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 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 Relationship between Social Cohesion and Urban Green Space: An Avenue for Health Promotion

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viniece Jennings ◽  
Omoshalewa Bamkole
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Health And Well Being

Social cohesion involves the interpersonal dynamics and sense of connection among people. Increased social cohesion can be associated with various physical and psychological health benefits. The presence of urban green spaces can encourage positive social interactions that cultivate social cohesion in ways that enhance health and well-being. Urban green spaces have also been linked to positive health behaviors and outcomes including increased physical activity and social engagement. Understanding the relationship between social cohesion and urban green space is important for informing holistic approaches to health. In this article, we discuss how positive interactions in urban green space can catalyze social cohesion, social capital and critical health-promoting behaviors that may enhance psychological health and well-being. We also summarize the strengths and limitations of previous studies and suggest directions for future research.

scholarly journals The Sensitivity of Urban Heat Island to Urban Green Space—A Model-Based Study of City of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dikman Maheng ◽  
Ishara Ducton ◽  
Dirk Lauwaet ◽  
Chris Zevenbergen ◽  
Assela Pathirana
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
The Impact

Urbanization continues to trigger massive land-use land-cover change that transforms natural green environments to impermeable paved surfaces. Fast-growing cities in Asia experience increased urban temperature indicating the development of urban heat islands (UHIs) because of decreased urban green space, particularly in recent decades. This paper investigates the existence of UHIs and the impact of green areas to mitigate the impacts of UHIs in Colombo, Sri Lanka, using UrbClim, a boundary climate model that runs two classes of simulations, namely urbanization impact simulations, and greening simulations. The urbanization impact simulation results show that UHIs spread spatially with the reduction of vegetation cover, and increases the average UHI intensity. The greening simulations show that increasing green space up to 30% in urban areas can decrease the average air temperature by 0.1 °C. On the other hand, converting entire green areas into urban areas in suburban areas increases the average temperature from 27.75 °C to 27.78 °C in Colombo. This demonstrates the sensitivity of UHI to vegetation cover in both urban and suburban areas. These seemingly small changes are average grid values and may indicate much higher impacts at sub-grid levels.

scholarly journals Gender Disparity in Perceived Urban Green Space and Subjective Health and Well-Being in China: Implications for Sustainable Urban Greening

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10538
Author(s):  
Xueli Li ◽  
Lee Liu ◽  
Zhenguo Zhang ◽  
Wenzhong Zhang ◽  
Dazhi Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Family Factors ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Urban Greening ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Family Variables ◽  
Health And Well Being

It is generally agreed that green space has a positive effect on the health and well-being of urban residents. A number of papers have studied the relationship between green space and various sociodemographic characteristics; however, little is known about how perceptions of green space affect health and well-being differently between men and women. Such knowledge is significant for informing policy makers in designing urban green space to benefit the health and well-being of all people. In addition, urban greening has rarely been studied in the context of the UN 2030 Agenda and the UN New Urban Agenda. This study examines gender disparities in perceived green space and health and well-being, the effect of perceived green space, personal, and family variables on subjective health and well-being, and the interactive effects of perceived green space, personal, and family variables on health and well-being. The analyses were based on a survey of 9325 participants in 40 Chinese cities, using the Geographical Detector method. The results suggest that men tend to have a higher perception of green space but lower subjective health and well-being than women. Compared to health, well-being is more affected by perception of urban green space and personal and family factors. Perception of urban green space has a higher effect on men’s health and well-being than women’s. Women’s health and well-being tends to be more affected by personal and family factors than men’s. There are clear interactive effects of perceived green space, personal, and family variables on health and well-being. The combined effect is greater than the sum of individual effects on health and well-being, suggesting complexity in sustainable urban green space development with attention to gender equality in the context of the UN Agendas for sustainable development.

scholarly journals Architecture as Habitat: Enhancing Urban Ecosystem Services Using Building Envelopes

2021 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Maggie MacKinnon ◽  
◽  
Maibritt Pedersen Zari ◽  
Daniel K. Brown ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Human Species ◽  
Urban Green

The practice of reconciliation ecology in urban environments relies heavily on urban green space as the primary source of vegetated habitat in cities. However, most cities lack the quantity, connectivity, and accessibility of green space needed to provide essential ecosystem services for the health, well-being, and resilience of human and non-human species. In reaction to urban densification and the increasing frequency and severity of climate change impacts, this study argues that architecture could strategically provide vegetated habitats to supplement existing urban green space and provide refuges for non-human species during extreme disturbances. A spatial analysis was conducted to test the performance of the existing green space network against targets for human well-being and Indigenous avifauna habitat needs in a 1.93 km2 neighborhood in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, during normal conditions and flooding. The results showed an insufficient quantity and connectivity of green space during both normal conditions and flooding to meet the habitat needs of Indigenous avifauna. Though the per capita green space and accessibility targets for human well-being are met under normal conditions, there is insufficient green space to meet those targets during flooding. During normal conditions, 9% of the roofs in the neighborhood need to be converted to green roofs to achieve the targets for both human well-being and Indigenous avifauna. The amount increases to 17% if the targets are to be maintained during flooding. At least 3% of the roofs need to function as small and medium-sized habitat patches in key locations to increase the existing green space network's connectivity. The study concludes that though ground-level green space is limited, with regenerative architecture strategies and supporting governance policy, the surplus of existing roofs could be used to increase urban habitat provision, thereby enhancing the health and resilience of humans and Indigenous avifauna in cities.

Shades of Green: Measuring the Ecology of Urban Green Space in the Context of Human Health and Well-Being

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Jorgensen ◽  
Paul H. Gobster
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Restoration ◽  
Space Concepts ◽  
Health And Well Being

In this paper we review and analyze the recent research literature on urban green space and human health and well-being, with an emphasis on studies that attempt to measure biodiversity and other green space concepts relevant to urban ecological restoration. We first conduct a broad scale assessment of the literature to identify typologies of urban green space and human health and well-being measures, and use a research mapping exercise to detect research priorities and gaps. We then provide a more in-depth assessment of selected studies that use diverse and innovative approaches to measuring the more ecological aspects of urban green space and we evaluate the utility of these approaches in developing urban restoration principles and practices that are responsive to both human and ecological values.

scholarly journals How Does Urban Green Space Impact Residents’ Mental Health: A Literature Review of Mediators

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 11746
Author(s):  
Kaili Chen ◽  
Tianzheng Zhang ◽  
Fangyuan Liu ◽  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Yan Song
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Space Planning ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

In recent years, the interest in the relationship between urban green space and residents’ mental health has gradually risen. A number of researchers have investigated the causal relationship and possible mediators between the two, although few have summarized these mediators. For this reason, we searched for relevant studies and filtered them by criteria and quality score, and analyzed the mediators and paths of the impact of urban green space on residents’ mental health. The mediators can be divided into environmental factors, outdoor activity, and social cohesion. From the perspective of heterogeneity, both individual characteristics (e.g., age and gender) and group characteristics (e.g., level of urban development and urban density) of residents are considered to be the cause of various mediating effects. Types of urban green space tend to affect residents’ mental health through different paths. Furthermore, this review discusses the details of each part under the influence paths. Finally, the policy implications for urban green space planning from three mediator levels are put forward based on an analysis of the situation in different countries.

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