scholarly journals Assessing Equity in the Accessibility to Urban Green Spaces According to Different Functional Levels

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edorta Iraegui ◽  
Gabriela Augusto ◽  
Pedro Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The City

Accessibility of urban residents to different services and amenities is a growing concern for policy makers. Urban green spaces (UGS) provide services and benefits that are particularly important for people having less mobility, such as children, the elderly or the poor. Practical experience has led to the classification of UGS in hierarchic systems reflecting the type and degree of benefits and services or functions they provide to users, which vary, primarily with their size. It is therefore necessary to ensure equity in the spatial distribution of different classes of UGS in the urban areas. In this work, we explore a methodology based in geographical information systems (GIS) to assess equity of access by different population groups to UGS according to its functional levels in the City of Barcelona, Spain, using a spatial clustering method. Results did not support the existence of overall inequalities in the access to UGS by the different groups of the population. However, indicators of spatial association revealed insufficiencies concerning accessibility to nearby UGS by seniors, children and the less wealthy in some parts of the city. This methodology may be used to inform urban planners dealing with the provision of UGS in an equitable manner to different socioeconomic groups of the resident population.

scholarly journals Quantifying Rapid Urbanization and its impact on Urban Green Spaces: Directional and Zonal Analysis integrated with Landscape Expansion Index

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyasu markos woldesemayat
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Zone

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is urbanizing rapidly in recent years mainly through the destruction of environmental resources. This study aimed at the dynamics of urban green spaces (UGS). Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to extract land use and land cover data. The Landscape Expansion Index (LEI) was employed to measure urban growth patterns. The result showed that a more noticeable growth was observed in the peri-urban zone (40.1km2 to 176.1km2), followed by the inner urban zone (from 67.1km2 to 105km2). The expansion in the urban core zone was marginal and followed a non-unidirectional trend i.e. increased in the first period (1989-1999) and second period (1999-2009) by (0.11% and 4.2%), while decreased in the third period (2009-2019) by 3.6%. The result for LEI dynamics showed that the city experienced a pronounced outlying growth (98%) pattern, while edge expansion and infilling growth were insignificant. Conversely, the UGS declined in the inner urban zone by (18.03%), (28.61%) and (18.97%) in the first, second, and third periods. Similarly, in the peri-urban zone, the UGS persistently declined by (11.5%), (17.1%) and, (28.03%). The directional analysis showed that urban areas significantly expanded in SEE, SSE, SSW, and NEE with a net increase of 5.35, 4.4 km, 2.83, and 2.3 km2/year, respectively. Conventional large-scale /citywide/ dynamics investigations are not robust enough to represent the actual magnitude and directions of change, while the zonal and directional study is more effective in characterizing the Spatio-temporal dynamics for better urban planning towards.

scholarly journals Accessibility to and Availability of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) to Support Health and Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Case of Bologna

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 11054
Author(s):  
Claudia De Luca ◽  
Andrea Libetta ◽  
Elisa Conticelli ◽  
Simona Tondelli
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
The City

In accordance with SDG N11.7, each city should work on providing “by 2030, universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities”. This target became even more crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This paper presents and discuss a method for (i) assessing the current distribution and accessibility of urban green spaces (UGSs) in a city using hierarchical network distances; and (ii) quantifying the per capita values of accessible UGSs, also in light of the restrictions in place, namely social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The methods have been tested in the city of Bologna, and the results highlight urban areas that suffer from a scarcity of accessible UGSs and identify potentially overcrowded UGSs, assessing residents’ pressure over diverse UGSs of the city in question. Based on our results, this work allows for the identification of priorities of intervention to overcome these issues, while also considering temporary solutions for facing the eventual scarce provision of UGSs and related health and wellbeing benefits in periods of movement restrictions.

scholarly journals Urban Green Space Degradation: An Experience of Kuala Lumpur City

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junainah Binti Abu Kasim ◽  
Mohd Johari Mohd Yusof ◽  
Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Artificial Surface ◽  
The City

Recently, Kuala Lumpur (KL) urban green space essentially was converted to artificial surface due to the urbanization process. The scarcity land in the city besides government new initiatives on infrastructure and affordable housing scheme has put an extra demands and request for developments to enter green spaces zone throughout the city’s boundary. This study aimsto review the literature on green space issues in KL, as well as to explore the use of Geographical Information System (GIS) that could provide a comprehensive and reliability information of green space predominantly used by urban planners and decision makers. There is a need for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to map and monitor the gazetted green spaces changes aided by advance technology to ensure the city were plan well and developed in a sustainable way. The technology is extensively used for managing, controlling and mapping the urban green spaces changes and effectively use as an aided tool for planners in planning the green space developments effectively.

scholarly journals Potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticultural production: a national scale analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lael E Walsh ◽  
Bethan R Mead ◽  
Charlotte A Hardman ◽  
Daniel Evans ◽  
Lingxuan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Domestic Production ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Abstract As urban areas and land-use constraints grow, there is increasing interest in utilizing urban spaces for food production. Several studies have uncovered significant potential for urban growing to supplement production of fruit and vegetables, focusing on one or two cities as case studies, whilst others have assessed the global scale potential. Here, we provide a national-scale analysis of the horticultural production potential of urban green spaces, which is a relevant scale for agri-food and urban development policy making using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. Urban green spaces available for horticultural production across GB are identified and potential yields quantified based on three production options. The distribution of urban green spaces within 26 urban towns and cities across GB are then examined to understand the productive potential compared to their total extent and populations. Urban green spaces in GB, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production that is 8x greater than current domestic production of fruit and vegetables. This amounts to 38% of current domestic production and imports combined, or >400% if exotic fruits and vegetables less suited to GB growing conditions are excluded. Most urban green spaces nationally are found to fall within a small number of categories, with private residential gardens and amenity spaces making up the majority of space. By examining towns and cities across GB in further detail, we find that the area of green space does not vary greatly between urban conurbations of different sizes, and all are found to have substantial potential to meet the dietary needs of the local urban population. This study highlights that national policies can be suitably developed to support urban agriculture and that making use of urban green spaces for food production could help to enhance the resilience of the national-scale food system to shocks in import pathways, or disruptions to domestic production and distribution.

scholarly journals Home range expansion in response to temperature by evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in an urban environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Hall ◽  
Victoria Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Abstract Background: Despite the negative connotation of urban sprawl for bat populations, fragmented green spaces such as parks, cemeteries, and golf courses have the potential to provide necessary resources for bats. For example, water resources in these areas can include natural or semi-natural lakes, ponds, streams, and drainage ditches. Such water resources, however, are frequently ephemeral when subject to prolonged periods of high temperatures. We, therefore, hypothesize that bats will expand or shift their home ranges from these urban green spaces into the surrounding neighborhoods to access alternative resources, such as residential swimming pools. Methods: To explore whether bats expand their ranges from urban green spaces, we conducted a telemetry study in which we radio-tracked resident evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in a local park system during their summer activity period from 2017-2019 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. From radio-tracking surveys, we measured home range size using a k-LoCoH method and the percentage of these home ranges that fell within the park system. We compared these variables using linear and non-linear regressions with temperature. Results: We successfully tracked a total of 30 bats over the 3-year period and found a positive correlation between home range size and temperature. Furthermore, we observed that home ranges increased 6 times in size when temperatures exceeded 30ºC. Conclusions: Our study indicates the importance of urban neighborhoods surrounding green spaces in providing alternative resources, such as water, for bats. If managed appropriately, these urban areas have the potential to act as urban oases for bat populations, which in turn can contribute to their conservation.

Noise perception assessment in urban green spaces using soundwalk approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (1) ◽  
pp. 5780-5791
Author(s):  
Omid Samani ◽  
Verena Zapf ◽  
M. Ercan Altinsoy
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Noise Emission ◽  
Visual Effect ◽  
Technical Noise ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The City

Urban green spaces are intended to provide citizens with calm environments free of annoying city noises. This requires a thorough understanding of noise emission and related exposure to sounds in green spaces. This research investigates noise perception in various spots in an urban green space. For this purpose, the study has been conducted in the grand garden of the city of Dresden. The garden covers 1.8 square kilometers of various landscapes, including water streams, park railways, fountains, bridges, roads for bicycles and pedestrians etc. Noise perception was investigated at eleven spots with emphasis on four noise types: nature noise, human noise, traffic noise, and technical noise. In parallel, audio-visual recordings were conducted for each spot to identify the connection between the perceptual measures and the psychoacoustic parameters. These spots are categorized based on the resulting perception and psychoacoustic parameters. In addition, the visual effect of each spot on final perception is investigated. Eventually, annoyance for each spot is identified based on the corresponding participants' perception and is associated with the relevant psychoacoustic parameters.

How are characteristics of urban green space related to levels of physical activity: Examining the links

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1091-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Akpinar ◽  
Murat Cankurt
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
General Population ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The City ◽  
Exercise Equipment

This study investigates the associations between characteristics of urban green spaces and frequency and duration of self-reported physical activity in the city of Aydın, Turkey. Data were collected through a survey with 420 participants. We analysed the associations between characteristics of urban green spaces and frequency and duration of general population’ physical activity and physical activity of physically active people with multivariate linear regression while controlling for sex, age, marital status, education level, occupation and household income level. Results showed that for the general population, short distance to urban green spaces, many trees, exercise equipment and picnic areas were positively associated with frequency of physical activity, while barbecue and fire places negatively associated with duration of physical activity. For physically active people, many trees, soccer and basketball fields were positively associated with their frequency of physical activity, but water features were negatively correlated with frequency of physical activity. In regard to duration of physical activity for physically active people, findings showed lawn and exercise equipment were positively correlated with duration of physical activity, while water features, barbecue and fire places were negatively correlated with duration of physical activity. The findings indicate that levels of physical activity in urban green spaces could be promoted with many trees, exercise equipment, picnic areas and lawn. However, causal relationship needs to be conducted with intervention or longitudinal studies.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Residents Perception about Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Urban Green Spaces of Lahore, Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-96
Author(s):  
Zartab Jahan ◽  
Safdar Ali Shirazi ◽  
Khadija Sharkullah
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
City Managers ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
The City

In a country like Pakistan, the presence of urban greening and parks are very essential for the well-being ofits citizens. The resident’s awareness about urban green spaces (UGSs) is essential as it would not only help towards ahealthier environment, but prepare residents to manage these spaces efficiently through local resources. This formulatesthe rationale behind current research work. This research is aimed at studying about the resident’s perception for UGS’sattributes like environmental, negative and positive. Another major focus of this research is to analyze thesocioeconomic differentials and its consequent impacts on resident’s perception about urban green spaces, which hasbeen probed with the help of MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Variance). In this regard the primary data of 223visitors were collected by random sampling method from eight major parks of Lahore, Pakistan. The findings of thissurvey of resident’s perception have shown that mostly male, single, low and middle class, and educated people visitthe urban green spaces and they are highly indebted by their environmental and health benefits. For the selectedcharacteristics of urban green areas, the resident’s perception has revealed that there exists an insignificant relationshipwith age and marital status of the respondents while the most significant relation was shown by the residents whovisited the UGSs regularly as ‘ρ’ value is less than the set significance level of 0.05. This study has highlighted a direneed of such UGSs in the city of Lahore which is known to be the “City of Gardens”. This could raise the spirits ofadministrators, city managers and planners to take immediate action in this regard.

scholarly journals Potentiality Analysis of Physical Development of International Airports Surrounding Zones

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Sara Alaa Abdulkareem ◽  
Abdelwehab Ahmed Abdelwehab
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Physical Development ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Search Problem ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
The City

The areas surrounding Iraqi international airports generally suffer from a lack of interest in their planning in a manner compatible with the airport with the absence of integrated planning between the airport and the city. From here, the search problem appears. It is represented by a lack of interest in the integration of urban planning and airport planning and the lack of a clear policy to deal with the areas surrounding international airports. A desire to achieve the research aims to introduce compatible uses in the vicinity of airports and review the planning and global directions for dealing with the areas surrounding the airports within urban areas. In contrast, the second aspect of the research aims to assess the uses of the land surrounding the airports and determine their compatibility with the planning directions of these areas. The research studied the areas surrounding Baghdad International Airport and conducted a comprehensive survey of land uses within a distance of (4) km from the airport runway center. Then it conducted an analysis using geographical information systems(GIS) and studied the survey results, and assumed that the current uses of the areas surrounding international airports do not reflect the optimal use of these areas and, therefore, not exploiting the current capabilities and development opportunities provided by the airport for the surrounding areas. The research hypothesis is tested through the use of (GIS )and displaying the results of the field survey of land uses within the study area. Furthermore, the methodology of comparative spatial analysis was done by monitoring the current situation through (GIS) and analyzing the result and comparing it with international standards to achieve results that contribute to attaining physical development. The first part of the research presents an introduction to international airports that are one of the most significant urban nodes in the city. The surrounding areas have many features that require regulation and coordination. The presence of incompatible uses in the vicinity of the airport leads to the loss of the advantages provided by the airport and the occurrence of adverse effects on the surrounding areas. Part two introduced compatible uses in the vicinity of airports. Part Three analyzed the case study of the areas surrounding Baghdad Airport. Then the results of the field survey showed that there are incompatible uses and the absence of compatible uses, and this case requires the identification of many planning procedures and benefiting from global trends in planning these areas.

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