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Urban green spaces and their impact on environmental health: A Global Review

• February 2024
• World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 21(2):917-927

• University of New Haven
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City life: Why are green spaces important?

Our cities are damaging our health. Here's how plants can help us. 

By 2050, 68% of the global population will live in cities. That's 2.5 billion more people than today. In Europe, three out of four of us already live in urban areas, and the consequences of that are becoming clear .

Researchers estimate that nine million people die every year as a direct result of air pollution. In London, two million people - of which 400,000 are children - are living in areas with toxic air .

Why do we need nature in urban areas?

As our cities grow and more people move into already crowded spaces, what do we need to do to transform our urban areas into healthy places to live? An increasing body of research tells us that we should be letting nature back in.

Dr Cecil Konijnendijk is a Professor of Urban Forestry at the University of British Colombia (UBC). He studies the role of nature and green spaces in cities and towns, and how we can use the natural world to make urban environments healthier and more liveable.

'Research shows really clearly that we need nature in our surroundings. We need trees in our streets, plants in our gardens and flowers on our balcony. We need nature as our neighbour all the time.'

'We have a responsibility as human beings to take care of nature in our cities. In return, the benefits to our health would be huge.'

Growing a mini meadow of wildflowers in your garden or in a pot on a balcony can be beneficial to our health and make life better for pollinating insects.  Video with audio description (1 minute 27 seconds) . 

The urban heat island effect

Green spaces in cities mitigate the effects of pollution and can reduce a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect , which refers to heat trapped in built-up areas.

The urban heat island effect appears in towns and cities as a result of human activity. The heat generated by people, transport, shops and industry is trapped in the narrow roads and concrete structures, unable to escape to the atmosphere. This can bring the temperature in urban areas up 3-4°C higher than the surrounding countryside, and with that comes a vicious cycle.

Increased temperatures in summer leads to an increased demand for cooling. This expands our energy consumption, which in turn intensifies fossil fuel consumption, increasing pollutants in the air and harmful smog on our streets .

Hotter pavements also damage the water cycle. In summer, surface temperatures can be a staggering 50°C hotter than the surrounding air, and that heat is transferred to the rainwater that drains into our sewers, which in turn raises water temperatures as it is released into streams, rivers and lakes. This can be destructive to aquatic ecosystems, as changes in water temperature can be stressful or even fatal for marine life.

The benefits of green spaces in cities

Planning cities to include green spaces wherever possible is the first step in making our urban areas healthier. For example, adding a layer of vegetation to rooftops and creating green roofs has proven to reduce the urban heat island effect.

Having soil, plants and greenery on our roofs would both reduce surface temperature and serve as insulation for the structures below, reducing the energy needed to heat and cool the buildings. Green roofs can also help regulate rainwater, trapping it as it falls and filtering out pollutants.

Singapore's Gardens by the Bay is a great example of a city bringing biodiversity into its centre. The tall structures pictured make up the sky garden's Supertree Grove. These vertical gardens are home to a wide variety of plants including orchids, vines and ferns. © Fabio Achilli ( CC BY 2.0 ) via Flickr

Trees in our streets also play their part, and a variety of tree species can have a profound effect.

'By increasing the diversity of trees on our streets we can create miniature forests,' Cecil explains. 'This has already started to be implemented in cities like Singapore, where they are mixing human structures with many different tree species.'

'These miniature forests in our cities create ecosystems, bringing a diversity of insect and bird species which, in turn, keep the trees healthy. If we allow ecosystems to flourish, we have to spend less resources on maintaining them.'

Cecil recommends going beyond creating pockets of nature within a city. He says, 'If we give space to natural processes and link up our green spaces, we can create flourishing and wild ecosystems in man-made environments. There were no sightings of the critically endangered smooth-coated otter in Singapore for decades. Now they are returning to the city, because of its dedication to nature.'

Green cities mean giving up some control of our surroundings - but for our long-term benefit.

'We need to get used to letting go and try not to manage everything. Some natural spaces are messy, but that's a good thing! Messy nature isn't just a great habitat for wildlife but it's good for children to play in. Children's depression and ADHD is on the rise and one of the reasons is our disconnect from nature.'

Simply having access to green spaces in cities can do wonders for our stress levels and concentration at work.

Cecil says, 'People need to interact with nature whenever the opportunity arises. Something as simple as a five- to ten-minute break during the workday can improve well-being and boost productivity.'

Democratising our green spaces

Right now, however, accessing to green spaces isn't universal - what's more, it can be a driver of inequality in our societies.

In 2008, a Lancet study by Dr Richard Mitchell and Frank Popham of 40 million British people found a link between income inequality, access to green spaces and life expectancy.

The study revealed that in rural areas with plenty of access to green spaces, the life expectancy of those on the highest and lowest incomes was roughly the same.

However, in urban environments, the gap in life expectancy was staggering. People on the lowest incomes living in cities are expected to live 10 years less than those on the highest incomes. This is due in part to the green spaces available to the richest people, who often live in open, leafy areas, while the poorest are often left living in overcrowded, heavily concreted areas.

Mitchell and Popham's results showed that as you move along an axis of increasing access to green spaces, the difference in life expectancy decreases. But the problem can't be solved just by creating green spaces in poorer areas.

Dr Matilda van den Bosch is a physician and an assistant professor at UBC, with a PhD in landscape planning and public health.

She says, 'It's not as simple as just creating green spaces in certain areas. The situation we have at the moment is that high-quality urban areas, with good access to nature, are more expensive to live in.'

'What's happening is that green spaces are being created, but suddenly those areas become more desirable and housing costs go up - often pricing out the people currently living there. It's a kind of green gentrification.'

'What we need is for there to be an effort to recognise that green spaces are vital for everyone, and that everyone should feel the benefit. Parks should be easily accessible, democratic spaces - somewhere you can go without the pressure to spend money, and meet people from all walks of life within your community.'

It will take some effort to truly bring nature into the heart of our cities, especially to sprawling urban jungles.

But there is plenty that all of us can do right now to protect what we have and encourage nature to flourish. By caring for and using the parks and green spaces near us, we show councils that these precious places are cherished. 

You can also use your voice. Talk or write to those who oversee the public green spaces in your area - in the UK, this would be your local council and MP - about the changes you'd like to see. We all need to work together to create real change for people and the planet.

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Green Space: An Underestimated Tool to Create More Equal Cities

• Climate Resilience
• coronavirus
• Equity & Governance
• natural infrastructure
• Urban Development

As coronavirus restrictions ease around the world, many consider a walk around their neighborhood for some fresh air to be a welcome break from confinement. However, socioeconomic status could greatly affect the landscapes people find on these strolls, particularly in how much green they are likely to see.

The gaps between the haves and the have-nots in cities across the world are visible from space, illuminated by tree canopy.

San Francisco’s Urban Forestry Plan , for example, notes that tree canopy varies widely depending on the relative wealth of different communities. The ritzy villas in the Seacliff neighborhood enjoy a leafy 30% canopy cover, while historically lower-income and immigrant communities in the Mission and Outer Sunset neighborhoods have a scant 7.5% and 5% tree canopy cover, respectively.

The correlation between urban tree cover and income is well-documented in cities around the world , including Detroit , Johannesburg and Mexico City . This is often the by-product of historic inequality: infrastructure decisions made decades ago, including tree canopy, unfairly benefitted rich neighborhoods. This continues to impact services delivered today and can be a driver of current and future inequality.

Urban forests provide a variety of benefits to people, meaning their presence or absence can contribute to unequal outcomes in health, wealth and overall well-being.

But what if strategic regreening could help cities fight inequality and build back better after COVID-19 ? Cities can proactively address inequality as they plan green spaces to make environments more equitable and improve residents’ lives.

Urban Forest Planning and Existing Inequalities

Social equity  aims to achieve fair outcomes for all. This can only happen by recognizing that individuals and social groups face unique challenges and require different levels of support based on their specific needs. Expanding and protecting green spaces without efforts to achieve social equity can worsen spatial and social inequalities and reinforce marginalized communities’ lack of access to the benefits that urban parks provide.

Installing and maintaining green infrastructure — like parks, riverbanks, bioswales, forest patches and street trees — can come at high costs, which communities may not be able to afford. In addition, differences in communities’ political representation and the cities’ economic interests to attract wealthy residents and tourists may impact decision-making in public green spaces.

For instance, the restoration of New York City’s Prospect Park raised real estate values and attracted new, wealthy residents, invariably driving out poorer residents from the area, particularly Black residents.

Land use and siting decisions for urban parks and green infrastructure may also disproportionately displace poor residents or informal communities who lack land tenure, usage rights and representation. In Mumbai , for example, protecting mangrove forests has fueled the eviction of slum residents, while high-end development in mangrove areas continues.

Furthermore, urban green spaces may create barriers to equal access when they are not designed with an explicit goal to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups such as women, people with disabilities, the elderly, children and other marginalized groups. The type, density and maintenance of vegetation affect how safe park users feel, which varies by gender, age, race and socioeconomic status.

In Delhi, Sydney and Madrid, a mapping activity conducted by Plan International in 2018 revealed that women found urban parks make up 20% of all unsafe public spaces with respect to physical and sexual assault.

Historically underserved and low-income neighborhoods also face the risk of green gentrification . In this process, new environmental amenities fuel socioeconomic exclusion and cultural alienation by transforming the neighborhood without addressing the needs and preferences of current residents.

Without appropriate foresight and regulation, green space’s impact on property values can drive up housing prices and push out low-income residents. For instance, environmental revitalization in many Brooklyn neighborhoods and the High Line in Manhattan has displaced long-time low- and middle-income residents.

When urban green spaces are unequally distributed, so too are the benefits they provide.

Low-income residents are more likely to live in hotter neighborhoods and be exposed to higher levels of air pollution than those living in more affluent areas, often partly as a result of having fewer green amenities. They are also more likely to suffer the health impacts of heat waves and the effects of stormwater flooding than their counterparts in richer, greener neighborhoods.

Recent studies show a correlation between increased air pollution and higher fatality rates from COVID-19. Urban forests, when properly designed , can help improve air quality , demonstrating the need for equitable urban tree distribution to avoid reinforcing inequalities in health outcomes.

Building Greener, More Inclusive Cities

Urban green spaces can be a valuable tool to level the playing field for disadvantaged communities across a wide range of issues, including health and economic benefits , improved safety and disaster resilience. To achieve this, projects that aim to enhance urban green space must be fair and have buy-in from communities.

Green space can help make low-income neighborhoods less vulnerable to climate and health risks by lowering local temperatures, improving air quality and mitigating flooding . For instance, in Buenos Aires , environmental restoration and re-greening of Lake Soldati is part of a multifaceted strategy to reduce flood risk in low-income areas of the city.

Green space can also deliver additional benefits that may be particularly important in underserved neighborhoods, like providing areas for leisure and community life, creating safer, more livable streets and reducing building energy costs associated with cooling.

Cities can take three crucial steps to make sure that the health, economic and environmental benefits of urban green spaces become drivers of increased social equity.

1. Establish Strong Political Leadership

Municipalities should establish strong political leadership that prioritizes underserved communities in urban green infrastructure projects and protects long-term social benefits from short-term economic interests. This can include proactively targeting neighborhood residents when hiring for the construction and maintenance of green infrastructure.

For instance, Mayor Tri Rismaharini in Surabaya, Indonesia, launched the One Soul One Tree campaign with the twin focus of enhancing city forests and creating alternative means of income for residents in poverty along the city’s beaches. In addition to protecting 5,000 mangrove trees, the project encouraged residents to harvest syrup from mangroves to create batik (Indonesian dyed fabric) and other products, creating a new source of income for residents.

2. Engage Communities Meaningfully

Proactive and meaningful community engagement is essential to ensuring local buy-in and agency in restoration and conservation projects. For instance, the Equitable Development Plan for Washington, D.C.’s 11 th St Bridge Park was created through iterative rounds of community engagement, including brainstorming sessions with key stakeholders, large public sessions and online consultation. This allowed the initial focus on affordable housing to broaden and include cultural and political equity, workforce development and small business enterprises.

Community engagement, however, should not mean depending on residents and private property owners to plant and maintain new trees. This approach tends to be most effective in more affluent neighborhoods where residents have the financial resources to buy and care for young trees. Partnering with local and trusted organizations can be a critical strategy to build trust and ensure that communication and participation techniques are appropriate and effective.

3. Develop Innovative Funding Models

Equitable urban green planning requires innovative funding to help city governments put green spaces in underserved neighborhoods, while protecting community ownership to prevent gentrification. One way to do this is with impact bonds, which allow municipalities to share risk with investors, reducing their liability and financing costs for future projects.

Atlanta is using impact bonds to protect the Proctor Creek watershed and remediate environmental pollution in underserved neighborhoods. Washington, D.C. used them to finance local workforce development through a Green Collar Jobs Initiative .

Classic financial instruments can also be adapted to steer investment to underserved neighborhoods. For instance, California established equity criteria for funds raised through general obligation bonds to finance parks in underserved neighborhoods. The funds raised are then prioritized for projects that prevent resident displacement.

A Greener, More Equitable Future for Cities

Adopting a social equity lens in urban forestry decision-making can help cities make green spaces an essential tool to tackle existing inequalities, while building local resilience and well-being. Done right, it can also reduce the risk of conflicts, strengthen community buy-in and leverage residents’ local knowledge and social networks.

Two WRI publications provide further evidence on challenges and good practices: the newly published Cities4Forests Social Equity Learning Guide that presents case studies and resources on social equity considerations relevant to urban forests and green infrastructure programs, and a forthcoming publication on social equity in climate action that analyzes how priority mitigation and adaptation measures can benefit lower-income and disadvantaged groups.

In the short-term, implementing better urban forest management practices will make for nicer strolls through neighborhoods when the dust of the coronavirus pandemic settles. Long-term, these practices will help local communities to be greener, healthier and more equitable.

The Social Equity Learning Guide is a living document that will serve  as a tool to help cities adapt to climate change through the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Cities Action Track . It will be highlighted at the upcoming Climate Adaptation Summit in January. For more information and to submit feedback that will improve this body of work, please contact Ayushi Trivedi ([email protected]).

This blog post also draws on research undertaken for a forthcoming publication on social equity in climate action. For more information about this publication, please contact Mathilde Bouyé ([email protected]).

Relevant Work

Climate action isn’t reaching the most vulnerable — but it could, ensuring a "just transition": 5 priorities to make climate action benefit low-income and disadvantaged groups, greening the jukskei river: scaling nature-based solutions for climate resilience in johannesburg, south africa, 3 hurdles to racial justice in clean energy – and 3 ways u.s. cities can overcome them, how you can help.

WRI relies on the generosity of donors like you to turn research into action. You can support our work by making a gift today or exploring other ways to give.

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Exploring the role of Urban Green Spaces in 'smartening' cities in India

• Cite this article
• https://doi.org/10.1080/14615517.2019.1690864

Introduction

Ugs in developing countries: current state and planning challenges, india’s smart cities mission as a context, identifying elements to characterize ugs conceptualization in scm, methodology, discussion and implications, conclusions and directions for future research.

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This paper explores the conceptualization of Urban Green Space (UGS) within India’s urban planning process. In doing so, the context of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), which is a flagship programme for urban transformation in the country, is chosen. We identified four key elements of UGS planning in the literature – quantity, accessibility, multifunctionality, and connectivity. Using this as a framework for analysis, we reviewed the national SCM guidelines and plans of four cities – Gwalior, Bhagalpur, Chandigarh, and Udaipur – in depth. We find that multifunctionality does not feature in the planning of UGS, and the notable absence of a connected, strategic vision suggests the need for strategic-level planning and assessment that goes beyond the project level in India.

• Urban Green Spaces
• open spaces
• Smart Cities Mission
• multifunctionality
• green infrastructure

Urban Green Spaces (UGS) are increasingly considered a critical asset within the context of sustainability as they are argued to provide with multiple benefits ranging from enriching aesthetics, reducing pollution, enhancing physical and mental health and general well-being, reducing urban heat island effect, and providing groundwater recharge (Sandström Citation 2002 ; TEEB Citation 2011 ; GoI Citation 2014 ; Fischer et al. Citation 2018 ). The extant research largely focuses on UGS planning in developed countries (the United States and Europe). However, urban planning in general and UGS planning in particular poses a different set of challenges in developing countries and thus requires further exploration. Countries such as China and India have been experiencing rapid urbanization with large-scale migration to cities in search of livelihoods, creating competing demands for limited land resources in urban areas. The need for expanding housing, public infrastructure, industry, and commercial space to meet the demands of increasing urbanization is leading to a decline in open/green spaces in many developing countries (e.g. Haaland and van den Bosch Citation 2015 ), including India (e.g. Govindarajulu Citation 2014 ; Mell Citation 2018 ). Research on understanding the extent to which cities in developing countries value green/open spaces Footnote 1 and how they are incorporating UGS into urban planning is relatively sparse (Byomkesh et al. Citation 2012 ).

In this paper, we contribute to this literature by exploring the broad research question: how do Indian cities conceptualize UGS in their planning process? We address this question by studying how UGS is incorporated in one ofIndia’s most ambitious urban planning interventions, the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), which we also refer to as Mission in this paper. We review the SCM guidelines as well as the plans of a set of four cities selected for funding under the Mission to address our research question. Based on our analyses we offer suggestions for enhancing UGS incorporation within urban planning in India.

We organize the paper in the following way. The next section reviews the extant literature on UGS planning in developing countries, including India. In the following section, we provide some background on our empirical context, the SCM. In the section that follows, we develop the rationale for the selection of the four criteria that we use to evaluate the UGS planning in smart cities. We then present the methodology we follow to address our research question, followed by the section on the findings of our analysis. We discuss the implications of our findings in the next section before concluding the paper in the last section.

A large body of literature examines the causes and consequences of the rapid destruction and disappearance of green spaces in cities across the developing world. The fast pace of urbanization, including geographic expansion as well as densification of the built environment, has been identified as a major contributor to green space shrinkage (e.g. Haaland and van den Bosch Citation 2015 ). Environmental planners contend that urban growth without adequate consideration of green spaces can cause irreversible damage to urban ecosystems and degrade the quality of urban life (see, e.g. Williams et al. Citation 2009 ; Niemela et al. Citation 2010 ). In this section, we first review the extant literature to identify the major challenges that developing countries face in planning for UGS, followed by a brief review of the state of UGS planning in India.

UGS planning challenges in developing countries

UGS planning and management, including preservation and expansion, is challenging in fast-growing cities in developing countries for several reasons. First, the need for aggressive infill development to accommodate more people and jobs as well as to promote local economic development, necessitates conversion of existing green spaces into built-up areas, especially in core cities. Planners and elected officials often consider open, including green, spaces to be economically unproductive land uses as their economic benefits are difficult to measure and effectively communicate to the electorate. Consequently, political motivation to invest in public open spaces is typically low (Byomkesh et al. Citation 2012 ; Mensah Citation 2014 ). The move towards greater densification under the rubric of new planning philosophies such as new urbanism and smart growth is further threatening green spaces. Unfortunately, the extant literature does not offer much guidance on principles of green space planning in high-density built environments (Haaland and van den Bosch Citation 2015 ). Citizens and governments, however, are conducting many innovative urban experiments, e.g. community gardens including urban farms (De Bon et al. Citation 2010 ; Guitart et al. Citation 2012 ), green elements integrated with buildings (e.g. green roofs and walls), and public infrastructures (e.g. green belts along roads and light rail corridors), and the conversion of brownfield land into recreational greens (e.g. the High Line in New York).

Second, development controls on green spaces are absent or very weak in many developing country cities (Mensah Citation 2014 ). Even if controls exist, they are often poorly enforced. Fringe or peri-urban areas of expanding cities are generally outside the purview of the city or regional planning agencies; consequently, public open spaces including green areas are not preserved or planned systematically (Zérah Citation 2007 ).

Third, many studies, including one conducted in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, additionally highlight the issue of social and hence spatial inequality in access to green spaces, a phenomenon observed across the developing world (Wendel et al. Citation 2012 ). Specifically, desirable and safe green zones are often confined to relatively affluent neighborhoods, thereby contributing to disparities in public health and well-being.

UGS planning in India

Concerns regarding the loss of green cover in Indian cities have emerged over the last several years because of the declining environmental quality in Indian cities (e.g. Sundaram Citation 2011 ; Govindarajulu Citation 2014 ). Previous studies have underscored the importance of UGS and the need for expanding urban green cover in Indian cities (see, e.g. Chaturvedi et al. Citation 2013 ; Vailshery et al. Citation 2013 ). Although there are several recent national initiatives for effective forest and ecosystems protection, development and management in India (e.g. the National Green Tribunal Act 2010; National Action Plan for Climate Change 2008, etc.), only a few cities have crafted targeted bye-laws for urban green space preservation, upgrade, and maintenance (Imam and Banerjee Citation 2016 ).

National urban planning guidance documents such as the Ministry of Urban Development’s (MoUD) Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines (GoI Citation 2015b ) and other guidance documents such as the Urban Greening Guidelines ( Citation 2014 ) are useful for understanding the benefits of green spaces and principles of planning, but are not legally binding for city/regional planning agencies or government/private developers. The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) aims, in principle, to ‘increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well-maintained open spaces (e.g. parks)’ (GoI Citation 2015a ), but there are no performance measures or any monitoring/evaluation framework.

Given this context, our paper documents green space planning initiatives of selected cities under the transformative SCM, the largest and most ambitious urban (re)development program in the country. Since the projects under this mission will determine the built and natural environments of a hundred Indian cities, it is imperative for urban planning scholars to understand how green spaces have been conceptualized in the proposals, and consider the causes and urban implications of such plans in order to influence policy. Our paper contributes to that effort.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, in its election manifesto before the 2014 Indian general elections, had promised to build 100 new cities to improve the quality of life in rapidly urbanizing cities of India (BJP Citation 2014 ). After the party came to power, the SCM was formally launched on 25 June 2015 but with a new promise to upgrade existing cities into smart cities instead of building new smart cities (Hoelscher Citation 2016 ). The new government had budgeted ₹ 70.6 billion ($ 1.2 billion) during 2014–15 for smart city development over a period of 5 years, making it one of the largest urban development programmes in India. The state governments and the urban local bodies were expected to contribute a matching amount. The plans under the SCM are executed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), headed by a Chief Executive Officer, and includes state and local government nominees. The SPV is designed to encourage private participation and enjoys autonomy in preparing the smart city proposals and executing them either through joint ventures, subsidiaries or through public–private partnerships (Aijaz and Hoelscher Citation 2015 ).

The cities vying to receive funding under the Mission had to compete in a ‘City Challenge’ by submitting a proposal to the MoUD and the final selection of the 100 cities was to be made using a ranking mechanism developed by the Ministry (Praharaj et al. Citation 2018 ). So far, 20 winning proposals were accepted in the first round, 13 in the fast track round, 26 in round 2, 30 in round 3 and 9 in round 4, for a total of totaling the number of cities to 98 smart cities (GoI Citation 2016 ).

The SCM, while recognizing that there is no universally accepted definition of smart city, conceptualizes a smart city to comprise eight features of ‘comprehensive development’ (Government of India Citation 2016 : 7). The City Challenge proposal template that the MoUD provided to the competing cities further operationalizes these eight features identified in the SCM document by defining 24 specific features that are essential for a smart city. These features, among other things, include several related to environmental quality: e.g. air quality, water quality, sanitation, waste management, and, the one of the interest to us in this paper, open spaces. The cities, in their proposals, were expected to choose a specific region or area within their city for ‘smartening’ (called Area-based proposal), and develop some features across the entire city (called Pan-city proposal). In the Area-based proposal, for example, an ‘essential feature’ was an innovative use of open spaces and the competing cities were expected to explain how they plan to incorporate open spaces in the development of the chosen area within the city.

Thus, the SCM provides a broad framework that defines a smart city and allows the cities to interpret this framework in the context of the cities’ individual needs. It is this structure that provides us a context to examine how Indian cities conceptualize UGS in their urban development planning. Research on this new Mission is still emerging (e.g. Hoelscher Citation 2016 ; Praharaj et al. Citation 2018 ; Datta Citation 2018 ) with just a few studies examining the Mission systematically from the perspective of UGS (e.g. Anguluri and Narayanan Citation 2017 ).

We investigate our broad research question of how Indian cities conceptualize UGS in their planning by identifying a set of elements of UGS planning, drawing on the academic literature on the principles of UGS and Green Infrastructure (GI) planning.

UGS planning and public health

A vast amount of literature over the last few decades found a range of positive health and well-being benefits of green spaces (e.g. see Tzoulas et al. Citation 2007 ; Lee and Maheswaran Citation 2011 ; Van Den Berg et al. Citation 2015 , WHO Citation 2016 ). The extant literature also identifies a number of mechanisms through which UGS lead to health and wellbeing benefits. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO), which published a report in 2016 reviewing empirical evidence for the relationship between UGS and health, had identified several pathways through which UGS lead to health benefits. These include enhanced physical activity, greater social cohesion, engagement with nature and relaxation, and reduced exposure to heat and air pollution, among other pathways. These mechanisms also provide guidance for identifying important elements of UGS planning that could result in greater utilization of these spaces and in turn generate greater public health and wellbeing benefits. Among these, three key elements often cited in the literature are quantity, quality, and accessibility of green spaces (e.g. Shanahan et al. Citation 2015 ; WHO Citation 2016 ; Larson et al. Citation 2016 ).

Each of these elements of UGS – quality, quantity, and accessibility – that are relevant to realizing health benefits is measured using a wide range of indicators (Shanahan et al. Citation 2015 ). The quantity of green spaces could be measured as the amount of green spaces within a specific distance of a household (e.g. Maas et al. Citation 2006 ) or the percentage of green spaces within an urban spatial unit such as a neighborhood or a city (e.g. Larson et al. Citation 2016 ). Not surprisingly, the standards specified in urban planning practice are guided by similar measures. For example, WHO recommends a standard of nine square meter of green space per capita (Kuchelmeister Citation 1998 ). Further, according to more recent standards of WHO, ‘as a rule of thumb, urban residents should be able to access public green spaces of at least 0.5–1 hectare within 300 metres’ linear distance (around 5 minutes’ walk) of their homes’ (WHO Citation 2017 , p.12).

Accessibility is typically measured in terms of proximity, for example, as the distance to a green space or the percentage of population living within a specific distance from a green space of interest (WHO Citation 2016 ; Larson et al. Citation 2016 ). It is argued that accessibility has been a dominant design principle in UGS planning because of its grounding in the normative concerns of spatial equity, apart from the ease with which it can be measured (Lennon et al. Citation 2017 ). Research in Anglo-American context shows that the green spaces are distributed spatially to disproportionately benefit white and affluent population relative to others (Wolch et al. Citation 2014 ). Standards that require every household/neighborhood to have access to a green space within a particular distance are designed to ensure that all population groups have equal access to green spaces irrespective of their social status (WHO Citation 2017 ). Thus, accessibility includes both proximity to a green space and considerations for ensuring access to vulnerable and marginalized sections of the society.

The quality of green spaces is a more contested concept and does not easily lend itself to measurement (Lennon et al. Citation 2017 ), with variations across disciplines on how quality is measured (Taylor and Hochuli Citation 2017 ). Broadly, it appears that quality is conceptualized as the characteristics of green spaces that make them attractive to users (e.g. Herzele and Wiedemann Citation 2003 for more discussion). For example, Zhang et al. ( Citation 2017 ) measure the quality of green space as public perception of six aspects of green spaces: facilities, amenities, natural features, incivilities, accessibility, and maintenance. However, the ambiguity surrounding quality makes it a difficult criterion for planning purposes. In our study, we do not use quality as an element also because the planning documents, which provide us the ‘data’ do not have the necessary information to assess the quality of planned UGS, however it is measured.

Emergence of green infrastructure principles in UGS planning

The emergence of the concept of GI during the 1990s has brought new insights to UGS planning. As Lennon and Scott ( Citation 2014 ) suggest, ‘ … in its focus on connectivity and multifunctionality, a GI approach reverses traditional planning practices, wherein attention is directed at the provision of single functions (e.g. drainage, conservation, recreation) in specific locations, with little interest shown to spatial, scalar and institutional integration’ (Lennon and Scott Citation 2014 , p. 574). Within UGS planning, this means that the GI literature shifts the concept of UGS from viewing it as an isolated green space providing cultural, environmental, and/or social benefits to the local population to conceptualizing UGS planning as designing and managing a set of interconnected green spaces delivering multiple functions. While the definitions of GI vary (Wright Citation 2011 ) depending on a variety of factors, including the discipline in which the concept is used (Lennon Citation 2015 ), two terms that are most frequently associated with principles of GI planning are multifunctionality and connectivity (e.g. Mell Citation 2008 ; Hansen and Pauleit Citation 2014 ; Lennon and Scott Citation 2014 ; Pauleit et al. Citation 2017 ).

Multifunctionality refers to the ability of green spaces (when designed appropriately) to provide multiple functions, leading to multiple benefits. The functions are broadly classified as social (e.g. mental and physical health benefits, spiritual and emotional well-being, social inclusion, community interaction, education, adding cultural identity to the city), ecological (e.g. climate control, biodiversity, flood water management, pollution control), and economic (e.g. land value increase, tourism, enhancing attractiveness of businesses) Footnote 2 (Mell Citation 2008 ; Hansen and Pauleit Citation 2014 ). Connectivity Footnote 3 is closely linked to multifunctionality within the GI literature and refers to the way in which multiple greenspace units are connected with each other to deliver UGS benefits, particularly in the realm of ecological benefits (Mell Citation 2008 ; Lennon and Scott Citation 2014 ).

Based on this review, our study selected four elements – quantity, accessibility, multifunctionality, and connectivity – to understand how UGS is conceptualized within India’s SCM. While there are other elements for consideration, these four are clearly the most widely accepted elements in the literature and as an exploratory study, examining these four elements in the context of SCM provides us with meaningful initial insights into our question. Furthermore, these elements are largely similar to the aspects of urban green form (i.e. quantity, quality, connectivity, accessibility) emphasized by Govindarajulu ( Citation 2014 ) in the Indian context.

We use a documentary review to address our research question. We first review the overarching document of the SCM (i.e. SCM Guidelines) and the supplementary documents, specifically a template provided by the Mission to cities interested in applying for funding. In the next step, we conduct a detailed review of the SCM plans of four randomly selected (successful) cities – Gwalior, Bhagalpur, Chandigarh, and Udaipur – to analyze how the cities operationalized the larger Mission’s vision into specific city plans with regards to UGS. We adopted random selection because we do not have a priori information on the dimensions on which the successful cities within the SCM would differ with regards to UGS planning. For example, it is not clear a priori if cities in one region of the country would be different in how they plan for green spaces relative to those in other regions. Or if cities with higher population would differ from those with lower population. Nevertheless, the four cities that we randomly selected do represent different types of cities. Chandigarh, for example, is one of the few planned cities in the country whereas Udaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations. And the four cities come from three distinct regions (Gwalior from central region, Udaipur and Chandigarh from northern region, and Bihar from eastern region) of the country.

In analyzing the documents we use the four elements of UGS planning that we chose based on our review: quality, accessibility, multifunctionality, and connectivity. We operationalize these four elements in the following manner in analyzing the documents.

Consistent with our understanding of this concept in the literature, we interpret any reference to the amount of green spaces under this category. For example, we examine if the documents we review mention the total area to be developed as green spaces or percentage of an urban spatial unit that constitutes green spaces or meeting recommended national or international standards for the quantity of green spaces.

Accessibility

Accessibility refers to both proximity in general to green spaces and accessibility considerations to specific population groups, such as children, senior citizens, disabled, and other marginalized groups (WHO Citation 2016 ; Larson et al. Citation 2016 ; Lennon et al. Citation 2017 ). We examine, for example, if the reviewed documents specify the proximity of households, neighborhoods, or communities to green spaces as a criterion in UGS planning within SCM. Similarly, we also look for a reference to specific population groups in terms of access to green spaces.

Multifunctionality

As our literature review shows, UGS have the potential to serve multiple functions – ecological, social, and economic (Mell Citation 2008 ; Hansen and Pauleit Citation 2014 ). In the documents we review, we examine which of these functions are invoked in reference to green spaces in SCM planning. For example, references to public health benefits, wellbeing, quality of life, and recreation would indicate considerations of social functions. Climate regulation, pollution reduction, ecological balance, and other such terms would indicate a reference to ecological functions. Finally, the reference to direct economic benefits of green spaces such as increasing revenues to tourism and attracting new businesses would indicate economic functions.

Connectivity

A key element in achieving multifunctionality to deliver multiple benefits, especially the ecological benefits, is connectivity across green spaces (Mell Citation 2008 ; Lennon and Scott Citation 2014 ). We focus on spatial connectivity (Lennon and Scott Citation 2014 ) and review the documents, for example, for any references to physically connecting various green spaces – newly planned or existing.

The first set of findings we present is based on the documentary review of the guidelines of SCM. In the subsection that follows, we present the findings of our analysis of the smart city plans of the four cities that we selected.

Conceptualization of UGS in SCM guidelines

Preserving and developing open spaces – parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces in order to enhance the quality of life of citizens, reduce the urban heat effects in Areas and generally promote eco-balance (SCM Guidelines, p: 7)

The first thing to note in this description is that it is not explicit that the ‘open spaces’ be ‘green’ although the types of open spaces mentioned – parks, playgrounds, and recreational spaces – could all potentially be green spaces. More importantly though this description implicitly acknowledges the multifunctionality, though it does so rather vaguely. Reducing the urban heat island effect and promoting eco-balance could be interpreted as the ecological functions whereas the enhancement of the quality of life of citizens is more consistent with the social functions. The statement does not acknowledge the economic functions.

A Smart City has sufficient and usable public open spaces, many of which are green, that promote exercise and outdoor recreation for all age groups. Public open spaces of a range of sizes are dispersed throughout the City so all citizens can have access ( Government of India Citation 2016 , Smart City Template, p. 16)

The template thus makes it more explicit than the guidelines that most of the planned open spaces must be green spaces. This definition has a somewhat implicit reference to quantity in its suggestion that open spaces of a range of sizes be developed. This conceptualization also takes into account issues of accessibility by stating that the public spaces be ‘dispersed throughout the City’ so that ‘all citizens’ have access, with a special reference to all ‘age groups.’ Thus accessibility here potentially refers to both proximity and concern for access to different groups, although it is only restricted to age groups. With regards to multifunctionality, this definition recognizes only the social functions of green spaces, in the form of recreation and promoting exercise. There is no discussion of connectivity in this definition.

Table 1. Four scenarios for self-assessment by cities under ‘Open Spaces’ feature of SCM

An evaluation of these scenarios from the perspective of the four elements that we chose shows that: (i) quantity is invoked by references to the number of usable green spaces, (ii) accessibility is recognized as important, both in terms of proximity (‘10 minutes walking distance’ in Scenario 4) and access to vulnerable and marginalized groups, (iii) multifunctionality is again mostly limited to social function such as recreation and cultural identity, and (iv) connectivity does not receive any consideration.

Taken together, we find that the set of SCM guidelines, which provide a broad framework for cities to plan their open spaces, conceptualize green spaces rather narrowly, mostly as spaces that deliver social functions such as cultural identity, recreation, and space for physical activity. It is not surprising then that within this narrow conceptualization of UGS functions, spatial connectivity across green spaces does not receive any attention. Consistent with the more traditional UGS planning, accessibility concerns take the centre stage while quantity is also recognized as an important aspect of green space planning.

UGS considerations in the four city case studies

Table 2. summary of findings from four case studies based on the conceptual framework.

With regards to quantity, two cities – Gwalior and Chandigarh – provide detailed information, such as the number of open spaces under various categories (e.g. parks and playgrounds) and the corresponding area covered under each category; the other two cities have no quantitative information. Gwalior specifies a clear long-term target (10 sq.m. per person) for open space development and uses an established national standard (Government of India Citation 2015b ) as the benchmark. Udaipur vaguely refers to meeting ‘national and international standards’ while the other two cities do not invoke any national or international standards for the quantity of green spaces.

In terms of accessibility, none of the cities set a clear, quantitative target for providing access, although all the cities do mention access as an important criterion. In terms of social inclusion, some cities explicitly mention children and/or elderly as target groups for improving access while others use vague terms such as ‘inclusive zones’ and ‘equitable distribution,’ without operationalizing what constitutes ‘equitable’ and ‘inclusive’ and which groups are being targeted.

All the four cities typically view any form of open or green space to primarily meet the recreational needs of the citizens, thus predominantly focusing on the social function of green spaces as opposed to the ecological and economic functions. Bhagalpur and Chandigarh associate open spaces with public health, Gwalior with enhancing urban quality of life, and Udaipur views ‘clean and pollution-free environment’ as a benefit of developing open spaces. Only Chandigarh conceptualizes their green spaces to serve some ecological functions such as reducing urban heat island effects, ecological restoration of degraded lands, and protected green areas for species migration. None of the cities positions green spaces from the perspective of economic functions.

Consistent with the broader framework of SCM, spatial connectivity across green spaces does not find much discussion in the four city plans. Bhagalpur vaguely refers to ‘integrated open space network’ but does not discuss the nature of integration envisaged under the plan. Udaipur is relatively more explicit in articulating connectivity by proposing a plan to connect parks with each other and other green spaces as a connected network. The plan, however, does not indicate why such a networking of green spaces is important.

Given that the SCM template for cities developed a general set of open space planning criteria, applicable to all cities, what explains the heterogeneity across the cities we study? Within the sample of cities in our study, it appears that the centrality of open spaces in the cities’ larger smart city planning discourse varies. First, the planning process includes inputs from urban experts, city-elected officials, and citizens. Second, the smart city guidelines, while specifying 24 defining features of smart cities, allow cities to determine the relative importance they place on each of these features. For example, the guidelines describe four scenarios (baseline to advance) for each feature and the cities can choose the scenario they aspire to achieve, depending on the centrality accorded to any given feature. To the extent that the resources are limited, one would expect the cities to prioritize among the 24 defining features based on the preferences of their stakeholders.

Our study on the conceptualization of green spaces in one of the largest urban planning programmes in India – the SCM – shows, on the one hand, that open/green spaces are clearly recognized as one of the important features of smart urban development. In light of the declining trend of green spaces in Indian cities because of the developmental pressures (e.g. Govindarajulu Citation 2014 ), explicit recognition of green spaces as an important component of smart urban planning is an encouraging sign. However, neither the broader SCM framework nor our city case studies clearly specify targets for increasing the quantity of green spaces to meet national and international standards. We also find that the plans we studied recognize equitable access to green spaces as an important principle of planning, although most discussion is confined to different age groups (i.e. children and elderly) and not so much towards other vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Our analysis of the SCM shows, more importantly, that green spaces are still largely conceptualized as monofunctional, mainly useful for delivering recreational and physical health benefits. The lack of any substantive discussion of connectivity across planned green spaces within the Mission further reinforces the argument that the green spaces are not quite viewed as multifunctional Footnote 4 . This conceptualization in the SCM is more in alignment with the traditional UGS planning and lags global practice, which is increasingly moving towards the use of the concept of GI as the guiding approach to UGS planning. The GI concept provides an approach in which green spaces can be designed as a network of connected spaces to deliver multiple functions – ecological, social/cultural, and economic (Lennon Citation 2015 ). Our finding is consistent with other related studies, which find that the concept of GI is virtually absent in the spatial plans of Indian cities Footnote 5 (e.g. Kumar and Geneletti Citation 2015 ). This inability or unwillingness to recognize the multifunctional potential of UGS has significant implications for urban planning in India.

At the core of it, the inability to conceptualize UGS as multifunctional, delivering multiple benefits when designed appropriately, undervalues UGS in the planning process, leading to its under-provision. This study shows that none of the cities in our sample even discusses the potential economic benefits, which are more easily measurable than the ecological benefits of green spaces. Even Udaipur, which is a well-known tourist city, does not position the green spaces as having economic potential through increasing tourism. The inability of environmental planners to articulate the multifunctional nature of UGS will make it difficult to persuade policymakers to prioritize UGS over other developmental needs. For example, Lennon ( Citation 2015 ) shows in the case of Ireland that environmental planners found it difficult to find political support for green space development until they started associating these spaces with multifunctionality and introduced the term ‘infrastructure,’ which the policymakers associate with valuable investments. A stream of UGS literature is also now developing methods to place a monetary value on the multiple benefits of GI to generate greater support for GI (e.g. Vandermeulen et al. Citation 2011 ; Wilker and Rusche Citation 2014 ). Economic valuation is controversial, especially in valuing benefits such as regulating services; however, in the short run, conceptualizing UGS as multifunctional assets is perhaps critical for generating greater political support.

Another critical area where a multifunctional conceptualization of green spaces is important is in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Because of the failure of the global and national policies to effectively guide climate change mitigation actions, in many countries the policy action is shifting to local governments (Rosenzweig et al. Citation 2010 ). A strand of new research argues that UGS and more broadly GI must be an important component of the strategies to address climate change adaptation (e.g. Mell Citation 2009 ; Demuzere et al. Citation 2014 ; Sussams et al. Citation 2015 ; Matthews et al. Citation 2015 ) and is likely a cost-effective strategy in developing countries (Govindarajulu Citation 2014 ). In our analysis of UGS planning in the SCM, we find that reducing heat island effect, which is potentially a climate change adaptation action, is the only climate-related benefit of green spaces that receives any attention. We could not find any reference to climate change mitigation or adaptation in the discussion of green spaces. At a time when Indian cities are facing significant vulnerabilities from climate change (e.g. Kumar et al. Citation 2016 ), it would be a missed opportunity to not conceptualize and plan UGS more broadly to tackle climate change mitigation and adoption.

Even if multifunctionality is recognized, planning for multifunctional UGS is not necessarily straightforward. None of the pan-city development plans (i.e. the city scale plans) of the four cities that we analysed considers green space planning at a city-level scale. On the one hand, this is not surprising because there was no assessment of multifunctionality or connectivity even at a sub-city scale (i.e. in the area-based development plans). On the other hand, this may mean that assessment tools that enable more holistic planning process would be beneficial to planners. One such tool is strategic environmental assessment (SEA), which extends project-level assessment to plans, policies, and programmes (Fischer Citation 2007 ).

Rationale for SEA in the assessment of urban plans is well rooted in the Indian system as Environmental Assessment (EA) at project level (known as Environmental Impact Assessment or EIA) has been made mandatory in India since 1994 (Jha-Thakur Citation 2011 ). In the last 25 years since EIA has been practiced under the EIA Notification of 1994, there have been calls to introduce SEA in India and even made mandatory (e.g. see Erlewein Citation 2013 ; Rathi Citation 2017 ). Such a holistic assessment at a city-scale could help identify, for example, issues of spatial connectivity across green spaces to develop more multifunctional spaces. The mandatory citizen participation process introduced within the SCM may also prove beneficial in SEA, which requires stakeholder engagement in the assessment process as an important procedural step. The use of SEA would also be consistent with calls in the international literature to bring GI and ecosystem services thinking into the SEA process at the level of plans (e.g. Niemelä et al. Citation 2010 ). With such large-scale urban transformations being carried across emerging economies like India, incorporating environmental considerations at a regional scale will enable to consider associated pressing issues such as climate change and health and wellbeing (e.g. See Fischer et al. Citation 2010 ; Hetmanchuk Citation 2019 ). It should be noted that SEA has already been tried within Urban Planning in India (e.g. see Mukherjee and Rajvanshi Citation 2016 ), but integrating it with the SCM will further enable to create baseline data and accordingly monitor how the mission is delivering within urban planning in terms of sustainability or other specific environmental parameters such as climate change.

Because of the increasing pressure on limited resources, governments in rapidly urbanizing developing countries have to make difficult allocation decisions across several competing demands. In this context, the declining trends in green spaces, which can potentially deliver a wide range of social, ecological, and economic benefits, have been a concern. In this study, we analyze how Indian cities conceptualize and plan for UGS in the context of one of the largest urban planning initiatives, the SCM. Our main finding is that UGS are still largely conceptualized as monofunctional systems, potentially leading to under-provision. Our analysis suggests that future planning might benefit from shifting to GI thinking, which views green spaces as spatially connected multifunctional spaces capable of delivering a wide range of benefits, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, which is a highly salient issue in policy discourse. Such a conceptualization will help gain greater political support for UGS development. We recommend incorporating more holistic assessment tools such as SEA and the concept of ecosystem services in the planning process to design multifunctional green spaces to move towards urban sustainability in Indian cities.

Our study is an exploratory study in which we analyze the conceptualization of UGS in the broader SCM framework and examine how a set of four cities translate the broader framework to the level of a city plan. Our study makes a valuable contribution to a relatively thin extant literature that analyzes how environmental considerations are incorporated in city plans in developing countries. However, given the exploratory nature of this study, one should be cautious in generalizing our findings to either the entire SCM programme or the whole urban planning process in India. Future research should evaluate UGS in both SCM context and other similar planning programmes more holistically by looking at a larger set of cities and through the development of a more comprehensive framework for evaluation. Further research is also needed to explore how strategic assessment tools such as the SEA can be best integrated effectively with urban planning programmes and how existing EIA procedure can be effectively used in translating the SCM planning objectives to practice. Also, we have only analyzed the UGS as they are incorporated in the city plans but there could be significant differences in how the plans are translated to execution on the ground. As the plans are actually implemented in various cities, it will be interesting to examine how the cities translate the plans into physical reality.

1. The urban planning literature uses a variety of terms such as ‘urban open space,’ ‘urban green space,’ and ‘public open space’ to refer to green areas (Ignatieva et al. Citation 2011 ). Benton-Short et al. ( Citation 2017 ) contend that standardization of terminology is challenging and may not even be desirable. Because of this, in this paper, we use open spaces and green spaces interchangeably, recognizing that sometimes green spaces may also refer to only a subset of open spaces (Taylor and Hochuli Citation 2017 ).

2. There is some variation in terminology used in the literature for these three functions but they broadly refer to ecological, economic, and social functions. For example, Lovell & Taylor ( Citation 2013 ) use ecological, production, and cultural functions while Ahern ( Citation 2007 ) uses biotic, abiotic, and cultural functions.

3. Lennon and Scott ( Citation 2014 ) identifies three kinds of connectivity relevant within GI: spatial, scalar, and institutional. In our case, we use connectivity in the spatial sense, which refers to ‘a physically connected system across the landscape’ (Lennon and Scott Citation 2014 , p: 572).

4. This is somewhat surprising because Urban greening guidelines ( Citation 2014 ) of Indian government, which came prior to SCM, specifically mention: ‘Protecting green spaces in isolation will often fail to sustain the capacity of urban ecosystems to generate value and they have to be integrated in overall city landscape’ (Government of India Citation 2014 , p.3).

5. Mell ( Citation 2018 ) is an exception in which the author analyses the development plan of India’s western city of Ahmedabad and finds that the city’s plans, in spite of differences among various stakeholders, appear to be consistent with a GI approach.

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Green Spaces: An Invaluable Resource for Delivering Sustainable Urban Health

About the author, nathalie röbbel.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and climate change are two defining challenges of the twenty-first century, as each poses a significant threat to health and sustainable development. 1  NCDs, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental and neurological disorders, are currently responsible for 68 per cent of global mortality, 2  while climate change is projected to cause several hundred thousand deaths annually by 2030. 3  Risk factors for NCDs include exposure to air pollution and physical inactivity. Eighty-eight per cent of urban populations are exposed to levels of outdoor air pollution that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines, 4  and 3.7 million deaths globally were attributable to ambient air pollution in 2012. Furthermore, urbanization leads to changes in occupation and ways of life associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher automobile use. WHO attributes 3.2 million deaths annually to physical inactivity and 1.3 million to road traffic injuries. 5

These risk factors share some of the same origins and solutions as climate change, including in the energy and transportation sectors, 6  and are especially relevant as urbanization increases. Rapid urbanization and population growth are major contributors to both NCDs and climate change. Urban areas facilitate activity across multiple sectors in which interventions can be made. Thus, in addition to posing formidable challenges, urban areas offer great opportunities for positive and sustainable change.

The world recently acknowledged the importance of these issues with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by which Governments committed to ensuring progress across 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. Achieving progress on the NCD and climate change targets will depend on progress in many other priority areas and vice versa. Moving forward, it will be critical to choose interventions that aim at many targets and goals simultaneously in order to maximize impacts.

The role of parks, green spaces and waterways as urban health solutions

Parks, green spaces and waterways are important public spaces in most cities. They offer solutions to the effects of rapid, unsustainable urbanization on health and well-being. The social and economic benefits of urban green spaces are equally important, and should be viewed in the context of global issues such as climate change, as well as other priorities set out in the SDGs, including sustainable cities, public health and nature conservation.

Scientific literature describes various ways in which the natural environment can positively affect human health and well-being, as natural areas offer opportunities for physical activity, social contacts and stress reduction. 7  An increasing number of epidemiological studies have demonstrated various positive health effects of maintaining urban green spaces, including improved mental health and reduced depression; improved pregnancy outcomes; and lower rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, obesity and diabetes. 8

Disadvantaged groups tend to live in neighbourhoods with little available green space, while studies show that socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals tend to benefit most from improved access to urban greenery. Thus, reducing socioeconomic disparities in the availability of urban green spaces can help to reduce inequalities in health related to income, minority status, disability and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. 9

Increasing the number and quality of green spaces has the potential to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants that produce a strong global warming effect and contribute significantly to more than 7 million premature air-pollution related deaths annually. 10  Urban fountains, ponds, lakes and roof gardens also moderate temperature extremes and reduce the Urban Heat Island effect, resulting in energy savings and improved climate quality in cities. Air pollution contributes to rising temperatures and heat wave episodes, leading to increased rates of mortality from heart attacks or stroke as a result of heat stress, particularly in people with pre-existing NCDs. 11  For every tree strategically planted to provide shade, there could be a direct reduction of approximately 10 kg in carbon emissions from power plants through reduced demand for air conditioning. 12  In Europe alone, 400,000 premature deaths per year occur as a result of air pollution, at a cost of €330 billion to €940 billion. 13

In addition to the clear benefits of climate change mitigation and air pollution reduction, parks, green spaces and waterways help reduce exposure to a major risk factor for NCDs—physical inactivity—which causes 3.2 million deaths annually. 14  Parks and green spaces provide people with the opportunity to walk and cycle more often and engage in leisure-time physical activity. Therefore, investments in city parks, green spaces, and waterways are an effective and economical way to both promote health and mitigate climate change.

Intervention studies can help document the concrete gains in public health resulting from climate change mitigation. Cities should use this information to make decisions that will promote health, mitigate climate change and enhance the quality of life for residents. Key opportunities for health should be addressed in urban planning.

In addition, it is important to match evidence and data across sectors and promote integration of different evidence and indicators, using a Health in All Policies approach. The development and use of linked health and urban planning indicators for public spaces, transport and energy can support the adoption of key policies, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of urban interventions.

Integrating health perspectives into the many factors, disciplines and influences that shape city policies can drive cost-effective urban planning and related transport mitigation strategies. Urban and transport planning would benefit from the use of health and health-risk data for informed decision-making and priority-setting. Establishing processes through which policymakers can objectively evaluate the potential health-related impacts of an intervention before it is implemented will help ensure that solutions that advance health and climate change mitigation are found.

The health sector has a key role to play in guiding and supporting policies to protect the climate, and in promoting less polluted, healthy cities and green spaces. In addition to providing health-based guidance for air and water quality, as well as for transport and housing design, the health sector can also offer tools to support other areas, as well-tested instruments exist for assessing health impacts in transport and land-use policies. A critical element for shaping policy to promote urban health is the participation and empowerment of communities. It is important to integrate participatory processes in policymaking and implementation at both the national and local levels for effective governance to act on the social determinants of health.

Urban green areas offer great opportunities for positive change and the sustainable development of our cities. Public green spaces that are accessible for walking, cycling, playing and other outdoor activities can improve safe mobility and access to basic services for women, older adults and children, as well as low-income population groups, thus improving health equity. Incorporating public health priorities into public-space development provides such a co-benefit approach for urban areas. Taking a health-sensitive approach to green public-space planning offers the potential to achieve the greatest number of co-benefits.

The upcoming United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), to be held in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 to 20 October 2016, aims to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable urbanization through the adoption of a New Urban Agenda . Urban leaders can benefit from the support, credibility and local knowledge that health systems and actors can bring when recommending sustainable local policies as a measure for disease prevention and health promotion, as well as using health indicators to track progress.

Multisectoral collaboration among decision-making entities and the public will be critical, as no single ministry or Government can achieve climate goals alone. It is also important to integrate participatory processes in policymaking and implementation at both the national and local levels for effective governance to act on social determinants of health. Health perspectives can help shape city policies that drive cost-effective urban planning and related transport mitigation strategies.

This article builds on the results and reporting document for the Side Event “ Public Space: An Invaluable Resource to Deliver Sustainable Urban Health”, held during Thematic Meeting on Public Spaces in April 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, in preparation for Habitat III. The following authors contributed to the above-mentioned report: Jessica Beagley of the NCD Alliance; Kristie Daniel of the HealthBridge Foundation of Canada; Nathalie R ö bbel; and Florian Lorenz of Smarter Than Car. The article also acknowledges research on green spaces and health conducted at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. 15

1 NCD Alliance and Global Climate and Heath Alliance , NCDs and Climate Change: Shared Opportunities for Action (2016).  Available from

https://ncdalliance.org/sites/default/files/resource_files/NCDs_%26_ClimateChange_EN.pdf .

2 World Health Organization, “Global Health Estimates 2014 Summary Tables: DALY by Cause, Age and Sex 2000-2012”, Workbook (Geneva, 2014). Available from http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GHE_DALY_Global_2000_2012.xls .

3 World Health Organization, “Climate change and health”, Fact Sheet, No. 266, Reviewed June 2016. Available from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/ .

4 World Health Organization, Air Quality Guidelines: Global update 2005. Particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide (Copenhagen, 2006). Available from http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/78638/E90038.pdf?ua=1 .

5 World Health Organization, “Road traffic injuries”, Fact Sheet, No. 358, Reviewed September 2016. Available from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs358/en/ .

6 NCD Alliance and Global Climate and Heath Alliance, NCDs and Climate Change , p. 4.

7 Terry Hartig and others, “Nature and health”, Annual Review of Public Health ,

vol. 35, (March 2014), pp. 207-228.

8 Sjerp de Vries, “Nearby nature and human health: looking at mechanisms and their implications”, in Innovative Approaches to Researching Landscape and  Health: Open Space: People Space 2 , Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter Aspinall and Simon Bell, eds. (Abingdon, New York, Routledge, 2010), pp. 77-96; Mireia Gascon and others, “Residential green spaces and mortality: a systematic review”, Environment International , vol. 86 (January 2016), pp. 60-67; Takemi Sugiyama and others, “Associations of neighbourhood greenness with physical and mental health: do walking, social coherence and local social interaction explain the relationships?”, Research report,  Journal of Epidemiology and  Community Health , vol. 62, No. 5 (2008), pp. e 9; Mathew White and others, “Would you be happier living in a greener urban area? A fixed-effects analysis of panel data” Psychological Science , vol. 24, No. 6 (June 2013), pp. 920-928; Kate Lachowycz and Andy Peter Jones, “Greenspace and obesity: a systematic review of the evidence”, Obesity Reviews , vol. 12 (February 2011), pp. e183-e189; Paul J. Villeneuve and others, “A cohort study relating urban green space with mortality in Ontario, Canada”, Environmental Research , vol. 115 (May 2012), pp. 51-58.

9 Jessica Allen and Reuben Balfour, “Natural solutions for tackling health inequalities”, Report (London, UCL Institute of Health Equity, 2014). Available from http://www.instituteofhealthequity.org/projects/natural-solutions-to-tackling-health-inequalities .

10 World Health Organization, Reducing global health risks through mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants , Scoping report for policymakers (Geneva, 2015). Available from http://www.who.int/phe/publications/climate-reducing-health-risks/en/ .

11 Glen P. Kenny and others, “Heat stress in older individuals and patients with common chronic diseases”, Canadian Medical Association Journal , vol. 182, No.10 (July 2010), pp. 1053-1060.

12 Hashem Akbari , “Shade trees reduce building energy use and CO 2 emissions from power plants”, Environmental Pollution , vol. 116 (2002), Supplement 1, pp. S119-126. Available from http://webmail.seedengr.com/documents/Shade%20trees%20reduce%20building%20energy%20use%20and%20CO2%20emissions%20from%20power%20plants.pdf .

13 Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment, “If you think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath while counting your money”, Speech, Launch of the European Economic Area (EEA) Report on Air Quality 2013, Brussels, 15 October 2013. Available from http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-822_en.htm .

14 World Health Organization, Global Health Risks: Mortality and Burden of Disease Attributable to Selected Major Risks (Geneva, 2009). Available from http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_full.pdf .    

15 World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Urban Green Spaces and Health (Copenhagen, (forthcoming)). 

The UN Chronicle  is not an official record. It is privileged to host senior United Nations officials as well as distinguished contributors from outside the United Nations system whose views are not necessarily those of the United Nations. Similarly, the boundaries and names shown, and the designations used, in maps or articles do not necessarily imply endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

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Urban Strategies for Resilience and Livability: Public Spaces in New York City

16 Pages Posted: 20 Sep 2024

Marichela Sepe

Sapienza University of Rome

The concepts of resilience and livability are increasingly relevant in urban planning, particularly in dense cities like New York, where climate change poses significant threats. This study explores the strategies implemented in New York City to enhance resilience and improve livability through public space development. New York’s public spaces, including waterfronts, elevated parks, and multifunctional urban parks, are key elements in addressing environmental challenges such as sea-level rise, storm surges, and the urban heat island effect. The revitalization of Hudson River Park demonstrates how urban green spaces can integrate natural flood defenses and support biodiversity while remaining functional and accessible. The High Line, an elevated park, highlights the potential for reusing industrial infrastructure to create adaptive, vibrant public spaces, though it faces challenges such as overcrowding and heat exposure. Bryant Park, located in Midtown Manhattan, offers insights into managing smaller urban parks that accommodate diverse uses and heavy foot traffic while mitigating the effects of heat and overcrowding. All three case studies emphasize the importance of multi-risk analysis, public-private partnerships, and sustainable management practices in ensuring the resilience and continued usability of public spaces. These findings underscore the critical role of urban design in enhancing livability and resilience in cities as they face increasing environmental pressures.

Keywords: Resilience, Adaptation, Livability, Public Spaces, Urban Planning, Climate Adaptation

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Marichela Sepe (Contact Author)

Sapienza university of rome ( email ).

Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 Roma, 00185 Italy

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The Values and Shortcomings of Green Spaces in Urban Environments

2020 marks Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary. In honor of my favorite place in San Francisco turning 150, this post will discuss the vast mental and physical health benefits urban green spaces provide for those who have access to them, as well as some of the inequalities inherent in urban green spaces. As the world’s population continues to increase drastically each year, and more people migrate to or are born in large cities, urban green spaces provide a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of daily urban living. The United Nations predicts that 68% of the global population will live in urban areas by 2050 (UN DESA, 2018). This continual growth of cities and urban sprawl may mean that in the near future, some people’s only access to “nature” will be in urban green spaces. Thus, understanding the benefits of these spaces will allow us to utilize them to their full potential. Urban green spaces can be defined as “those that make contributions to the ecological, aesthetic or public health needs of the urban environment” (Taylor & Hochuli, 2017, p. 31). They include parks, community gardens, hiking trails, sporting fields, and riparian areas such as streams and are highly beneficial both to cities that invest in them and the citizens who utilize them (Wolch, Byrne, and Newell, 2014). On a city level, they provide valuable ecosystem services, and for citizens, utilization of green spaces can lead to physical, mental, and social health benefits. Unfortunately, the many benefits of these spaces are not always evenly distributed amongst citizens. In many cities, access to urban green space is unequal along racial and socioeconomic lines. Urban green spaces have also been shown to lead to negative externalities on citizens, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status. They can raise property values and catalyze the process of gentrification (Banzhaf & McCormick, 2006; Wolch et al., 2014). When implementing new developments such as urban green spaces, cities should consider equity regarding access to and utilization of these spaces.

Evidence of the positive effects of green spaces regarding both the benefits they accrue to cities and to human physical, mental, and social health is well established. In terms of benefits to cities, scholars have found that urban green spaces provide valuable ecosystem services which can improve air quality, reduce pollution, sequester carbon, provide shade, noise reduction, erosion control, and water filtration, among others (Bolund & Hunhammar, 1999; Escobedo, Kroeger, & Wagner, 2011). All of these benefits make the implementation of green spaces attractive to city officials. However, it is important to note that these benefits are localized to the location of the green space and also vary depending on the type of green space present, therefore not benefiting all of the citizens in any given city equally (Escobedo, Kroeger, & Wagner, 2011). 

Physical health benefits from urban green spaces are often a result of residents spending more time interacting with the outdoors and engaging in recreational activities like biking, running, or going on nature walks (Groenewegen, Van den Berg, De Vries, & Verheij, 2006). These benefits are not inherent to the green spaces themselves as people must apply themselves and have the access and desire to partake in these activities. Furthermore, these benefits are directly related to how much time is spent in these spaces and who is able to access them (Groenewegen et al., 2006). Social health benefits can also result from access to green space. Green spaces may serve as a meeting space, which leads to stronger social ties and social cohesion within a community (ibid.). In a study on attitudes towards green spaces in England, it was found that interviewees believed that when available to everyone, green space can serve to break down social barriers in cities and bring people closer together (Bell, 2005). However, this posits that the space is available or accessible to everyone, which is not always the case. Urban green spaces have also been shown to produce mental health benefits for those that use them. Various studies have indicated that green spaces decrease stress, balance emotional states, and increase perceived levels of safety, among other benefits (Lee, & Maheswaran, 2011; Aerts, Honnay, & Van Nieuwenhuyse, 2018; Wood, Hooper, Foster, & Bull, 2017). Benefits can vary depending on the biodiversity present in the green space (Aerts, Honnay, & Van Nieuwenhuyse, 2018), the size of the green space, and also the proximity to households (Lee, & Maheswaran, 2011). This is indicative of a lack of access to certain groups, as some households are bound to be closer than others, and illustrates that the many benefits of green space in every city will be distributed differently according to the number and size of green spaces as well as which groups live in the households in closest proximity.

Although green spaces provide great benefits to cities and the citizens that use them, access to these spaces and their benefits are not equally distributed. Furthermore, there are unintended consequences the creation of these spaces can have on certain communities in cities. Access to green spaces is an environmental justice issue, as minority communities and those of lower socioeconomic status have the most limited access and are most negatively affected by their creation. A case study in Atlanta, Georgia found that socioeconomically depressed groups had a lack of access to the city’s green spaces (Dai, 2011). Even among inner-city residents, those who were wealthier had the option to drive to a public green space or pay for membership to a private one such as a golf course, highlighting the disparity (ibid.). These findings are supported by another study of the distribution of parks in the Los Angeles area which indicated the existence of an “inequitable distribution [of parks] that disproportionately impacts poor people of color” (Sister, Wolch, & Wilson, 2010). This was due to high retail prices of homes near parks as well as additional factors such as lack of private backyards or access to only unsafe parks (ibid.). A study of residential housing prices in relation to green space found that, in most cases, the closer a property was to a public green space, the higher the cost would be ( McCord et al., 2014 ). This illustrates a factor that may have a strong influence on access to green spaces in that the closer and more easily accessible these spaces are, the less affordable it is to live near them. The cleaning up and conversion of locally unwanted land use or brownfields to urban green spaces also increase nearby property values and create areas that are prone to gentrification, putting pressure on minority or low-income neighborhoods. However, this is not to say that green spaces are always harmful to low income or minority communities. There is also a focus on how “collaborations between local government and disparate community groups, and a willingness of local stakeholders to contest powerful real estate interests and mainstream environmental advocates” can lead to a delicate but successful balance between green spaces and gentrification (Wolch et al., 2014, p. 241). Although gentrification can result from urban green space, it is not an inevitability. By making neighborhoods “just green enough,” cities can utilize green spaces to benefit citizens while also maintaining a level of equity in this process. This may mean cleaning up harmful environmental land uses without additional new developments that attract wealthier people and drive prices up (Curran & Hamilton, 2012).

Clearly, green spaces provide a great service and benefit to both the city which invests in them and the people who use them. However, it is important to acknowledge the harm done to communities by establishing these spaces and unequal access that can prevent those who need the benefits most from receiving them. Luckily, here in San Francisco, we have achieved a monumental goal of having all residents located within a 10-minute walk from the nearest green space (Trust for Public Land, 2019). Thus, no matter where in the city you are, you can access a green space, albeit of varying quality. When building sustainable cities for the future, green spaces play a vital role. However, it is necessary to acknowledge the shortcomings in current green spaces that cities like San Francisco are trying to address in order to make the benefits of these spaces available to all.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The importance of urban green spaces in the development of smart cities.

• 1 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia
• 2 Landscape Architecture Department, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In the era of modernization, urban green spaces (UGSs) are attracting increasing attention in smart city (SC) development. There is currently a paucity of UGSs, and their importance has become crucial in enhancing life expectancy and health. To meet people’s demands, scientists are busy designing smart cities under flagship programs for urban transformation. UGSs are relevant in the analysis and investigation of improved lifestyles. The scarcity of UGSs can have many social and physical impacts. The presence of UGSs in smart cities is proposed to improve residents’ lifestyles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents, officials and government experts to inform the development of UGSs further. The result of the surveys analyzed using the MAXQDA software, which presents the importance of SC and the residents’ satisfaction. The results show an urgent requirement for larger UGSs to enhance the security and economic opportunities within urban environments. The deployment of USGs is particularly relevant to fully enhancing residents’ lifestyles and health. The present research aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards to identify the scope of UGS initiatives in different parts of the city of Graz, Austria, and recommendations for improving the quality of future UGS planning is provided. The proposed research results conclude that UGS is a valid alternative to enhance air quality, with measurable and substantial air pollution changes even in space-constrained sites.

1 Introduction

Much of the population has moved toward cities in recent decades. In Europe and North America, currently, nearly two-thirds of the population resides in cities, and it is predicted that, by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities ( Appleyard, 2007 ; Arnstein, 2011 ; Chitewere et al., 2017 ; Pauleit et al., 2019 ; Bounoua et al., 2020 ). Urbanization is certainly one of the greatest changes that humanity has experienced. The city of Graz in Austria, with an approximate population of 330,000 is rapidly expanding. Its infrastructure and housing must mirror this trend, and significant building activity is underway in many parts of the city. Urban planners and developers aim to build a city that serves the residents, is interesting for visitors and maintains its status. Residents’ experience is particularly important, as they live in the city environment and contribute to its development, whereas tourists leave the city after a certain time ( Zimmer, 2010 ; Xu et al., 2018 ; Cortinovis et al., 2019 ). In addition to expanding housing options and infrastructure, the residents’ health, quality of life, and environmental aesthetics are important considerations when designing cities.

Healthy and happy city dwellers are at the core of city design. Therefore, it is much important in order to take steps to improve the health of local dwellers. As social beings, people need contact with others and opportunities for exchange and amicable interactions ( Moore, 2007 ; Hunter et al., 2014 ; Jänicke et al., 2015 ; Hoelscher et al., 2016 ; Wang et al., 2023 ). On the one hand, modern life limits these basic human needs. The city residents are now becoming more isolated and spending noisy and hectic lives. The tendency towards private living measures, jobs in isolated offices and the increasing fame of coaches as the main means of conveyance contribute to this segregation. Phenomena such as high traffic load, noise, deprived air quality, the temperature rises, and violence are more public in cities than in rural areas ( Jennings et al., 2012 ; Kallio et al., 2016 ; Besir and Cuce, 2018 ; Antón et al., 2022 ; Rehman et al., 2022 ; Rehman and Holy, 2022 ). On the other hand, cities deal with many buildings that brand life easier than life in the countryside—the reason of cities expansion.

Jobs in dense offices, infrastructure, and freedom activities are in high demand. Therefore, cities that facilitate first-class lifestyles undergo high annual resident development, attracting more competent workers, students, companies and tourists. Public green spaces play a significant role in city design, counteracting its isolating aspects. An important form of public space in any urban environment is the green space, and urban densification risks the limiting of such spaces ( Kaplan, 1995 ; Braveman, 2003 ; Leminen et al., 2012 ; Lottrup et al., 2015 ; Rudnicka et al., 2020 ). Green spaces are essential components of a livable city because they pro-vide healthier environments and diverse advantages for urban residents. According to numerous studies, people who live near usable greenery are happier and healthier than those who do not ( Lyytimaki and Sipila, 2009 ; Wolch et al., 2014 ; Bounoua et al., 2020 ; Mudau et al., 2020 ), as such spaces are the flawless atmosphere in which to take a break from the stress of everyday life.

The greening of cities is an important strategy in the context of ongoing climate change, and living sustainability is increasingly part of modern lifestyles ( Hwang et al., 2020 ; Van et al., 2020 ; Hou and Wu, 2021 ; Cai et al., 2023 ). In Graz, the topic of greenery and vegetation has risen to prominence through the controversy surrounding the Mur power plant, Augarten Bay and the poor air quality in recent years. Demonstrations and other events have increased awareness about these issues, attracting more interest as young residents take to the streets to fight for a better environment. The myriad benefits of urban green space are relevant to all these situations. Although Graz has a comparatively great density of green spaces related to other European cities, such spaces are distributed unevenly. Some of the remote districts and commudities have large green belts, and the more prosperous inner neighbourhoods, with large number of green spaces due to the presence of the densely vegetated inner courtyards of the Wilhelminian-style buildings ( Maas, 2006 ; Besir and Cuce, 2018 ; Sugiyama et al., 2018 ). To focus of the proposed research work is the urban development and the investigation of few research questions. The main objective of the proposed work is to examine these research questions. The research work is contributed in the form of these two questions, which are given as;

1. How do residents exploit and evaluate the urban green spaces (UGS) in Graz and in the city oasis of the green laboratory (GL)?

2. What is the significant role of the GL in analyzing the UGS and how important the UGS in enhancing the living style (i.e., improving the quality of life) in the development of smart city (SC)?

Herein, we consider how these questions affect the quality of life and health concerning the literature, as well as how green space is anchored in the instruments of the city and the social sustainability of green spaces. We also examine some selected controversies concerning the city’s greenness using a methodological approach centred around semi-structured interviews and accounting for the selection of the investigation area. The empirical part of this work describes the investigation area—the Graz SC—and its construction sites and expansion areas, in which the interviews were also conducted. We also discuss the company StadtLABOR and its project of the green laboratory, in which this research was conducted. Herein, we report the results of citizen and expert interviews, interpreted in the Results section. Furthermore, we present recommendations for the construction of high-quality green spaces. In the Conclusion section, we answer the two research questions above, reflecting on the methodology and outlining possible directions for future research.

2 Background

The potential for the development and promotion of green space is considerable. Many users spend time in parks standing, sitting or lying down. The further development of green axes along roads or bodies of water offers considerable potential to encourage activity and positively contribute to the climate and positive image development ( Chen et al., 2023 ; Grigoletto et al., 2023 ).

Nonetheless, the SC concept has received considerable criticism from citizens. Such construction projects do not arise in the short term but take over 10 years or more, with unavoidable periods during which the affected areas are unsightly and lacking in green space. Ten years is not a long time for a city, but for a resident living near a construction site for several years, health and wellbeing can be negatively impacted. Therefore, astute measures for the temporary use of wasteland are of particular value. Graz has offered subsidies for community gardens, roof and facade greening and the planting of urban trees, since April 2020, to increase the proportion of green space and create awareness among residents. Funding is available for the purchase or lease and the construction of green spaces, as well as for the materials needed for cultivating a green space. Eligible urban trees must be planted outside the Graz green belt on private property. In addition, there is a scheme under which a tree is made available for planting for each newborn baby in the city ( Farkas et al., 2023 ; Honey-Rosés and Zapata, 2023 ).

Every 5 years, Graz conducts a large-scale study on the quality of life of the city’s residents called “The City of My Life—Quality of Life Survey of the city of Graz”. This survey was most recently conducted in 2021. In addition to collecting ethnographic data, citizens were asked about 11 indicator groups: Local supply, health and service facilities, cost of living, housing situation, environmental quality, recreational value, security, work situation, traffic, education and childcare. The respondents were classified according to their residential district, with each district further subdivided, resulting in the creation of 46 survey zones.

2.1 Urban political ecology

Political ecology is the study of the effects of the political environment on the human and physical environment, focusing on political structures and power constellations, and offers a critical perspective on the interrelationship between nature and society. This discipline criticizes monocausal attempts to explain transformation processes or environmental crises. The principles of political ecology claim that a crisis does not result solely from natural or ecological processes (e.g., nature deterministic processes) but also from social processes. According to political ecology, environmental crises are also always strongly politically influenced ( Zimmer, 2010 ). In urban political ecology (UPE), it is noted that nature and society in cities may often be erroneously perceived as separate. In many research methodologies, a city is not seen as something natural but as a counterpart to nature ( Moore, 2007 ; Hoelscher et al., 2016 ; Xu et al., 2018 ; Cortinovis et al., 2019 ). UPE considers all urban processes interconnected with nature and culture or society; i.e., it considers them a hybrid system. The value of community is often rated higher than nature’s; however, these systems cannot be easily unravelled.

The social and natural environments in cities should be unified to guarantee the survival of both systems. Whereas towns require resources for consumption, a considerable waste reduction can provide more space for natural regeneration and development, conferring advantages for people and the environment. The concept of hybridity denies the justification for a city’s lack of natural spaces.

According to UPE, nature is not external to be understood as independent of human action and social structures. In the past, many natural disciplines have been ascribed a passive role—the context in which social action takes place—considering nature a resource inviting political action. However, cities are sociophysical constructs demonstrating the relevant qualities of this hybridity. The urban environment is often referred to in the literature as a cyborg: natural, social, technical and cultural. Transformational processes, therefore, include all these aspects ( Nesbitt et al., 2018 ; Schram-Bijkerk et al., 2018 ).

UPE critically examines the social causes of environmental problems in cities, as re-source scarcity can be an example of an ecological crisis. Access to and control over resources are often not fairly distributed, not due to environmental deficiencies such as a lack of natural resources or social processes, but as an expression of political power. Resource scarcity is therefore conceived as a result of the (politically influenced) unequal distribution of resources or of, overproduction or consumption patterns, or a combination thereof ( Maas, 2006 ; Sugiyama et al., 2018 ).

UPE aims to determine who benefits from changes and who loses, emphasizing the interactions between ecological, social and economic processes on several scales. The principles of UPE advocate for sustainability and democracy through a more even and inclusive distribution of social power structures. Therefore, a proper socioecological perspective on cities must always elucidate who wins and who pays and must disclose and question complex power constellations. With this background knowledge, the present study argues for more nature in the city in whatever form is most appropriate.

What makes cities worth living in and the importance of public spaces has been explored and answered from various perspectives over the centuries. Another interesting consideration is how the value of public spaces has been perceived differently over time, as well as the influence of social trends on this perception. Public space is understood not only as public squares or parks but also as streets, markets, playgrounds, community gardens, waterfront promenades and urban forests ( Manzoor et al., 2019 ).

2.2 Historical development of public and green space

Public spaces in European cities have undergone several changes in recent centuries. In the middle ages, cities were dirty, chaotic and noisy. Modern cities have their origins in the industrial age. Towards the end of the 18th century, the advent of mass production contributed significantly to the emergence of many industrial companies that created jobs in cities, resulting in an increasing number of streaming into urban spaces. Slum-like working-class neighbourhoods with high crime rates emerged, and many workers lived in tenements or barracks. Due to the high density of people and the poor hygiene standards, many diseases and epidemics (e.g., cholera) emerged. Urban supply and sewage systems, waste and gas supplies, and paved roads were gradually introduced, including a few developments designed to address sociopolitical grievances and combat diseases ( Sasatani et al., 2015 ; Liu et al., 2022 ; Zhao et al., 2022 ).

To fight against the hygienic deficits and as a reaction to the lack of recreation, parks were created on a grand scale in the 19th century for recreational purposes. The aim was to provide green areas and street furniture for citizens. Interestingly, the use of the Graz city park has changed. In the past, walking in the meadow was forbidden. Today, people play, picnic and practice sports in the meadows. UGSs have continued to serve as recreational spaces that promote wellbeing, even if this was not explicitly the dominant ideology ( Jennings et al., 2012 ; Jänicke et al., 2015 ; Kallio et al., 2016 ; Besir and Cuce, 2018 ; Antón et al., 2022 ).

In the 20th century, public life was often left out of planning ideologies. Common spaces, such as city or local squares, were considered necessary and functional; however, there were exceptions. Several residential cities were built in concentric arrangements around core city administrative functions. Therefore, the individual uses of gardens in the original plans were separated from the rest of the city plans. In the 21st century, there is a renewed emphasis on mixed functions ( Rehman et al., 2022 ; Rehman and Holy, 2022 ).

The years after the Second World War were marked by reconstruction and humanitarian living with abundant greenery was neglected during this time, reflecting the alienation of nature. Numerous trees were cut down in favour of building projects, individually centred traffic developments, and small watercourses were channelled and built over. Between 1950 and 1970, the car-friendly city became the dominant model, with the construction of density being abandoned. This process of suburbanization in times of economic prosperity came about primarily through the advent of the personal automobile, the desire for more privacy and greenery, and high housing prices in city centers. Large urban settlements were often left to the less affluent classes ( Kaplan, 1995 ; Braveman, 2003 ; Leminen et al., 2012 ; Lottrup et al., 2015 ).

Residents living on streets with only light traffic had more acquaintances within the neighbourhood. The onset of deindustrialization in the 1970s led to many vacancies in industrial cities and regions. Greening buildings, for example, have been around since the 1980s and have become topical again. Green roofs and facades were present in the 19th century but became more popular later. In the 1970s, an environmental movement emerged, intending to protect cities in Germany.

Today, living in cities is popular. The number and variety of jobs and improved lei-sure opportunities have allowed cities to flourish again. Such urbanization is desired and planned—in contrast to the period of industrialization. Therefore, public lounges, green spaces and leisure activities have been reunited and enjoy an elevated status in city and urban planning. The positive connection between urban greenery and the health of users of public spaces has also been confirmed. Easily accessible amenities contribute considerably to the modern quality of life. The active public life leads to a healthy, socially inter-active and thriving city. This understanding can also be explained by changing lifestyles, habits and, consequently, the changing needs of city dwellers, who influence the value and use of public spaces through their actions.

The change from predominantly manual, standing employment to predominantly seated office work has meant that people move much less than they used to. The predominance of the automobile as the main means of transportation, the development of escalators and elevators, and changing eating habits have also contributed to this phenomenon. In recent decades, this trend has led to diseases and a higher proportion of obese people. Therefore, conscious physical activity must compensate for the lack of daily exercise. Willpower and stamina are required for sports, gymnastics, jogging and home training. However, people often lack time, money or energy to engage in such activities several times a week. Health policies are therefore called upon to take measures to integrate exercise into everyday life. Infrastructural routes to work must be designed to be appealing so that more people can walk or cycle. Information campaigns should also be conducted to inform citizens about the benefits and opportunities of physical activity. Healthy and happy people are known to be more productive than unhappy, sedentary people. Creating spaces for leisure and exercise is the most effective way to achieve a human-friendly and environmentally-friendly city. Examples of such measures include widening sidewalks, the construction of easily passable coverings for cycle paths, open road crossings, street furniture, shady trees, sufficient lighting and a lack of spatial separation walls. Attractive and safe places, rest stops, cafés and parks should be offered to citizens.

2.3 Urban green as public space

Urban greenery is a defining element of cities and an important part of building culture. There is currently a consensus that green space improves the quality of life and increases the attractiveness of a city. Green space informs the design of large, medium-sized and small towns. It serves a variety of functions for a sustainable city. Integrated and sustainable urban development aims to strengthen UGSs and provide a range of ecosystem services (ES) so that people can utilize their benefits.

2.4 Climate effectiveness of green spaces

All vegetation types serve many climate-related functions, representing services offered by green space ecosystems. Ecosystem services are the contributions of ecosystems to climate and human wellbeing. Green space can increase air quality and humidity. Through the photosynthesis of foliage and rooting, plants absorb CO 2 from the air and remove particulate matter, exhaust gases and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) through the combination of the evaporation of water from land and water surfaces (evaporation) and the discharge of water through leaf openings (transpiration).

Another contribution of green spaces is that rainwater seeps into unsealed areas, which is important when weather conditions change. The denser the proportion of vegetation, the more rainwater can be absorbed, increasing evapotranspiration. Green spaces also improve water quality by removing pollutants and filtering heavy metals. Evapotranspiration can be conceived of as a passive cooling strategy, reducing cooling demand in buildings ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ), reducing the speed with which wind impacts building facades and filtering out pollutants. The temperature differences between green and non-green walls can reach double digits depending on the thickness of the substrate and the vegetation density, reducing the overall energy consumption of a building. Green spaces can also influence and somewhat dampen noise generation ( Hunter et al., 2014 ; Jänicke et al., 2015 ; Hoelscher et al., 2016 ; Besir and Cuce, 2018 ).

2.4.1 Climate planning

There is a need for green and open spaces, and it is pertinent to promote cli-mate-adapted green infrastructure in inner-city areas. New green spaces should be created, and existing open spaces should be preserved and networked with suburban areas. A large-scale expansion of green infrastructure is possible either on fallow land or in the course of new construction projects. Existing compact settlement structures should be maintained; however, the expansion of green space should not be endangered. Therefore, incorporating several small-scale green spaces into the housing stock is important.

Green areas with diverse vegetation structures (different plant species and varying altitude levels) provide the greatest cooling effects. In addition, large open spaces promote small-scale greening measures (facades, inner courtyards and rows of trees), especially given that such spaces can usually be implemented with little effort. Green and open spaces should be made available as parts of rainwater retention systems. During dry periods, such open spaces can stabilize the water balance and reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rain events. In this way, surface water can be drained off in a targeted manner. The selection and location of plants should increasingly consider that they may need to cope with changing temperatures. Equipment elements such as benches should be positioned according to weather conditions. For example, more covered seating is required in wetter areas than in mostly sunny areas. Shaded seating is also important. Road surfaces can be finished with gravel or crushed stone instead of asphalt so rainwater can escape and seep away ( Kaplan, 1995 ; Braveman, 2003 ; Leminen et al., 2012 ). The protection and expansion of green spaces are indirectly anchored in all the above mentioned principles.

2.4.2 Selected types of green space

Green infrastructure includes large parks, playgrounds and open meadows. However, many other types of green space can contribute to mitigating the effects of the urban concrete jungle, including roof and facade greening, individual trees or tree rings, road islands (front) gardens, forest areas, sports fields, green tram tracks, roadside greenery, urban gardening, parklets, agricultural land, urban recreation areas and green cemetery spaces.

2.4.2.1 Roof and facade greening

According to ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ), buildings account for around 40% of all energy consumption in Europe, and 36% of greenhouse gases come from building emissions. Therefore, greening buildings is one of the most sustainable methods for counteracting the heat stress of cities. Mainly industrial and commercial buildings have considerable potential for greening ( Hoelscher et al., 2016 ). An example is the roofs of large shopping centers. Such ecological measures serve not only greening purposes but also a contribution to the energetic optimization of the building (insulation and shading), the possibility for rainwater management, the extension of habitats for animals and insects and the improvement of indoor air quality ( Cai et al., 2023 ). Green surfaces can reduce the heating requirements of buildings by 10%–30%. In summer, the temperature difference between buildings with conventional and green roofs is up to 12°C ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ).

With the advent of the flat roof in the 20th century, the affinity for green roofs also in-creased. However, whether a roof is suitable for greening depends on the building statistics. The structure of a green roof consists of several components: drainage material to retain moisture, protective and filter layers, a root barrier, the substrate serving as a growth medium and vegetation (see Figure 1 ). A distinction is made between extensive and intensive green roofs. Less demanding and self-sustaining plants such as mosses, grasses or herbs are used for extensive greening of roofs. No human use is intended on such roofs, with greening serving as a protective layer for the roof to mitigate the effects of the climate. The floor structure is 60–200 mm, so it can be applied to more roofs than intensive greening.

FIGURE 1 . Elements of the soil structure for green roofs ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ).

Around 80% of green roofs in Germany are now extensively green ( Sasatani et al., 2015 ). Intensive roof greening can be carried out using plants of all kinds. Larger trees can grow on intensive green roofs, and paths can also be created so people can use the roof as a park. This type of green roof requires a more complex soil construction (150–400 mm) and considerable horticultural care and is therefore associated with significantly greater financial effort ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ).

Figure 2 shows a green facade wall at the GL in Graz, for which the watering is automatic and digitally controlled. Fleece is utilized as the substrate, and plants are inserted in the holes—in this case, lettuce, tomatoes and peppers. This type of facade greening needs detached watering approaches and more care, which is why this is the more expensive option with a larger selection of plants ( Hoelscher et al., 2016 ). Iron bars were attached only as a climbing aid, with the red balls at the ends of the bars serving as protection against injuries. However, they make the wall look even more interesting and colorful. Green walls can also be installed indoors and can be beneficial for health and affect the mood of building occupants ( Hoelscher et al., 2016 ).

FIGURE 2 . Façade greening in the GL.

2.4.2.2 Green tram tracks and Urban gardening

Urban gardening is a special form of UGS wherein local, organic food is grown by citizens. Such spaces allow participants to engage in physical activity and spend time in nature, reducing stress and increasing health benefits. Urban gardening can be implemented on the ground or in troughs, making such spaces unsealed areas that can cool the climate, retain rainwater and improve soil quality. The social component is especially important in urban gardening. By gardening with fellow human beings, participants can learn from each other and create something together. Therefore, urban gardening provides multiple advantages and can contribute to the goal of a socially sustainable city ( Schram-Bijkerk et al., 2018 ).

The initiators of urban gardening projects are mostly citizens who receive support from local political institutions. Such projects are often created in areas with a low market value, such as fallow areas or areas where construction will occur in the coming years. Thus, the projects are not always permanent facilities ( Schram-Bijkerk et al., 2018 ). Figure 3 shows the community garden at Donaukanal in Vienna, which had 35 members in 2020. In this case, the area was provided free of charge.

FIGURE 3 . Danube Canal community garden, Vienna.

2.5 Green and pollution-free smart city

In this section, we aim to highlight the importance of green spaces and contribute to the gaps in the relevant literature, considering the different aspects of green spaces in cities. From planning to evaluating the functions and opportunities to help shape green spaces, the findings provided herein provide a basic connection to the empirical investigation of the proposed work. The concept of a smart city is outlined in Figure 4 .

FIGURE 4 . Smart city design components.

2.5.1 Health-promoting properties of Urban greenery

In addition to numerous health-damaging burdens, cities also have many health-promoting resources that contribute to mental and physical health and social wellbeing. These resources include, among other things, a high density of health-related facilities such as sports clubs, doctors and hospitals, providing, for example, social support for families and neighbourhoods, a strong neighbourhood identity and free urban green spaces. The focus on the greening of cities has been particularly strong since the turn of the millennium and has now become a key practice for many municipalities.

The range of urban green and recreational areas significantly impacts city dwellers’ quality of life and health, in addition to the previously described climatological effects. Green infrastructure contributes to the city’s experience of nature, recreation and aesthetics. Regular physical activity can make one physically fit and improve one’s mental health. Green spaces encourage walking or cycling, thereby contributing to a reduction in CO emissions. Green spaces also encourage productive labour by stimulating mental vitality by promoting active recreation, and alleviating the stress of everyday life.

2.5.1.1 Mental wellbeing

People prefer open, natural spaces and interaction with the elements. Urban green spaces can allow city dwellers to come into contact with plants and re-treat to such places, which can counteract loneliness. Green spaces can offer peace and tranquillity. People who live near a park are less likely to suffer from stress than those who do not ( Zhao et al., 2022 ; Cai et al., 2023 ). Numerous studies have dealt with the connection between the mental health of individuals, people and companies and the frequency and type of use of green spaces and recreational facilities. The experience of landscapes can reduce stress, increase attention and concentration, and prevent anxiety and depression. Greening systems significantly impact residents’ health and a city’s aesthetics and real estate prices ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ).

Such spaces divide noise in cities into external and internal noise. External noise is caused by traffic, other people or machines. People constantly exposed to loud noises are likelier to suffer from high blood pressure, negative moods and stress. Greening systems installed outside and inside can counteract such effects ( Besir and Cuce, 2018 ).

2.5.1.2 Physical wellbeing

The physical wellbeing and health of citizens are essential factors in a livable city. Chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases are be-coming increasingly common, straining healthcare systems, with a considerable impact on the quality of life of those affected. Physical inactivity contributes to many of these dis-eases and should therefore be reduced. Cities can address these issues through targeted measures, thereby improving the general health of city dwellers. As recently as 30 years ago, a frequently cited study dealt with the recovery of people with restricted mobility who had recently undergone surgery for gallbladder removal. Patients with a green view from their hospital window recovered faster than those with a view of a brick wall. Patients with a green view stayed in the hospital for a shorter period and took fewer painkillers. Later, in a large-scale study of around 250,000 participants, Maas (2006) found that the proximity of green space positively impacts people’s health. In particular, green infra-structure positively impacts socioeconomically weaker groups where green space is much more intensively used.

Young and healthy people are often more active in parks and participate in more social activities than older or unhealthy people. Connections have been found be-tween green spaces near residential areas and the reduction of obesity in children and the increased mobility of older people. Hoelscher et al. (2016) reported that human health is markedly affected by heat stress in cities. Increased mortality in people over 65 has been found with a small increase in average daily temperature, and high temperatures can result in deteriorated sleep quality among city dwellers.

2.5.1.3 Social wellbeing

As places that are theoretically freely accessible to everyone, public green spaces can also positively affect the social wellbeing of city dwellers and neighbourly relations. Such spaces serve as meeting places for people of different backgrounds, ages and sexes. The facilities located and offered in parks, such as cafés, sports facilities, consumption-free places and activity spaces, are important sociospatial systems. The educational aspect al-so plays an important role in urban greenery. Practice-oriented actions can impart knowledge about local ecosystems or the variability of the local climate, resulting in a better understanding of the balance of ecosystems and the relationship between one’s actions and the ecosystem.

2.5.2 Green space design

An essential task of green space is to put human needs in the foreground. The more appealing or aesthetic the green space, the more often they are used. An area that is easily accessible, functional and aesthetically pleasing is socially successful, can promote social diversity so that no social group is excluded, and easily attract visitors. The needs of residents are met by green areas, which provide comfort and encourage relaxation, activity, exploration and fun. The criteria for successful green spaces include the number of square meters per resident and the fixed walking distances to or in the green space ( Zimmer, 2010 ; Chitewere et al., 2017 ; Pauleit et al., 2019 ; Bounoua et al., 2020 ).

Green spaces that do not yet have a fixed use or are still fallow land can be designed individually according to the needs of the residents. Such areas do not have to be designed as typical green spaces with lawns, benches and play equipment. Countless green space designs can be considered, with features such as urban gardening, insect hotels, beehives, public viewing areas, areas for barbecue events, food festivals, lectures, do-it-yourself workshops, exchange markets, fitness equipment and educational projects, among others, so that nature can be experienced with all the senses.

The approaches to the design of green space have constantly changed over the decades. Municipalities often set guidelines for the successful design of urban green spaces. However, these are often taken as a checklist to be worked through, which should not be the case. Each area has unique characteristics, making it conducive to particular design options for high-quality and attractive spaces for people and nature. The successful design of green spaces should involve comprehensive research and community consultation.

2.5.3 Fair distribution of green space in the city

Inner-city green space also fulfills an important sociopolitical function. However, it is rarely evenly distributed across the city. What are the causes of unequal distribution and underused green space? Who has access to the affected green space, and when? In theory, in today’s democratic societies, the public realm should be open and accessible to all citizens at all times. However, formal and informal codes of conduct and processes lead to de facto exclusion and discrimination. In the last 2 decades, social sustainability and, more precisely, unequal access to green space have been problems associated with environmental justice that have found their way into the public debate.

2.5.3.1 Social sustainability

A socially sustainable city is a space where all members of society are respected, and their integration, participation and equal access to public resources and services are guaranteed. Opportunities to contribute to social sustainability also consider these aspects, although they are not always fulfilled. Equal access to green spaces can be achieved by restricting socially exclusive processes. Therefore, public green spaces should be designed and maintained to optimize their functions and include as many members of society as possible ( Jänicke et al., 2015 ; Hoelscher et al., 2016 ).

Different patterns can be identified depending on the type of use—some parks tend to be more frequented by men, whereas others cater more to women. Studies have shown that women prefer to be in sheltered areas and engage in more communicative activities, whereas men use action-oriented spaces and occupy more space. In addition to gender, other factors such as ethnicity, age and socioeconomic status influence space appropriation. However, how residents use an area depends heavily on their personal preferences, experiences and current life situations.

2.5.3.2 Environmental justice

Large areas of greenery often characterize wealthier districts. In contrast, neighbourhoods with a predominantly low socioeconomic demographic have fewer or poorly preserved green spaces ( Jennings et al., 2012 ). This phenomenon can be attributed to various causes, which are usually historical, e.g., the park design philosophy, the evolution of land ownership over time, the history of leisure and recreation and the varying class ratios ( Wolch et al., 2014 ). Even today, access to green spaces often varies according to income, ethnicity, age, gender and physical or other impairments and is difficult to measure. Green spaces serve as a place of relaxation and social interaction, particularly for individuals from lower social classes. For people with low mobility or sparse monetary resources, urban green spaces provide free recreation and leisure infrastructure. Socially weaker individuals are more often at the mercy of limited financial means, poor education or a low social status. According to previous studies, such individuals frequently live on busy roads or near industrial plants because it is cheaper, in addition to living in smaller homes and apartments.

Urban political ecology also deals with questions of environmental justice. According to UPE, green spaces and their surrounding neighbourhoods are associated with capitalistic motives and a striving for growth, which come with the destruction of space and public goods. UPE conceptualizes green spaces as places where a struggle occurs concerning goods and services. Through the lens of UPE, power structures and inequalities can be un-covered and investigated concerning social and cultural norms in green spaces ( Nesbitt et al., 2018 ).

2.5.3.3 Green gentrification

The creation of new green spaces can lead to a paradox. On the one hand, new green spaces can and should improve the lives of residents, the attractiveness and environmental quality of the district and citizens’ health. On the other hand, developing green spaces can drive up property and rental prices, leading to gentrification. Land prices can make rents too expensive for the original residents of an area so that they must move to an-other part of the city with worse conditions. Such phenomena can occur even when the intention is to reduce inequality ( Wolch et al., 2014 ). To prevent such outcomes, care must be taken to compensate the existing residents, e.g., in social housing. New green spaces can further exacerbate inequalities and increase the gap between the rich and the poor.

2.5.4 Green space controversies

Despite the numerous benefits for city dwellers, green spaces can also be associated with certain problems and controversies. Some issues related to green space development have been discussed earlier in this paper, such as the unsatisfactory supply of urban regions with green spaces, the unequal distribution of green spaces across the city, a lack of security, a lack of multifunctional spaces, conflicts of use, economic speculation on proper-ties near parks and the lack of stakeholder engagement.

Parks can serve as meeting places and centers of communities when they are well-placed and established. Green spaces placed in well-mixed, heterogeneous neighbor-hoods are more likely to be used at various times. However, green spaces can also negatively affect neighbourhoods if poorly placed, e.g., at the end of a district with little activity or in homogeneous neighbourhoods. In such cases, green spaces can also at-tract criminal activities at off-peak times. Most inner-city parking areas are too small to form such a green wall, and strong segregation of neighbourhoods is not pronounced in the form of green spaces.

3 Materials and methods

A quantitative and qualitative analysis is conducted to assess the implementation of UGS. The implementation plan is shown in Figure 5 . 650 to 700 meetings were steered, of which 550 answers were documented. Attention was taken to contain a huge variety of questions from numerous people. The constraint was that the person who stayed the GL at least once had existed or functioned in the neighbourhood. The optimal of defendants took place on numerous paths instead. Residents were asked for interviews by appearing events in the GL. The visitors to the GL addressed who were willing to be interviewed. The Natur Werk Stadt (NWS) employees were present anyway and acquired the time to discuss. The interval of the interviews extended from seven to 45 min. This also depended comprehensively on the type of respondents. Few replied well outside what was requested, and others responded concisely. The employees of the NWS were able to get a diversity of appreciated information in the interviews gained concluded their work. More diminutive interviews were also directed at diverse places, such as talk to at a bus stop, the railway clearing and the green fields. This verified stimulating as most people entered the declined discussion. Few interviews ended with a span of three and 6 min and provided insight into their valuations of the prevailing green spaces but were not encompassed in the appraisal.

FIGURE 5 . Qualitative and quantitative analysis procedure.

The minimum size for a usable UGS is 300–400 m. Many green and forested areas are already on the outskirts of the green belt. The districts with predominantly Grün-der Zeit-style buildings have a high proportion of areas with high building density. However, green spaces in these areas are usually private or not accessible because they lie within courtyards. Therefore, they are climate-effective but only offer one recovery factor for a few people. The proportions are lower in Gries, Lend, and Jakomini, among other areas, where common inner courtyards are sealed. UGS safeguards have been implemented to protect areas from development, with several possible ways to create green space in Graz. The city can green or purchase open spaces from private individuals. The SC in the district of Lend, which is the focus of this work, is an example of a high-density area with considerable green space. Green spaces could be located in central locations connected to public transport, often in former industrial areas. Regarding city design, short distances between amenities and mixed-use neighbourhoods with living, working, shopping and recreation facilities are aspects to be emphasized.

3.1 Participation of citizens

Citizens often have little insight into the design and implementation of projects de-vised by urban planning officials in their city or district and are largely excluded from political decision-making processes. Can citizens, companies and interest groups help to directly shape their living environment and achieve more social sustainability through citizen participation? Citizen participation is often seen as a chore by administrators, economists and politicians, and it is often not fulfilled. The inclusion of city inhabitants can con-tribute considerably to current projects, as they are the ones who ultimately have to bear the consequences. The field of urban development can benefit from the knowledge and re-sources of as many different actors and disciplines as possible.

When designing green spaces or public spaces, citizens can offer decisive contributions to the further development of vacant areas, mobility issues and many other topics. All residents must be afforded freedom of expression, and their knowledge and ideas and solutions should be incorporated into public projects. The same applies to local companies. External impulses can change perspectives and are necessary to achieve social change, highlighting the importance of meaningful participatory processes.

3.2 Green laboratory–Test laboratory for urban greenery

The green laboratory (GL) was built to study the management of neighbourhood vicissitudes. The construction vessel was swapped by a new building, an “Urban Box.” NUSSMÜLLER architects planned this advanced, segmental, moveable wooden building. Project management has taken over the GBG building and the construction management of Graz GmbH. The project started in the spring of 2020 and will run for 3 years.

The crucial aim of the GL is the first-class provisional or succeeding use of the fallow property in the SC district formerly additional development. The five subgoals for the implementation of the GL are as follows;

i. An innovative demo building: The urban box will be greened on the roof and equipped with a façade, with the goals of a district garden, rainwater management, biodiversity, efficient energy supply and the use of renewable energy sources;

ii. The GL should be an open and easily accessible space where work, learning and exhibitions can take place, with a focus on the subject of urban greenery;

iii. The GL can serve as an initiator the development of other fallow lands. The urban box is one locally flexible possibility, with green infrastructure as a central climate change adaptation measure in cities to be learned, experienced and self-implemented;

iv. After the end of the project, the urban box can continue to be used at another location, i.e., transferred to another urban development area;

v. Further usage scenarios and use cases for the urban box are to be established.

The building comprises of a multifunctional room with a kitchen (36 m 2 ), an ante-room and a lavatory (around 10 m 2 ), comparable to the on-site ampule used by NWS. Given the unique use of this area, the terrain is comparatively gritty, consisting of Earth, numerous pieces of grit and some debris, so the soil is not suitable for implanting. A creative reactivation of the fallow area was achieved through district management and the resulting GL. Many different plant and vegetable types grow in the area, mainly from the NWS.

Together with the StadtLABOR team, options for the use of the GL include lectures, readings and film screenings on green topics; active use of the terrace with additional play equipment and seating options such as deckchairs to linger without being forced to consume; active involvement of citizens in the maintenance of green spaces and garden beds; international food festivals to integrate all nationalities residing in the district; sports camps; workshops; exchange markets; and much more. At the end of the interim period, the GL is scheduled to be transferred to another urban development area.

3.3 Urban greenery and neighborhood

The GL offers a place that is not a green space in the sense of a conventional park area, but has become a versatile area that is constantly developing through the collaboration of many different people and companies. Above all, when the weather is nice, many people enjoy the shared space. StadtLABOR runs for at least 2 days, represented by one or two employees each week, and five to seven people usually represent NWS. Interested people visit to find out more. Employees of the Science Tower often spend their lunch break at the GL or use the space to meet colleagues from the project consortium.

Most surveyed citizens knew of the GL because they lived in or worked in the district. Many neighbourhood residents who spend hours at the GL deserve special mention. These residents have planted and maintained many garden beds with various vegetables. The management and the district’s employees provided the gardens with fertile soil and planted them. The vegetables are harvested for personal use and given away. People who use the space for their lunch break enjoy the many types of plants away from everyday office life, highlighting the benefits of urban greenery, a creative space and living together amid construction sites.

However, other respondents felt that the space was uninviting due to the construction site atmosphere. There is still a lack of trees, green meadows and seating, and the GL mainly attracts people who want to work on the beds or search for information on greening. A construction site fence bounded the space and the street until August 2022, separating the containers of other construction sites in the rear area. These elements only allowed the GL to offer limited access for non-residents, despite appearing publicly accessible. However, these barriers were removed in August, and the sidewalk has since led directly through the garden of the GL, opening up the private atmosphere ( Figure 6 ).

FIGURE 6 . The new walkway through the GL.

The GL serves as a location for many events and campaigns. These events are very easy to access, after which the organizers or speakers are always available to answer questions from the public. Celebrations, joint lunches and neighbourhood walks have been offered, and crafted seed balls and natural cleaning products have been produced. Through the previously mentioned cooperation with the GiP Kindergarten in the Cool City, children’s reading events and seminars on various green or city-related topics have been hosted. Before the conversion, through cooperation with the EggenLend youth center, events were sometimes organized with the young people. These tested technical and social measures are regarded as models for similar positive projects in other districts or cities.

The efforts in the garden should be emphasized, such as insect hotels, smelling stations and small wooden sensory boxes (touch and smell). Furthermore, floor-feeling beds ( Figure 7 ) are created and filled with various materials such as sawdust, pine-cones, stones, etc., which visitors can feel with bare feet. The various green walls and façades, both indoors and outdoors, require a considerable amount of care. Still, they improve the overall appearance of the space and have a climate-regulating effect.

FIGURE 7 . Sensing beds in the Green Lab.

4 Results and discussion

4.1 challenges and need for action.

Awareness and the number of visitors to the GL are constantly increasing, but there is a need for action. Only a few people visit the space daily (apart from those working there). Events and social networks are already reaching many people; however, many in the neighborhood are still unaware of the GL, and few non-residents use the community garden.

As revealed in the interviews, a construction site fence acted as a large barrier, separating the GL from Waagner-Biro Strasse. This made the area appear private. StadtLABOR made a long effort to have this fence dismantled; however, this process was delayed for a long time due to various conditions and obstacles for everyone involved. This small example shows how various authorities and the projects they are interested in can be delayed. At the back of the property, a container from the construction site of the elementary school was found. This was removed, resulting in a large open area in the rear, as shown in Figure 8 . In the future, this area will be covered with sports fields built for the elementary school and the new middle school. Until then, multiple parties have an interest in the area. Parking areas interest some stakeholders, whereas others are interested in using the space as a recreation area for the community.

FIGURE 8 . GL top view.

Various activities or events could be launched to attract people other than only environmentally conscious people, even if urban and climate-related issues should remain the focus of the GL. Due to the nearby construction site, the GL is not yet an optimal play location for children. StadtLABOR sees itself as an initiator and driving force in the GL, with the goal of users organizing themselves and planning activities. The GL could also function as a workspace or a coworking space.

Another approach would be to provide people with more green space without too many specified uses. However, it must not be forgotten that this is an interim use of the space for a limited time, which should always be communicated to the local population, and media involvement should be avoided (personal interview, 4 October 2022).

4.2 Experiences from SC

A considerable amount of information on SCs was available at the time of writing this paper. Interviewees who live or work in the study area were briefly asked about the construction sites and the SC project. Some of the experiences and statements of the interviewees are summarized here. Smart cities such as the Science Tower in Graz usually have local peculiarities. However, the structure and application of smart cities are often similar throughout Europe. High quality of life is usually advertised in association with SCs, i.e., a car-free, resource-saving, energy-saving and architecturally appealing environment. SCs should feature short distances between amenities to achieve basic existential functions within one area, such as living, working, relaxing, re-source supply, waste disposal, education, living in a community and participating in traffic. Green spaces and public squares play an important role as consumption-free places.

Citizens are often excluded from planning and construction processes. Participatory processes often seem to lack motivation or resources. In the case of the Graz SC, a major potential problem is that the neighbourhood has a comparatively high percentage of people with a migration background or social or financial problems. Are their needs considered? These people are not sufficiently addressed in SC projects, even if subsidized housing is part of the project. It is uncertain whether they will participate in the smart forms of living and working or if there may even be a rift between them and new residents.

Interviewees suggest that non-profit and municipal projects should be prioritized in the SC. The Graz SC was not created as an exemplary international district, as evidenced by the assignment of street names. As few streets as possible within the new SC are re-named, and existing ones have been lengthened in order to promote integration with the surrounding area. Everything down to the garbage bins will be new in the SC, but integration will be a long-term goal.

It will be interesting to see whether sufficient space will be provided for green spaces, and such elements will be welcomed if time and financial constraints permit. The question also arises as to whether the SC area will quickly become more popular than a place of residence or a second center of Graz. The area still has a low density of public transport, gastronomy, local suppliers and leisure activities. Contrary to expectations, the residents of Waagner-Biro Strasse have become used to the noise of construction sites and vehicles being disturbed. Many interviewees expressed neutral to positive views towards the construction sites; otherwise, it was suggested nothing could happen (interviews 16, 19 July 2022). Most of the district’s surveyed residents reported that they like to live there. Other neighbourhood residents spoke of imminent parking problems and fear of less privacy when the park is created or the continuation of existing issues. Since the dog park on the southern construction site was closed, many dog owners have moved to other places. Since then, some have taken their pets on more private paths and housing estates or let their dogs run free (interviews 14, 18 July 2022).

Including a dog park within the SC could prevent conflicts. Other conflicts have arisen with the dormitory residents, who often socialize on the rooftop terrace late at night (interviews 14, 18 July 2022). Many youth center interviewees said they often receive information about events late. The youth center will soon have to move from its current location. However, during the interviews in July 2022, it was unclear where the center would be relocated. Some interviewees reported feeling at the bottom of the priority list regarding information (interviews 13, 18 July 2022). Even if a youth center is only a small proportion of the population in the district, it is nevertheless an important institution and a stakeholder as other residents. Involving small and large stakeholders alike is important even if, in many cases, it does not correspond to direct participation but rather to information.

4.3 Qualitative and quantitative analysis

In an interview, the nature conservation officer of the city of Graz stressed the influence of green space on the welfare of residents. About 10 ha of green space influences the microclimate; it emits enough oxygen to affect the neighboring residential areas positively. In particular, small-scale green spaces have ecological and psychological effects insofar as residents experience the seasons and feel secure. An identity with one’s living environment is promoted (personal interview, 27 September 2022).

Four respondents emphasized that having green space nearby was an important factor in their most recent apartment searches. Living near a green area is popular, which could explain the higher rents in areas with green spaces. Experts were asked whether creating new green space could increase surrounding apartments’ rent. However, in recent years, no prominent green space creation has significantly changed the residential area (personal correspondence, 26 September 2022). Rents inevitably increase when green space is created or improved, affecting investments in public spaces. However, rents do not increase immediately but increase when the tenants change. This phenomenon must be accepted, and the only alternative would be not to invest in green spaces, which is also impossible (personal interview, 4 October 2022). New buildings have a high proportion of green space. If they are on or near a nature reserve, this feature is emphasized in rental advertising material, which can result in increased rents. Thus, more affluent people can afford to rent such apartments. In contrast, economically disadvantaged people often have to live in areas where the proportion of green space is lower (personal interview, 27 September 2022).

In interviews with residents, respondents described differences in recreation activities in public green areas from those in private gardens. The relaxation factor associated with gardens is high, although they are associated with maintenance work. However, interviewees described a positive feeling associated with harvesting what they planted. Therefore, for social activities, most people visit parks. A combination of both can result in a high level of recovery. Time in the countryside should allow city dwellers to switch off from everyday stress and offer an opportunity for relaxation. Are the green spaces in Graz large enough and sufficiently equipped to accommodate users and offer them relaxation and an escape from the stress of the city?

Many survey respondents reported that the green spaces in the districts of Graz are too small to enable them to switch off. Larger roads are usually within earshot. Many respondents reported that there is always something to look at and observe, although there are only a few footpaths. Less-designed ecosystems with minimal human intervention, such as forest or meadow areas, although they can better their stability secure, offer fewer opportunities for activities, which could cause people to no longer use such spaces, making them counterproductive. A combination of green space with predetermined use and natural ecosystems seems to be an effective solution.

While the survey only provided a subjective assessment of health improvement from being outdoors, the intimation is that the green spaces alleviated respondents’ health issues arising from sleeping problems and difficulties concentrating in association with high temperatures when few natural cooling solutions were available. Interestingly, none of the respondents complained about poorly designed green spaces. However, they mentioned a lack of shade and seating options, indicating that some green spaces and elements still receive insufficient attention. Furthermore, compared with other districts, Lend received a poorer evaluation for several indicators, e.g., housing satisfaction. The Lend district shows the second lowest housing satisfaction level afterwards Gries ( Figure 9 ). A proportion of 41% of residents of von Lend reported that the quality of living has worsened in the last 5 years, whereas 39% reported no change.

FIGURE 9 . The satisfaction with and importance of the housing situation by district; the higher the value, the worse the satisfaction or the lesser the importance.

The environmental quality pointer was classified according to various parameters, e.g., air quality, noise, convenience, paraphernalia and sanitation of public areas. Regarding environmental quality, it was shows that there is crucial requirement to take action or more categories ( Figure 10 ). Action is urgently needed in Lend to address air quality; noise; apparatus in public and green places; and the hygiene of the public streets, squares, gardens and green fields.

FIGURE 10 . The satisfaction with and importance of environmental quality by district; the higher the value, the worse the satisfaction or the lesser the importance.

The frivolous and relaxation value indicator concerns the offer, superiority and convenience of leisure and recreational places, play area and dog parks, and sports amenities, as well as the overall quality and accessibility of these elements (see Figure 11 ). The survey responses for this item varied widely. However, residents’ satisfaction with this indicator in Lend was mid-range, indicating a greater need for action on the district’s outskirts. In Lend, it is observed to play a crucial role concerning the tools in public parks (e.g., illumination, seats and drinking fountains) and pedestrian access to recreational places. The choice of bludgeons and their actions are viewed absolutely.

FIGURE 11 . The satisfaction with and importance of recreation and leisure by district; the higher the value, the worse the satisfaction or the lesser the importance.

4.4 Recommendations for the construction of high-quality green spaces

After analyzing and discussing the literature and the interviews, the following recommendations are suggested for implementing changes in green spaces. The respondents generally favoured one high-quality green space that people could use.

i. It makes sense to have many small green spaces in a city instead of a few large ones to strive for. With playgrounds, seating and enough shade, they are chosen especially for use for a short duration. Where possible, these should be connected by green corridors.

ii. In addition to size, usability is an essential factor in green space planning, which can increase a park’s sustainability. Many people should feel attracted to and use the park; thus, there should be room for games, sports, and quiet places to talk and observe. There should be separate dog areas and places to consume something (e.g., café). Furthermore, climate planning is relevant because of rising temperatures.

iii. The areas should be planned attractively. Regarding aesthetics, many design elements can flow into high-quality green spaces, e.g., water areas, crossing paths, places with a view, various plants and flowers, and architecturally appealing features such as benches.

iv. Regarding the formative component of green spaces, information boards could be placed in parks, and maps, diagrams, or sensory courses could be established. Children could impart knowledge to adults in a playful way by providing information about different plant species, the history of the park, or tips for things to do in the area.

v. Green spaces must be within walking distance. This leads to an increased use of the same and can result in more time playing outdoors. Every town should have a small, available recreational space with-in 300–400 m.

vi. Exercise should be able to be integrated into everyday life, e.g., through attractive bike lanes. These and other similar actions should be pursued and continued, as they encourage people to be active. This action is considered very socially sustainable because of the varied and free access offered to everyone.

vii. Combining a usable green area at home and public parks can lead to a high recreation level. The greening can be directed at the place of residence to improve the microclimate and have a beautifying effect. Public parks are a priority from a social point of view.

viii. It is desirable that as many city dwellers as possible have a green space at home.

ix. Consequently, urban funding for private initiatives would expand, and these subsidies should also be better marketed and communicated.

x. When planning green spaces, people from the neighbourhood should be involved. Children are also important here. Not every neighbourhood is the same; therefore, different neighbourhoods require different equipment in the green space. The neighbourhood structure, above all, including the age structure, seems sensible here.

Finally, one can try out and implement more alternative ideas. The findings show that green spaces can bring people closer together and make public life more attractive.

5 Conclusion and future work

This objective of the research work is to evaluate which factors impact the use of UGS in the city regarding importance and satisfaction, as well as the health of city dwellers. This question was answered using the GL, as a case study. The literature research served primarily to answer the first two research questions related to the impact of urban greenery on humans and the environment. The following three research questions were predominantly addressed through qualitative interviews with residents and experts from Graz. The research questions posed at the beginning of this paper are now combined with knowledge from theory and empiricism to provide answers.

In Graz, small green spaces located near residential complexes are of central importance in addition to large recreation areas and parks. These spaces are easily accessible and equipped with the most necessary elements, such as play equipment and seating. For longer relaxation sessions, especially at weekends, residents often frequent green spaces on the outskirts or outside of the city to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. However, such visits require more time and, often, a vehicle. Strikingly, interviewed citizens identified a lack of creativity regarding different types of green spaces. This was reflected in their responses to which additional equipment and features they desired. This speaks to a rather monotonous green space design in Austria. A lack of pertinent examples indicates a need for action regarding the creative use of free space. Survey respondents did not identify noise as a central disruptive factor regarding their use of green space.

The construction site noise around the GL is not a major problem for residents. Many park users feel threatened by other people using illicit substances such as alcohol or drugs. This seems to be a central theme in Graz, leading to large green spaces being avoided. This problem should be solved with targeted social support measures on the part of the city. Dog ownership is the subject of numerous discussions. Setting up dog parks in green spaces seems to be the most affordable solution to this problem.

The test laboratory for roof and facade greening, as well as the district garden and the lounge areas on the site, are currently establishing themselves as a meeting place for the district. Awareness in the district still has to be greatly expanded, and various events are regularly hosted. The comfort of the users of a green area and their level of benefit in terms of health were difficult to measure. This may be achieved by recording the number of visitors compared to another period. In addition, a map could be generated to show where most users congregate. Subjective reports can also be used to measure users’ comfort and their contacts with other users.

The GL is a successful example of evaluating fallow land’s social and ecological aspects, as an appropriable space was created in which methods for improving the urban environment can be tested. The quality of stay and the environment were at least improved on a small scale. However, there is still a need for further adaptations to the space. The GL is socially sustainable, and the active use of the GL, as a test laboratory for green infrastructure can bring physical and social health benefits. Every individual theoretically has access to the GL, but this has not yet happened in practice, and awareness needs to be raised so that more people can use the space. Employees of the non-profit employment project NWS account for much of the usage. Owing to their presence and activities, the GL is always busy. The NWS employees report, however, that other non-project persons are not currently using the GL as a workspace or meeting place. A step forward in the design and furnishing of the outside area can be observed by regular passersby. The employees’ focused creativity could spark interest in other urban development areas, such as waste management, architecture or participation processes.

Visited by different people, the GL could increase community communication and reduce social conflicts. However, such developments need considerable time to establish a public profile. It would be desirable to achieve this within the runtime of the project. Forming a community that organizes and initiates events that will continue to exist even after the GL has been dismantled would also be highly desirable. The GL contributes positively to the interim use of the free spaces in the Waagner-Biro district, and its green surfaces positively influence the microclimate.

In the context of UPE, the GL can be seen as a link between natural, social and economic processes. As urban lots are condensed and increasingly built-up, work is being done to incorporate more nature into these new urban projects in the district and to stimulate new social processes, thereby strengthening the neighbourhood. According to UPE, nature is not independent of human action. Given the current knowledge of climate change, humans’ passive role in urban spaces is no longer plausible. The GL is an important example of a holistic, integrated system in Graz.

Finally, the question arises as to how funding can be increased for public spaces and activities, given their effects on the health of city dwellers. This focuses attention on the role of the public in the important task of shaping areas under their control to correspond to the broadest possible spectrum of people. People should be encouraged to participate in active endeavours. Therefore, teaching them how to incorporate exercise into their everyday lives is important. This can be achieved by making walking and cycling more attractive, designing appealing green spaces and squares or providing support for creating private green spaces. In the case of new residential buildings and municipal instruments such as development plans, land use plans, etc., a sufficient allocation of green space must be ensured. Multifunctional centers should be created where residents can easily get around without motorized private transportation. Healthy eating should also be promoted, e.g., through farmers’ markets. Socioeconomic inequalities should be balanced to the greatest extent possible, not least because they strongly impact health. Daily activities should be able to take place outdoors. This may require a partial redesign of green spaces. These offers should not be conceived of as forced happiness; they are practical and beneficial opportunities for city dwellers. Awareness can be created through various media. The greening and development of a city are not mutually exclusive and require compact structures interconnected by green space.

In the following paragraphs, we reflect on the methodological approach applied in the current research. Originally, the hope was to reach as many people as possible at the GL directly. However, fewer passersby visited the GL than expected, so interviewees had to be contacted at events.

Qualitative interviews are generally exploratory and identify the basic moods and opinions, which can later be critically examined. Owing to the mixed population structure in Lend, we aimed to include as many different people as possible in the survey population. However, this was not always possible. People from diverse demographic backgrounds and possibly holding different opinions and attitudes than those more environmentally conscious were more difficult to reach. To include such people, passersby in small green areas and bus stops in the district were spontaneously approached for a few days. Many were skeptical and unwilling to accept information about the interview process. Only about one-quarter of those approached publicly were willing to answer some questions. In several interviews, there were also language barriers on the part of the respondents. Most of these interviews were possible because they were not included in the evaluations. These interactions were nevertheless important to gather information about the basic mood of neighbourhood residents concerning the investigated indicators.

Almost all the interviews took place outdoors—many near Waagner-Biro Street. The audio recordings included street noise and the sounds of other people in the Green Lab, which made the transcription process difficult. However, as the interviews were transcribed immediately, the background noise did not result in any loss of information. In addition, it was necessary to perform the interviews on-site, as the location provided immediate impetus for discussion.

The numerous topics not explored in this work can be further investigated in future work. For example, it would be interesting to investigate further what might encourage city dwellers to use public and green spaces more. Furthermore, the topics investigated and assessed in this work will be re-examined after the completion of the SC area. Concerning the existing public green and open spaces, future work could examine how well they are used, whether they are multifunctional and promote activities and whether they improve neighbourhood relations. Furthermore, conflicts of use or unspoken access restrictions can be investigated. The methods applied in this work allowed for mainly subjective assessments. Therefore, it would be of particular interest to identify parameters with which the “success” of green spaces can be measured regarding objective improvements in health and quality of life. Urban green infrastructure is not the sole contributor to the happiness and health of city dwellers and the city’s environment, but it makes a significant contribution.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

AA contributed to conception and design of the study. AA organized the database. AA performed the statistical analysis. AA wrote the manuscript. AA contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.

The author extends his appreciation to the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through project number IF2/PSAU/2022/01/5000.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: urban green spaces, sustainable and resilient urbanisation, green infrastructure, climate change, smart cities, urban environmental sustainability

Citation: Addas A (2023) The importance of urban green spaces in the development of smart cities. Front. Environ. Sci. 11:1206372. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1206372

Received: 15 April 2023; Accepted: 18 May 2023; Published: 25 May 2023.

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Copyright © 2023 Addas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Abdullah Addas, [email protected]

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How important are urban green spaces for the environment and the well-being of city dwellers? Discuss the benefits and challenges of maintaining these spaces in growing cities.

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• biodiversity
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Some people think that parents should teach their children how to be good members of society. Others, however, believe that school is the best place to learn this. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

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The meliorization process of urban green spaces: Integrating landsense creation for sustainable development

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• Published: 17 September 2024
• Volume 34 , pages 1822–1840, ( 2024 )

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• Gaofeng Gong 1 ,
• Qinghai Guo 1 , 2 ,
• Botian Qiu 3 ,
• Lina Tang 4 ,
• Qizheng Mao 5 &
• Zhichao He 6  

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Urban green spaces play a crucial role in enhancing the well-being of urban residents and promoting sustainable urban development. However, optimizing the planning and management of urban green spaces to meet residents’ diverse needs and preferences poses a considerable challenge. This study addresses this challenge by employing a landsenses ecology approach, integrating residents’ perspectives into the planning and design of urban green spaces. Starting from human needs, a conceptual framework for the meliorization model of urban green spaces is constructed, grounded in the principles of landsense creation and incorporating a “design-simulation-management” process. Through this model, the mechanisms driving the meliorization process are explored. This study contributes to improving the meliorization process in landsenses ecology, while expanding the theoretical framework and methodology of landscape ecology. By emphasizing the dynamic interactions between land planning, construction, and residents’ experiences, this study provides valuable insights into the dynamic development of urban green spaces, facilitating the implementation of sustainable urban development strategies and practices.

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Gaofeng Gong & Qinghai Guo

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Qinghai Guo

School of Technology, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310018, China

Institute of Urban Environment, CAS, Xiamen, Fujian, 361021, China

School of Resources and Environment, Henan University of Economics and Law, Zhengzhou, 450046, China

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Author: Gong Gaofeng (1999–), Master, specialized in landscape planning and design. E-mail: [email protected]

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Gong, G., Guo, Q., Qiu, B. et al. The meliorization process of urban green spaces: Integrating landsense creation for sustainable development. J. Geogr. Sci. 34 , 1822–1840 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-024-2272-5

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Chattanooga awarded $6 million to focus on enhanced beautification, urban forestry in designated communities

The City of Chattanooga has been awarded a grant of $6 million from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for partnering with stakeholders in disadvantaged communities to grow and maintain urban forests, green space, and waterways. Using this grant, the city will be able to fund development and maintenance of trees, parks, and greenery over a five-year period and with no additional costs required from the city. The city will partner with UTC’s Interdisciplinary Geospatial Technology (IGT) Lab, green|spaces, and the Southeast Conservation Corps to fund new staff positions split between the city and our non-profit partners and to coordinate a community-driven effort to improve our urban environment, develop our green workforce, and raise public awareness of trees and their benefits.

“Chattanooga’s outdoors and natural beauty are among our city’s strongest assets, and this is a tremendous boon to the investments that the city and our local partners are already making to ensure that every neighborhood can share in the benefits of urban tree canopy cover,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly.

The grant, which totals more than $1 billion nationwide, was made available through the USDA Forest Service and granted to cities with the intention of being spent in traditionally- disadvantaged neighborhoods. The USDA’s Urban & Community Forestry Program was created to encourage cities to promote increased equitable access to urban tree canopy, which has an inherent and direct association on the environmental quality, economy, and health of people who live in these areas.

The City’s Urban Forestry team used data from a UTC tree canopy study and from the White House’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool to identify high-priority areas. Identified neighborhoods make up about seven out of nine districts of Chattanooga’s City Council. These neighborhoods will be the entire focus of this grant-funded project, meaning there will be no money required to be spent by the city. Detailed maps of census tract data can be found attached to this release.

“Our city staff work tirelessly to preserve the beauty that Chattanooga is known for, which we know is one of the top reasons people choose to visit the city and make it their new home,” said Chattanooga City Forester Pete Stewart. “This funding will allow us to continue and expand that work in a way that will make a real impact in neighborhoods that need it the most.”

Anna Mathis, Parks and Outdoor’s Natural Resources Manager, adds that “these efforts are designed to close disparities in tree canopy and correlated measures of ecosystem and public health, all while developing a workforce that will ensure the health of our urban ecosystem for years to come.”

The grant will be able to fund:

• An expanded tree inventory, urban forest management planning.
• Tree watering, young tree maintenance, and invasive removal in park areas.
• Enhancement of riparian zones.
• Remote sensing imagery acquisition and processing through UTC’s IGT Lab.
• Graduate student funding for environmental analysis.
• New urban forestry staff through The City Department of Parks and Outdoors to manage grant reporting, volunteer efforts, and contract work.
• New staff at green|spaces for community engagement, planting logistics, and organizing the volunteer-driven efforts.
• A specialized team through the Southeast Conservation Corps for chainsaw training and herbicide certification.
• A skilled crew focused on invasive, riparian, and planting work.
• Support for the Southeast Conservation Corps to direct crews and facilitate the process.

Once the grant period is over, green|spaces has committed to transforming the team created using this grant into a designed non-profit, where this work will continue. The city will re-evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of this grant on a yearly basis and as needed.

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Residents’ perceptions of urban greenspace in a shrinking city: ecosystem services and environmental justice.

1. Introduction

1.1. ecosystem services and disservices, 1.2. environmental justice, 1.3. need for study, 2.1. study setting, 2.2. participants, data collection, and analysis, 3.1. green benefits.

“It’s nice to have a space of land in an urban area where you have greenery to enjoy nature … I would like to have something’ that would benefit the community … you need something for the children, you need something for families. You can’t have a community without it, right?”

3.2. Green Costs

“… The worst vacant lot I have seen is actually a city-owned property behind me and I pretty much have … animals, dogs, possums, rats, all coming onto my place from that. Property is overgrown, it’s actually encroaching on my land … It really hurts the value of my land.”

“They [the city] don’t cut it [nearby vacant lot] properly. It looks a mess once that grass gets tall. The trash they put in the street. So from the dumping, the city don’t clean up, they just cut the grass and they don’t get up the grass …”

3.3. Injustice Issues

“Every now and then you might get a flare-up [shooting, armed robbery]… but that’s about the only thing that’s in this area right now … you have to go to that park just to play basketball or get on the swings and take the kids … that’s it.”

3.4. Changes in the Community

“Yeah, ok, well that’s all park area and that looks good. I’m not saying it doesn’t but I thought you were talking about what I’d like to see in this area. I want to see businesses. I want to see stores. I want to see stores so that the people who still live here won’t move out. And that other people want to move in again.”

4. Discussion

4.1. perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices, 4.2. environmental justice and equity, 4.3. green gentrification and urban planning, 4.4. limitations and future research, 5. conclusions, author contributions, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Wilhelm Stanis, S.; Piontek, E.; Xu, S.; Mallinak, A.; Nilon, C.; Hall, D.M. Residents’ Perceptions of Urban Greenspace in a Shrinking City: Ecosystem Services and Environmental Justice. Land 2024 , 13 , 1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101554

Wilhelm Stanis S, Piontek E, Xu S, Mallinak A, Nilon C, Hall DM. Residents’ Perceptions of Urban Greenspace in a Shrinking City: Ecosystem Services and Environmental Justice. Land . 2024; 13(10):1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101554

Wilhelm Stanis, Sonja, Emily Piontek, Shuangyu Xu, Andrew Mallinak, Charles Nilon, and Damon M. Hall. 2024. "Residents’ Perceptions of Urban Greenspace in a Shrinking City: Ecosystem Services and Environmental Justice" Land 13, no. 10: 1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101554

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