scholarly journals Green Infrastructure, Urbanization, and Ecosystem Services: The Main Challenges for Russia’s Largest Cities

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1292
Author(s):  
Oxana Klimanova ◽  
Olga Illarionova ◽  
Karsten Grunewald ◽  
Elena Bukvareva
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Planning Policy ◽  
Current State ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Process Of Urbanization ◽  
High Level

Globally, the process of urbanization is transforming land use and, as a consequence, reducing the efficiency of ecosystem services (ESs), which ensure a healthy and comfortable urban environment. In cities, green infrastructure (GI) is a key source of urban ESs. Russia is a highly urbanized country: 70% of its population live in towns or cities. As cities continue to expand, they are swallowing unsealed lands that support ESs. In this paper, we present the results of an analysis of the current state and recent changes in urban GI in Russia’s 16 largest cities, including a biophysical evaluation of key urban ESs, using remote sensing data and freely available statistics. Our analysis identifies a weak correlation between GI area, ES volume, and favorable climate conditions as well as a stronger correlation between ESs and the increasing rate of urbanization. Considering Russia’s high level of urbanization, the key importance of ESs for the well-being of citizens, and ongoing reductions of urban GI, major revisions to urban planning policy are required. Indicators of urban biodiversity, GI, and ESs should be incorporated into decision-making processes. In particular, it is vital that the accounting and monitoring of GI and ESs are established in all of Russia’s larger cities.

scholarly journals Estimating Air Pollution Removal and Monetary Value for Urban Green Infrastructure Strategies Using Web-Based Applications

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 788
Author(s):  
Alessio Russo ◽  
Wing Tung Chan ◽  
Giuseppe T. Cirella
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Removal ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Pollution Removal

More communities around the world are recognizing the benefits of green infrastructure (GI) and are planting millions of trees to improve air quality and overall well-being in cities. However, there is a need for accurate tools that can measure and value these benefits whilst also informing the community and city managers. In recent years, several online tools have been developed to assess ecosystem services. However, the reliability of such tools depends on the incorporation of local or regional data and site-specific inputs. In this communication, we have reviewed two of the freely available tools (i.e., i-Tree Canopy and the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics) using Bristol City Centre as an example. We have also discussed strengths and weaknesses for their use and, as tree planting strategy tools, explored further developments of such tools in a European context. Results show that both tools can easily calculate ecosystem services such as air pollutant removal and monetary values and at the same time be used to support GI strategies in compact cities. These tools, however, can only be partially utilized for tree planting design as they do not consider soil and root space, nor do they include drawing and painting futures. Our evaluation also highlights major gaps in the current tools, suggesting areas where more research is needed.

scholarly journals From City- to Site-Dimension: Assessing the Urban Ecosystem Services of Different Types of Green Infrastructure

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrycia Brzoska ◽  
Aiga Spāģe
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Structures

Cities have a wide variety of green infrastructure types, such as parks and gardens. These structures can provide important ecosystem services (ES) with a major impact on human well-being. With respect to urban planning, special consideration must be given to such green infrastructure types when implementing measures to maintain and enhance the quality of life. Therefore, generating knowledge on the urban ES of differently scaled green infrastructure types is important. This systematic literature review provides an overview of existing studies which have explicitly investigated the urban ES of differently spatial-scaled green infrastructure types. By reviewing 76 publications, we confirm rising academic interest in this topic. The most frequently assessed urban ES belong to the category Regulating and Maintenance. Only a few have considered individual small structures such as green roofs or single gardens; green spaces are often aggregated into one, mostly city-wide, object of investigation, with resulting oversimplifications. Moreover, generalizing methods are mostly applied. Simultaneously, many studies have applied methods to evaluate location-specific primary data. More research is needed on small-scale structures, in particular to consider site-, and thus location-specific, parameters in order to successfully implement the ES concept into urban planning and to obtain realistic results for ES assessments.

scholarly journals Influence of Blue-Green and Grey Infrastructure Combinations on Natural and Human-Derived Capital in Urban Drainage Planning

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2571
Author(s):  
Sikhululekile Ncube ◽  
Scott Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Drainage ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Amenity Value ◽  
Sustainable Drainage Systems

The natural capital and ecosystem services concepts describe the multiple benefits people get from nature. Urbanisation has been identified as one of the key factors influencing the decline of natural capital globally. Urbanisation has also been associated with a recent increase in urban flooding incidents in most cities globally. While the understanding of blue-green infrastructure in urban drainage is well established, little is said about its influence on natural capital. This study utilises the Natural Capital Planning Tool, Benefits Evaluation of Sustainable Drainage Systems tool and expert stakeholder interviews to assess the influence of blue-green and grey infrastructure as adaptation pathways in urban drainage, on natural capital and ecosystem services, and to determine how these contribute to other forms of human-derived capital. Key findings show that blue-green options can enhance natural capital and ecosystem services such as amenity value while also contributing to social and human capital. Although the assessed blue-green options contribute to regulating ecosystem services such as floods regulation, their most significant contribution is in cultural ecosystem services, especially amenity value. It is concluded that incorporating blue-green infrastructure in urban drainage adaptive approaches can mitigate natural capital losses and contribute to other forms of capital crucial for human well-being.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Ecosystem Services in Mining Basins: An Application in the Piedmont Region (Italy)

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 872
Author(s):  
Vanessa Assumma ◽  
Marta Bottero ◽  
Caterina Caprioli ◽  
Giulia Datola ◽  
Giulio Mondini
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Evaluation Procedures ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Use Values ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Sustainable Planning ◽  
Piedmont Region

Mining activities impact on the territorial system in various ways, affecting its environmental and socio-economic components. Specific evaluation tools can support decision-making processes in the context of the sustainable planning and management of mining activities. Within the evaluation procedures of mining activities, a growing interest in the analysis of Ecosystem Services (ES) is emerging. ES refer to the benefits that the natural system delivers to society, linking the health of ecosystems and human well-being. Starting from a real-world case related to the adoption of the Regional Plan of Mining Activities (PRAE) of the Piedmont region (Northern Italy), the paper aims to explore the ES valuation by considering three different mining quarries. The state of the art of the basins is compared with alternative planning scenarios from the point of view of the ES produced. The valuation is developed through GIS and the Simulsoil software, detecting the biophysical benefits produced and estimating their economic performance. The simulation results can be used to support the formulation of planning strategies, estimating the trade-offs in terms of competitive land-use values. The study also demonstrates that the integration of ES into Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) can produce a comprehensive impact assessment of a mining project, guaranteeing the protection and valorisation of the environmental system.

scholarly journals Green areas in an urban area and provision of ecosystem services: a bibliometric and integrative review

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (Supl. 2) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Maycon Jorge Ulisses Saraiva Farinha ◽  
André Geraldo Berezuk ◽  
Luciana Virginia Mario Bernardo
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
Man And Nature ◽  
Bibliometric Review ◽  
Process Of Urbanization

The process of urbanization is accomplished by changes in land use, that is, by the interaction between man and nature, so that there is a common loss of green areas in cities. However, the need and importance of green areas inside urban areas has been emphasized in order to provide quality to the provision of ecosystem services. Such services favor the quality of life and human well-being of people living in urban areas. Thus, nature-based solution practices have been encouraged as a form of innovation for urban planning and to overcome problems in cities. An integrative and bibliometric review on urban green areas and ecosystem service provision was proposed from 2009 to 2019. Among the results, there is a growing interest in the topic. There is recognition of the importance of green areas for population needs regarding human physical and mental health. In addition, the need for public actions in favor of urban planning involving the issue is recognized in order to provide equal access to existing areas and/or in areas that will be created.

China’s ecosystem services planning: will Shanghai lead the way? A case study from the Baoshan district (Shanghai)

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-293
Author(s):  
Harald Zepp ◽  
Matthias Falke ◽  
Franziska Günther ◽  
Lars Gruenhagen ◽  
Luis Inostroza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Baoshan District

Ecosystem services (ES) are a fundamental component of well-being and sustainable urban development with tremendous potential to enhance urban planning. Recently, several studies have evaluated the environmental performance of urban plans using the ES approach. To strengthen this science-policy integration, it is still necessary to perform ES assessments within the urban planning practice as well as to collect empirical evidence on the impacts of envisioned planning measures on the supply of ES in urban environments across the world. In this research, we analyzed the state-of-the-art of China’s new environmental governance, which aims to change China’s land use policy and particularly the role of Green Infrastructure (GI) regarding urban planning and ES. We focused on the Shanghai Baoshan district Master Plan as a case study, and analyzed it under the lenses of the supply of ES using the matrix approach. We ascertained the supply of ES as delineated in the ecological network plan for 2035, and developed an evaluation framework based on CICES v5.1 and two expert workshops. Our approach used an integrated preliminary ES-assessment, and evaluated the consequences for the supply of ES in Baoshan district, which is adaptable to varying urban geographies. The results of our assessment show that, if realized as planned, the district will increase the overall supply of ES, especially regulating and cultural services, that play an important role within GI on the urban level. In general, the land use plans should include fine-grained information within building blocks to allow for even better assessing of the spatial structure of the supply of ES

Implications of Urban Sustainability, Socio-Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-53
Author(s):  
José G. Vargas-Hernández ◽  
Karina M. Pallagst
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Green Growth ◽  
Infrastructure Design ◽  
Literature Reviews

This chapter aims to analyze the implications that urban sustainability, socio-ecosystems, and ecosystem services have as the bases to design the urban green growth strategies. The method used is the analytic based on the theoretical and conceptual literature reviews on the topics described. Urban sustainability and environmental performance integrates biodiversity and socio-ecosystems for the provision of better quality ecosystem services supported by green infrastructure design into the green projects aimed to achieve economic and environmental benefits. It is concluded that the ecosystem services and human well-being may suffer irreversible severe declines if sustainability is not built based on biodiversity of socio ecosystems, green infrastructure, and natural capital.

Green infrastructure—approach and public health benefits

2018 ◽  
pp. 252-256
Author(s):  
Raffaele Lafortezza ◽  
Cecil Konijnendijk van den Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Multiple Services ◽  
Temporal Dimensions

Green infrastructure (GI) planning is becoming a pre-eminent approach for delivering essential goods and services to people while reversing trends such as landscape and habitat fragmentation. By means of sound ecosystems delivering multiple services and benefits, GI can contribute to public health, including physical, psychological, and social aspects. These services and benefits are provided at the local, regional, and national scales, and are therefore closely knit to planning and policymaking at various levels. The Green Infrastructure Framework was conceptualized to incorporate the multifunctional, multiscale, and temporal dimensions of GI and to demonstrate the associations between ecosystem services and human well-being. It stresses biodiversity, social and territorial cohesion, and sustainable development as key contributions of GI, creating the environmental settings for well-being and community health. Adopting the GI approach and its characteristics of connectivity (by connecting ecological and social systems), accessibility, and functionality in urban planning may contribute to healthier societies.

scholarly journals Mapping Indicators of Cultural Ecosystem Services: Review and Relevance to Urban Context

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-24
Author(s):  
Asmaa Abualhagag ◽  
István Valánszki
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Reference List ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Cultural Services ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Measurement Units

AbstractOver decades human well-being has recognized from ecosystems, not only through material goods but also through nonmaterial assets namely cultural ecosystem services (CES). Regardless of increasing Ecosystem Services (ES) research over the last decade, cultural services assessment still remains neglected and is mainly limited to marketable services such as recreation and ecotourism. Obvious challenges in standardizing definitions and measurement units have brought about numerous difficulties in accounting cultural services and specific related indicators in decision-making processes. In that regard, the current review intends to create a reference list of CES categories and related measurement units with commonly used indicators. To put it another way, we analysis 80 publications to identify the most common CES indicators using in mapping various categories of CES approaches. Results prove that there are various methods can be used in assessing CES categories, whereas we found 57 indicators can be used for that and most of these indicators can be utilized in urban planning context as spatial indicators. Moreover, it is obvious that almost the same indicators can be used in evaluating most CES categories. For instance, in case of recreation and tourism indicators almost 50 % of all collected indicators can be used for mapping it, on the contrary, in case of spiritual and religious values. In conclusion, while there are various mapping methods of CES and different indicators, most of CES categories have relatively ignored by the planner and decision-makers such as education and inspirational values. Therefore, we recommend the use of the collected indicators and relevant measurement units in assessing neglected values in future research.

scholarly journals Editorial for the Special Issue “Ecosystem Services with Remote Sensing”

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2191
Author(s):  
Jiangbo Gao
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Quantitative Calculation

Ecosystem services refer to the environmental conditions and utilities provided and maintained by ecosystems, which are the basis for the survival and development of human society. The studies on ecosystem services in quantitative assessments, driving mechanisms, and correlation with human well-being, based on remote sensing, have increased in recent years. Various applications of remote sensing in ecosystem services are reported in six papers published in this Special Issue. The major research topics covered by this Special Issue include the multi-method analysis (e.g., linear regression, geographical detector, and geographically weighted regression methodology) of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to reflect ecosystem structure, the dynamic changing process of ecosystem services, and the determinants, which include a new image-analysis method based on a time series of a biophysical variable and the application of fractional vegetation cover (FVC) to analyze the spatiotemporal relationship between ecosystem structure and function and the comprehensive study on ecosystem function and service based on multi-source remote sensing data. The application of remote sensing data to ecosystem services research has the advantage of monitoring ecological structure and functions at multi-scales. Furthermore, the quantitative calculation of ecosystem services, based on remote sensing, can provide a scientific basis for enhancing land use optimization and sustainable development.

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