scholarly journals Measuring Community Green Inequity: A Fine-Scale Assessment of Beijing Urban Area

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1197
Author(s):  
Yuyang Zhang ◽  
Qilin Wu ◽  
Lei Wu ◽  
Yan Li
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
Community Residents

Green space exposure is beneficial to the physical and mental health of community residents, but the spatial distribution of green space is inequitable. Due to data availability, green equality or justice studies typically use administrative units as contextual areas to evaluate green spaces exposure, which is macro-scale and may lead to biased estimates as it ignores fine-scale green spaces (e.g. community gardens, lawns), that community residents are more frequently exposed to. In this study, we used the community as the unit of analysis, considered the green exposure of community residents in their daily social and physical activities, obtained data on three types of green spaces including fine-scale green spaces in the communities, surrounding large-scale parks and streetscape images. We propose a series of metrics for assessing community green equity, including a total of 11 metrics in three major categories of morphology, visibility and accessibility and applied them to 4,544 communities in Beijing urban area. Through spatial visualization, spatial clustering, radar plots, and correlation analysis, we comprehensively analyzed the equity of green space at the community scale, identified the cold and hot spots of homogeneity, and then analyzed the equity of green space among regions under the urbanization process. The measurement results of these metrics showed that there are large differences and complementarities between different categories of metrics, but similarities exist between metrics of the same category. The proposed methodology represents the development of a green space evaluation system that can be used by decision makers and urban green designers to create and maintain more equitable community green spaces. In addition, the large-scale, comprehensive and fine-scale green space measurement of this study can be combined with other studies such as public health and environmental pollution in the future to obtain more comprehensive conclusions and better guide the construction and regeneration of green spaces.

Dismantling the fence for social justice? Evidence based on the inequity of urban green space accessibility in the central urban area of Beijing

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 626-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayu Wu ◽  
Qingsong He ◽  
Yunwen Chen ◽  
Jian Lin ◽  
Shantong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Spatial Accessibility ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Economic Disparities ◽  
Urban Green

Gated communities have become a common feature in recent decades and have been shown to lead to social inequality to the detriment of the poorest social classes. Because access to urban green space is crucial for both physical health and spiritual pleasure, it is often regarded as an indicator of social justice; however, there are many references to the current inequity in urban green space accessibility. Our study aimed first to measure the potential spatial accessibility of green space in the central urban area of Beijing; then to evaluate the socio-economic disparities in green space accessibility; and finally, to assess the effect of the policy of “opening up gated residential communities” on urban green space accessibility. We adopt the Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment to assess the spatial accessibility of green spaces in each residential zone in the central area of Beijing, and the ordinary least squares model was used to evaluate the inequity in accessibility caused by socio-economic disparities. The results reveal that lower income residential zones have remarkably lower access to green spaces. Next, by comparing the differences in accessibility equity between two comparable scenarios in which all communities have dismantled their fences, we unexpectedly find that the inequity of access to urban green space does not improve but becomes more pronounced. We attribute this result to socio-spatial polarization. Our findings can be used by urban planners to target current urban planning system reform and by policymakers to focus closely on the gradual spatial polarization between the rich and the poor.

scholarly journals Urban Resident Views About Open Green Spaces: A Study in Güzelyurt (Morphou), Cyprus

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-450
Author(s):  
Sinem Yıldırım ◽  
Buket Asilsoy ◽  
Özge Özden
Keyword(s):  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Demographic Shift ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Green Areas

A dramatic demographic shift regarding urbanization is occurring globally. Between 2000 and 2050, the ratio of individuals in urban spaces is projected to rise from 46.6 % to 69.6%. Environmental pollution, urban heat island effect and climate change are among the hazardous effects of urbanization. Critical ecosystem services can be provided with urban green areas such as parks, roof gardens, streams, forests and community gardens etc. Walking, running or biking activities, psychological well-being and public health of urban inhabitants can also be supported via green space. Urban landscape areas are also significant for Cyprus as there is an on-going remarkable urbanization. Particularly, due to urbanization, the importance of green spaces in cities is becoming important. During this study, open and green space as urban landscape areas in Güzelyurt (Morphou) was investigated. This is the first study to examine user satisfaction and views of open and green spaces in Güzelyurt (Morphou) region, Cyprus. A questionnaire with 60 participants were conducted in order to understand respondents’ suggestions about several aspects of existing open and green spaces in Güzelyurt, north Cyprus. According to the findings, respondents were mostly dissatisfied about urban and open spaces in the city. Our results indicate that local authorities or municipal organizations should legalize the planning of urban parks, open spaces and green areas with long term perspective.  Keywords: Urbanization, Green space, urban park, landscape, Güzelyurt, Cyprus

The Prospect of Community-Led Place-Keeping as Urban Commons in Public Residential Estates in Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-138
Author(s):  
Srilalitha Gopalakrishnan ◽  
Keng Hua Chong
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Space Management ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Urban Commons

Can place-keeping be considered as urban commons or occurring through the sharing of activities? If so, then specifically, how? This paper discusses long-term place-keeping of Singapore's neighbourhood green spaces as a shared practice, actively engaging citizens in shared responsibilities and collective efforts in transitioning a 'public' space to a 'common' space. We discuss community gardens as a shared urban space and examine two initiatives for neighbourhood green spaces characterized by active involvement of citizens in place-keeping: Community in Bloom (CIB) and Allotment Gardens (AG). Six case studies were examined to understand the current process of shared green space management. An integrated Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA) framework was adopted to analyse the governance arrangements and evaluate the spatial qualities of the community gardens (CIB and AG). Our analysis highlights the positive socio-economic impact of community-led green space management through effective shared place-keeping strategies. It emphasizes the need for an innovative participatory governance approach with a conscious balance between 'autonomy' and 'authority' as the key to long-term place-keeping. Localized community initiatives within a mosaic governance model with flexible partnerships between authorities and citizens would be a good starting point in facilitating shared governance of green spaces in Singapore's public residential estates.

scholarly journals Analysis of Cooling and Humidification Effects of Different Coverage Types in Small Green Spaces (SGS) in the Context of Urban Homogenization: A Case of HAU Campus Green Spaces in Summer in Zhengzhou, China

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 862
Author(s):  
Huawei Li ◽  
Handong Meng ◽  
Ruizhen He ◽  
Yakai Lei ◽  
Yuchen Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Impervious Surface ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Leaf Angle ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

In the context of global warming, more and more cities are experiencing extreme Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects and extreme weather phenomena, but urban green spaces are proven to mitigate UHI. Most of UHI’s research focuses on the large scale and uses remote sensing methods, which do not reflect the dynamic characteristics in detail and do not detect internal influencing factors of the green space cooling effect. Therefore, this study focused on Small Green Spaces (SGS), carrying out the measurement of the meteorological parameters (temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, photosynthetic radiation) of the 16 sites in four types of coverage (Impervious surface; Shrub-grass; Tree-grass; Tree-shrub-grass) in a university campus. At the same time, the coverage characteristic parameters, such as Canopy Density (CD), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), Mean Leaf Angle (MLA), of each plot were analyzed and compared. The results showed that there were significant differences in temperature among different coverage types in SGS. The biggest difference was concentrated in the noon period when solar radiation is strongest during the day. The difference between the four types of coverage with vegetation at night was small. The maximum air temperature difference among the four types could reach 8.9 ℃ and the maximum relative humidity difference was 28.5%. The cooling effect of the multi-layer vegetation-covered (Tree-shrub-grass) area was the largest compared to the impervious surface, indicating that tree cover was the core factor affecting the temperature. Temperature and relative humidity had a close correlation with surface coverage types and some plant community characteristics (such as CD and LAI). The cooling and humidifying effects of plants were also related to PAR and leaf angle. The results provide suggestions for green space management and landscape design.

Representing Small- Scale Storage Interventions Across the Cauvery Catchment Using a Macro- Scale Gridded Water Resource Model and Quantifying Their Effect on Catchment Hydrology.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Horan ◽  
Pawan Wable ◽  
Veena Srinivasan ◽  
Helen Baron ◽  
Virginie Keller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Catchment Hydrology ◽  
Check Dams ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Availability Assessment

<p>Recently, there has been renewed interest in the utilisation of traditional small-scale storage interventions (check dams, field bunds and tanks) across India for the improvement of local water security. The Central Groundwater Board of India is encouraging the construction of interventions, such as check dams, field bunds and tanks, as the primary policy for the alleviation of water scarcity. It is of critical importance to understand the hydrological effect of these interventions at the small- and large-scale to maximise their impact and effectiveness. The quantification of small- scale interventions in hydrological modelling is often neglected, especially in large- scale modelling exercises. Although individually small, cumulatively these interventions may have a large effect on basin hydrology.  A bespoke version of the Global Water AVailability Assessment (GWAVA) model was developed to incorporate the impact of interventions on the hydrology. Interventions were conceptualised within the model structure using local knowledge, observed data and adaptations of existing reservoir representations. The effect of interventions on the water balance of the Cauvery Basin (81 000 km<sup>2</sup>), Peninsula India, and various small sub-catchments (each approximately 3500 km<sup>2</sup>) was studied. To quantify the impact of small interventions, two model runs were generated. An initial simulation was performed including a representation of the check dams, field bunds and tanks thought to be within the catchments, and compared with a “reference” simulation where no interventions were included but instead were replaced by grassland. The percentage difference for each component of the water balance was determined as an indicator of the impact of the interventions. The inclusion of interventions increases the total annual evaporation across the basin and reduces the annual streamflow. Although the interventions are constructed to provide increased surface and groundwater storage within the agricultural and urban areas, the implementation resulted in a significant decrease in total annual water storage within the sub- catchments. The aquifer levels rise minimally in the eastern sub-catchments and exhibit no change in the western sub- catchments. The aquifer levels in the mid- basin remained unchanged with the implantation of interventions.  Although the implementation of interventions are thought to increase the availability of groundwater at a local scale by upwards of two meters, the investigation using GWAVA suggest that aquifer levels are minimally affected. Based on the current understanding of interventions and the catchment hydrology, the wider effects of interventions on the water balance could be more detrimental to surface water security than anticipated and, thus, may not alleviate water poverty. The uncertainty related to the input data on interventions in the Cauvery may have affected the findings and thus further studies in regions with sufficient data availability and varying climate conditions may provide additional insight into the small- and large-scale effects of interventions.</p>

scholarly journals Does Residents’ Satisfaction with the Neighbourhood Environment Relate to Residents’ Self-Rated Health? Evidence from Beijing

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (24) ◽  
pp. 5051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen ◽  
Stephens ◽  
Jones
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Beijing City ◽  
Neighbourhood Environment ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Ordered Logistic Regression ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Spatial Dimensions

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the association between satisfaction with two types of green space and residents’ self-rated health by comparing neighbourhood green space (NGS) and community green space (CGS) across spatial dimensions. Method: This study was based on 4291 workers from a large-scale individual survey of inhabitants of Beijing city in 2013. Multilevel ordered logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between residents’ satisfaction with the two types of green spaces and residents’ self-rated health. Results: Residents who are more satisfied with NGS and CGS have higher odds of reporting good self-rated health outcomes. Such effects are more pronounced for residents living close to NGS and tend to decline non-linearly over space. Conclusion: Additional results quantify the differentiated effects on self-rated health between urban and suburban residents. The findings of this study suggest that the effects of residents’ satisfaction with different types of green space on health benefits should be taken into account in the land-use design of green space preservation and development policies.

Using Deep Machine Learning to Understand Green Space Popularity, Activities, Functionality, and Design Implications: a comparison of Chicago and Stockholm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Chen ◽  
Brian Deal
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Social Media Text ◽  
Land Use Development

<p>Green spaces have a significant effect on urban living environments, providing shared natural areas and entertainment spaces among other benefits. Investigating their popularity and functionality is valuable for supporting green space design and guiding land use development around public green spaces. Conventional methods used to extract use and functionality information on public green spaces have typically relied on questionnaires and in-site observations, both resource and time consuming processes. These approaches can also be context dependent and produce less transferable data across regions. This study utilizes deep machine learning techniques to mine social media text and image data to produce useful information on public green space popularity, activities, functionality and design.  Convolutional neural networks (CNN), an advanced machine learning technique, is used to analyze large scale data sets (Yelp and publicly accessible images) of public green spaces in Chicago, Illinois, US. The coupling of the two types of data enables the extraction of a rich and comprehensive analytical frame for understanding how green spaces are used and how they might be improved. The technique also utilizes a complex transfer learning process to pretrain the model and allow its quick adaptation to other regions around the world. The process will be replicated in Stockholm, Sweden. We use the analysis generated to compare open spaces in the 2 cities. The process has the potential to substantially improve nature based strategies on green space development and design.</p>

scholarly journals Analysis of Walking Accessibility of Park Green Space in Weidu District of Xuchang City Based on GIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 04017
Author(s):  
Yage Cui ◽  
Wenhao Tan ◽  
Linli Cheng ◽  
Tingting Chen ◽  
Liang Lv ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
Grid Analysis ◽  
Pedestrian Transportation

Taking the park green space in Weidu District of Xuchang City as the research object, the spatial service area of the park green space under the mode of pedestrian transportation is analyzed by using the grid analysis function of geographic information system (GIS). The results show that under the walking mode in the research area, only less than 1/10 of the residents can walk to the park within 10 minutes, and nearly 1/5 of the residents can enjoy the service function of urban park green space within 20 minutes. Under the walking mode of 30 minutes, the accessibility area of park green space is only 36.63%, which is mainly concentrated in the new urban area. There are many urban parks with large scale. The number of urban parks in the old urban area is small and the accessibility is relatively poor. The research results can provide theoretical basis for optimizing the spatial structure of green space in Weidu District of Xuchang City.

Gardening as More than Urban Agriculture: Perspectives from Smaller Midwestern Cities on Urban Gardening Policies and Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Christopher Strunk ◽  
Ursula Lang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Public Land ◽  
Vacant Lots ◽  
Urban Gardening ◽  
Privately Owned ◽  
Policies And Practices

For the most part, research and policymaking on urban gardening have focused on community gardens, whether in parks, vacant lots, or other public land. This emphasis, while important for many Midwestern cities, can obscure the significance of privately owned land such as front yard and back yard and their crucial connections with gardening on public land. In this case study, we examine how policies and practices related to gardening and the management of green space in two Midwestern cities exceed narrow visions of urban agriculture. The article explores the cultivation of vacant lot gardens and private yards as two modes of property in similar Midwestern contexts and argues that the management of green space is about more than urban agriculture. Instead, we show how urban gardening occurs across public/private property distinctions and involves a broader set of actors than those typically included in sustainability policies. Gardening also provides a key set of connections through which neighbors understand and practice sustainability in Midwestern cities.

Financial distress determinants among SMEs: empirical evidence from Sweden

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Financial Distress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to empirically investigate determinants of financial distress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the global financial crisis and post-crisis periods.Design/methodology/approachSeveral statistical methods, including multiple binary logistic regression, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel data set of 3,865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industries over the 2008–2015 period.FindingsThe results suggest that financial distress is influenced by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. the global financial crisis) and, in particular, by various firm-specific characteristics (i.e. performance, financial leverage and financial distress in previous year). However, firm size and industry affiliation have no significant relationship with financial distress.Research limitationsDue to data availability, this study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalizability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine determinants of financial distress among SMEs operating in Sweden using data from a large-scale longitudinal cross-sectional database.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document