 different locations within the urban green space of Poland’s capital city. To qualify for consideration, these sites had to be identified as entirely bereft of vegetation maintenance, or else only minimally subject to it, to the extent that it is largely processes of natural succession that are ongoing. The sites in fact range from wastelands with stabilised vegetation, via urban scrub and forest, through to non-forest habitats, sporadically cultivated and established over 20 years. We determined the density of vegetation present, and examined its structure in relation to various known classes of green space. We further determined the role of various vegetation types in rendering ecosystem services, be that surface cooling, substrate moisture maintenance or a capacity to remove particulate matter from the air. The informal green spaces we investigated are in fact found to comprise mainly-stable forest communities dominated by invasive species of tree (phytosociological Classes Robinietea and Salicetea purpureae), as well as non-forest communities (of Classes Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, Epilobietea and Artemisietea) again largely dominated by invasive plant species. The level of biodiversity here is average, it mostly being common forest and non-forest species that are preserved. However, in exceptional cases, the habitats constituted here do support species rare on a regional scale. It emerges that the forest vegetation is of weakly-diversified structure, as a reflection of the specific strategy invasive species pursue as they form monospecific communities. As noted already, the vegetation of the informal green spaces is seen to be largely dominated by such invasive species. Nevertheless, despite their evidently limited role in preserving biodiversity, these sites represent such a high density and volume of vegetation that their provisioning of ecosystem services is on a high level, especially where forest plant communities are involved. Sites that have come to be dominated by invasive plant species are shown to render ecosystem services comparable with (or sometimes even surpassing) those provided by native species, and this is especially the case when it comes to the removal of particulate matter from air and the exerting of a cooling effect.

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