scholarly journals Exploring Options for Public Green Space Development: Research by Design and GIS-Based Scenario Modelling

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8213
Author(s):  
Philip Stessens ◽  
Frank Canters ◽  
Ahmed Z. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Scenario Modelling ◽  
Public Green Space

Green spaces have a positive influence on human well-being. Therefore, an accurate evaluation of public green space provision is crucial for administrations to achieve decent urban environmental quality for all. Whereas inequalities in green space access have been studied in relation to income, the relation between neighbourhood affluence and remediation difficulty remains insufficiently investigated. A methodology is proposed for co-creating scenarios for green space development through green space proximity modelling. For Brussels, a detailed analysis of potential interventions allows for classification according to relative investment scales. This resulted in three scenarios of increasing ambition. Results of scenario modelling are combined with socio-economic data to analyse the relation between average income and green space proximity. The analysis confirms the generally accepted hypothesis that non-affluent neighbourhoods are on average underserved. The proposed scenarios reveal that the possibility of reaching a very high standard in green space proximity throughout the study area if authorities would be willing to allocate budgets for green space development that go beyond the regular construction costs of urban green spaces, and that the types of interventions require a higher financial investment per area of realised green space in non-affluent neighbourhoods.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Differences in Walking Time of Children and Adolescents to Public Green Spaces in Urban Areas—Results of the German Environmental Survey (2014–2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2326
Author(s):  
Julia Rehling ◽  
Christiane Bunge ◽  
Julia Waldhauer ◽  
André Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Environmental Survey ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Public Green Space ◽  
Walking Time

Public green spaces have a high potential for a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing, especially in urban areas. Studies on environmental justice indicate socially unequal access possibilities to urban green spaces. This article presents results on associations between individual socioeconomic position (SEP) and walking time from home to public green spaces in young people living in urban areas with more than 20,000 inhabitants in Germany. Data were derived from the German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014–2017 (GerES V), the environmental module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS Wave 2). The sample comprises 1149 participants aged 3 to 17 years. A total of 51.5% of the participants reach a public green space on foot within five and 72.8% within ten minutes from home. The lower the participant’s SEP, the longer the walking time. Logistic regression models controlling for age group, sex, migration background, and region of residence show that participants with a low SEP have a significantly higher risk (odds ratio = 1.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.31–2.99) of needing more than ten minutes to walk from home to a public green space than participants with a high SEP. GerES V data indicate that young people living in urban areas in Germany do not equally benefit from the health-promoting potential of green spaces, which is an important aspect of environmental health inequalities.

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 “We Need such a Space”: Residents’ Motives for Visiting Urban Green Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6806
Author(s):  
Shixian Luo ◽  
Jing Xie ◽  
Katsunori Furuya
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Space Planning ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The City

Since the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia in 2019, several cities have been blocked to prevent the expansion of the infection. This qualitative study aimed to determine the motives of urban residents for visiting urban green spaces during the epidemic (especially within the context of the city blockade), and what might weaken these motives. In total, 47 residents (17 men and 30 women) were recruited from Chengdu, in China, to participate in interviews. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. According to the results, the motives of the respondents were divided into strong motives and weak motives. These strong motives for visiting UGS can be divided into four themes: “A place for health”, “Escape”, “Social support”, and “A safe and important place for outdoor activities”. Residents classified as the weak motive primarily considered the reasons of “Keep distance with others”, “Potential infection risk” and “Seek compensation”. The results of this study are significant for current and future urban management, green space planning, and social well-being.

scholarly journals The Mental Health Benefits of Purposeful Activities in Public Green Spaces in Urban and Semi-Urban Neighbourhoods: A Mixed-Methods Pilot and Proof of Concept Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (15) ◽  
pp. 2712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Coventry ◽  
Chris Neale ◽  
Alison Dyke ◽  
Rachel Pateman ◽  
Steve Cinderby
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Mental Health Benefits ◽  
Public Green Space

Access and exposure to public green space might be critical to health promotion and prevention of mental ill health. However, it is uncertain if differential health and mental health benefits are associated with undertaking different activities in public green space. We evaluated the health and wellbeing benefits of different activities in different locations of public green spaces in urban and semi-urban areas. We used a mixed-methods before-and-after design. Volunteers at three conservation sites were recruited and took part in group guided walks, practical conservation tasks or citizen science. Repeated measures one-way ANOVAs with Bonferroni correction assessed the relationship between location and activity type on change in acute subjective mood from pre- to post-activity, measured with the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UWIST-MACL). Qualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken and analysed thematically to explore participants’ perceptions about the health and wellbeing benefits of activities in public green space. Forty-five participants were recruited, leading to 65 independent observations. Walking, conservation and citizen science in public green space were associated with improved mood. Across all participants acute subjective mood improved across all domains of the UWIST-MACL. There was a significant association between reduction in stress and location (p = 0.009). Qualitatively participants reported that conservation and citizen science conferred co-benefits to the environment and individual health and well-being and were perceived as purposeful. Undertaking purposeful activity in public green space has the potential to promote health and prevent mental ill health.

scholarly journals ANALYZING LONG-TERM AVAILABILITY OF URBAN GREEN SPACE BY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, USING OPEN DATA AND TOOLS

2020 ◽  
Vol XLII-3/W12-2020 ◽  
pp. 539-544
Author(s):  
J. E. Patiño
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Population Groups ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Long Term Trends

Abstract. The availability of green spaces is an important issue for urban populations worldwide, given the benefits that the green spaces provide for health, well-being, and quality of life. But urban green spaces are not always distributed equally for different population groups within cities. Latin America is the second most urbanized region of the world, but there are few published studies analysing the green space availability for different urban population groups, and less so analysing the long-term trends. This work presents an analysis of long-term availability of urban green spaces by different socioeconomic status population groups in Medellin city, Colombia, using open geospatial data and open software tools. The results indicate that disparities between different groups have been decreasing in the last years, but there are still efforts to do. Showing this kind of analysis based on open data and tools is essential as it opens the possibility for replicating it in other cities with scarce budgets.

scholarly journals Typologie Et Répartition Des Espaces Verts Publics Dans Le Grand Nokoué (Sud Bénin)

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Adéréwa Aronian Maximenne Amontcha ◽  
Julien Gaudence Djego ◽  
Toussaint Olou Lougbegnon ◽  
Brice Augustin Sinsin
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The Public ◽  
Development Plans ◽  
Town Halls ◽  
Public Green Space ◽  
Porto Novo

Urban green spaces are essential to ensure the quality of life and the fulfillment of town-dwellers. The objective of this research is to assess the richness of public green spaces in the great Nokoué cities (AbomeyCalavi, Cotonou, Ouidah, Porto-Novo and Sèmè-Podji). The itinerary method was used to find the greens spaces whose list was obtained in the town halls. For each public green space found, the geo-referencing (tracking), the determination of the area of the public places and the measurement of the length of the tracks were made. The results revealed that the great Nokoué cities have 114 public green spaces which can be classified in four types (green Spaces of Tribes 4,39 %, Green Spaces of Pathways 13,16 %, Parks and Squares 26,32 % and Public Roads Alignment Trees 58,77 %). Cotonou is the city of the great Nokoué richest in public green spaces (61,95 %) whereas Ouidah has the highest ratio of public green spaces per inhabitant (Ouidah, 0.27 m2 /hbt, Porto-Novo, 0.18 m2 /hbt , Cotonou, 0.12 m2 /hbt Abomey-Calavi 0,06 m2 /hbt and Sèmè -Podji, 0,06 m2 /hbt ). No city of the great Nokoué has reached the ratio of 10 m2 of public green space per inhabitant as recommended by OMS. It is therefore important that urban authoritys give far greater attention to public green spaces (gardens, parks, squares, etc.) in future development plans.

Reflections of gender on the urban green space

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-76
Author(s):  
Umran Topcu
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Green Space ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Behavior Setting

Purpose Urban green spaces including parks and gardens are an essential part of a network of physical and social well-being. They provide spaces to socialize and opportunities to connect with nature. They are restorative enclaves. When it comes to scaling down spaces in general, they form important constituent parts of what we call the setting in which we behave. Barker elaborated the notion of behavior setting by describing how our behavior is influenced and constrained by settings. A setting consists of the space, its contents, its surroundings, the people and their activities. As Norberg-Schulz puts it, this is a microcosmos that wraps people and the space. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach In this study a behavior setting with different spatial attributes in an urban green space, namely, Kriton Curi Park on the Asian side of Istanbul is observed. Landscapes used by both men and women may be gendered even if men and women use them at the same time. Women’s and men’s experiences of the same setting can be different. The difference is likely to be the outcome of both the physical attributes of the setting and/or the social construction of the society. However, a general attribute of genders’ experience of space is that women are more sensitive to spatial contents and more selective about the use of space. According to previous research, men and women do not have equal control over behavior settings in urban green spaces, in Turkey. Findings The findings of this study address a social fact that appropriate physical features of urban green spaces like Criton Curi Park and its immediate environment reveal a higher degree of equality in gender roles. Originality/value As the literature indicates parks being among urban green spaces are not yet studied enough in the Turkish context. This study is an attempt to study the status of women in open public space. For the sustainability of social relations parks become even more important.

scholarly journals Visitors' Perceptions of Urban Green Spaces: A Study of Lisbon's Alameda and Estrela Parks

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Viebrantz ◽  
Maria Fernandes-Jesus
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Views And Perceptions ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
The City ◽  
Natural Characteristics

Urban Green Spaces (UGSs) play a key role in people's well-being, particularly in highly urbanized contexts and possess several elements that may be attractive to visitors. This study focuses on the views and perceptions of visitors of two UGSs located in Lisbon and aimed to determine how they evaluated two different green spaces (Estrela Park and Alameda Park) in terms of physical/natural characteristics, structures, accessibility, surrounding areas, motives for use and importance. Secondly, it sought to explore how people evaluate UGSs in Lisbon in terms of quality and quantity. A total of 188 people responded to a questionnaire composed of close-and open-ended questions. The study revealed that Estrela Park was more valued for its green space characteristics and conservation aspects than accessibility and sports adaptability. Participants visited Estrela Park for its landscape and restful environment and considered the park important to their lives. Although they visited Estrela Park less often, they stayed longer compared to those who visited Alameda Park. Furthermore, regarding the participants' overall perceptions of the UGSs in Lisbon, many participants mentioned the need for more parks and wanted better preservation and distribution around the city. Most importantly, they valued these spaces and believed that UGS helped them to feel more relaxed and balanced, facilitating socialization, recreation and physical activities. In conclusion, this study suggests that green and quiet urban parks in Lisbon are valued by the city's population but they would like to see regular maintenance/cleaning as well as the provision of leisure activities.

scholarly journals Environmental Justice in the Context of Urban Green Space Availability

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (345) ◽  
pp. 141-161
Author(s):  
Karolina Koprowska
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The Usa

Environmental justice is a term that includes both exposure to environmental ‘bads’ as well as access to environmental ‘goods’ which might be unequally experienced by different socio‑economic groups. In other words, environmental justice scholars study whether everybody can have an equal right to a healthy, nurturing environment which supports their development and well‑being. The environmental justice movement arose in response to the so‑called ‘environmental racism’ in the USA which affected communities of blue‑collar workers, people with lower income and of Afro‑American, Asian, Latin or native origins. Although initially environmental (in)justice was rooted in racial discrimination in the USA, nowadays it encompasses a wider range of issues, including problems at the local and global level, from degradation and pollution of natural resources to aspects related to spatial planning. Unequal access to environmental amenities – such as green spaces – was not the main focus of the discourse, however, it is gaining attention nowadays, especially in the context of urban environment. Urban green spaces influence health and well‑being of urban residents, but access to them can be uneven in terms of socio‑spatial heterogeneity. Growing challenges of living in cities, related to, among others, climate change, densification or sprawling of developments, urban heat islands, and other nuisances, require sustainable management of green spaces and provision of equal (socially just) access to benefits provided by these areas. Moreover, another important aspect of the discussion is linked to potentially beneficial planning decisions (e.g. increasing availability of urban green spaces) and their long‑term consequences, which may eventually lead to gentrification and increased social inequalities (environmental injustice). Complexity of the problem related to availability of green spaces in cities needs an interdisciplinary approach which combines ecological, spatial and socio‑economic aspects. The article reviews the current state‑of‑the‑art literature in the field of environmental justice, with particular emphasis on green space availability in the context of urban environment.  

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.

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