Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 586-596 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Ecological indicators |
| Volume | 70 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Urban green space (UGS) availability has become an increasingly important aspect of planning and research because of the importance of green spaces for the wellbeing of urban residents. Municipalities across the European Union (EU) use different indicators in this area. Some cities provide per-capita threshold values for urban green space (UGS); some have recommendations regarding the minimum distance to green space while others have no recommendations at all. In this study, we assess green space availability in 299 EU cities according to land use and a population data grid. The results show a diverse picture across the EU. Southern European cities show below-average availability values, which may be explained by their low forest and tree cover and reflect the history of cities in Southern Europe. Comparatively, the above-average availability values in Northern European cities are a result of not only their biophysical conditions and the presence of rich forestland in general but also of Northern European attitudes toward urban living that naturally value having forests close to home. This assessment is complemented by a detailed case study analysis of two European cities – Berlin, Germany and Łódź, Poland. Results showed that this approach's explanatory power depends on the data used, scale of interest, resolution of data and estimated threshold value. By comparing results using different datasets and threshold values, we discuss opportunities and limitations for developing indicators of green space availability. We conclude that UGS availability is an important indicator to navigate urban complexity to improve human health and wellbeing but is only one component of the intricate social-ecological interactions within cities.
Keywords
- Berlin, Environmental justice, European Union, Urban Atlas, Urban green space availability, Łódź
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Decision Sciences(all)
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Ecological indicators, Vol. 70, 01.11.2016, p. 586-596.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Urban green space availability in European cities
AU - Kabisch, Nadja
AU - Strohbach, Michael
AU - Haase, Dagmar
AU - Kronenberg, Jakub
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2016/11/1
Y1 - 2016/11/1
N2 - Urban green space (UGS) availability has become an increasingly important aspect of planning and research because of the importance of green spaces for the wellbeing of urban residents. Municipalities across the European Union (EU) use different indicators in this area. Some cities provide per-capita threshold values for urban green space (UGS); some have recommendations regarding the minimum distance to green space while others have no recommendations at all. In this study, we assess green space availability in 299 EU cities according to land use and a population data grid. The results show a diverse picture across the EU. Southern European cities show below-average availability values, which may be explained by their low forest and tree cover and reflect the history of cities in Southern Europe. Comparatively, the above-average availability values in Northern European cities are a result of not only their biophysical conditions and the presence of rich forestland in general but also of Northern European attitudes toward urban living that naturally value having forests close to home. This assessment is complemented by a detailed case study analysis of two European cities – Berlin, Germany and Łódź, Poland. Results showed that this approach's explanatory power depends on the data used, scale of interest, resolution of data and estimated threshold value. By comparing results using different datasets and threshold values, we discuss opportunities and limitations for developing indicators of green space availability. We conclude that UGS availability is an important indicator to navigate urban complexity to improve human health and wellbeing but is only one component of the intricate social-ecological interactions within cities.
AB - Urban green space (UGS) availability has become an increasingly important aspect of planning and research because of the importance of green spaces for the wellbeing of urban residents. Municipalities across the European Union (EU) use different indicators in this area. Some cities provide per-capita threshold values for urban green space (UGS); some have recommendations regarding the minimum distance to green space while others have no recommendations at all. In this study, we assess green space availability in 299 EU cities according to land use and a population data grid. The results show a diverse picture across the EU. Southern European cities show below-average availability values, which may be explained by their low forest and tree cover and reflect the history of cities in Southern Europe. Comparatively, the above-average availability values in Northern European cities are a result of not only their biophysical conditions and the presence of rich forestland in general but also of Northern European attitudes toward urban living that naturally value having forests close to home. This assessment is complemented by a detailed case study analysis of two European cities – Berlin, Germany and Łódź, Poland. Results showed that this approach's explanatory power depends on the data used, scale of interest, resolution of data and estimated threshold value. By comparing results using different datasets and threshold values, we discuss opportunities and limitations for developing indicators of green space availability. We conclude that UGS availability is an important indicator to navigate urban complexity to improve human health and wellbeing but is only one component of the intricate social-ecological interactions within cities.
KW - Berlin
KW - Environmental justice
KW - European Union
KW - Urban Atlas
KW - Urban green space availability
KW - Łódź
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959181269&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.029
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.029
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84959181269
VL - 70
SP - 586
EP - 596
JO - Ecological indicators
JF - Ecological indicators
SN - 1470-160X
ER -