Land | Special Issue : Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management

Research

19 pages, 6258 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Street Greening in a Developed City: The Influence of COVID-19 and Socio-Economic Dynamics in Beijing

by Liu Cui, Hanwen Yang, Xiaoxu Heng, Ruiqi Song, Lunsai Wu and Yike Hu

Land 2025, 14(2), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14020238 - 23 Jan 2025

Viewed by 472

This study aims to investigate the spatial distribution and structural characteristics of urban greening in Beijing, focusing on three typologies: Single Tree (S-T), Tree–ush (T-B), and Tree–Bush–Grass (T-B-G). The analysis examines how socio-economic factors and the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced these structures across [...] Read more.

This study aims to investigate the spatial distribution and structural characteristics of urban greening in Beijing, focusing on three typologies: Single Tree (S-T), Tree–ush (T-B), and Tree–Bush–Grass (T-B-G). The analysis examines how socio-economic factors and the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced these structures across three time periods: pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic recovery. To achieve this, a deep learning-based approach utilizing the DeepLabV3+ neural network was applied to analyze the features extracted from Baidu Street View (BSV) images. This method enabled the precise quantification of the structural characteristics of urban greening. The findings indicate that greening structures are significantly influenced by commercial activity, population mobility, and economic conditions. During the pandemic, simpler forms like S-T proved more resilient due to their lower maintenance requirements, while complex systems such as T-B-G experienced reduced support. These results underscore the vulnerability of green infrastructure during economic strain and highlight the need for urban greening strategies that incorporate flexibility and resilience to adapt to changing socio-economic contexts while maintaining ecological and social benefits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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22 pages, 4874 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Moderating Effects of Park Accessibility and External Environment on Park Satisfaction in a Mountainous City

by Hong Wu, Cong Gong, Rui Wang, Xiaoyue Niu, Yu Cao, Changhao Cao and Changjuan Hu

Land 2025, 14(1), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14010077 - 3 Jan 2025

Viewed by 603

Abstract

Urban parks play a vital role in enhancing residents’ well-being, making it essential for decision-makers and designers to understand the factors influencing park satisfaction to improve park attributes. While existing studies primarily focus on internal park characteristics, this study investigates the diverse ways [...] Read more.

Urban parks play a vital role in enhancing residents’ well-being, making it essential for decision-makers and designers to understand the factors influencing park satisfaction to improve park attributes. While existing studies primarily focus on internal park characteristics, this study investigates the diverse ways that external environmental factors influence park satisfaction. Using moderated regression models, we examined six factors, i.e., the quality of neighborhood compound greenspaces, perceived home–park distance, walking difficulty, the convenience of coordinating other trips, external environmental quality, and perceived travel safety, in Chongqing, China. Based on an intercept survey of 301 residents, five factors significantly impacted park satisfaction. Notably, the quality of compound greenspaces and trip coordination convenience were critical determinants, showing large correlations with satisfaction. Enhancing environmental quality and travel safety along access routes is also crucial, as they directly enhance satisfaction and moderate the impacts of internal park quality. Reducing walking difficulties can encourage frequent park visits and strengthen the relationship between internal park quality and satisfaction. Interestingly, the perceived home–park distance had minimal impact, likely because the parks studied were in close proximity to participants’ homes. These findings highlight the importance of holistically considering both internal and external factors in urban park planning and design. Future research should explore additional external factors in diverse urban contexts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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19 pages, 2024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Perceptions and Attitudes of Residents Towards Urban Green Spaces in Emilia-Romagna (Italy)—A Case Study

by Zhengyang Xu, Teodoro Georgiadis, Letizia Cremonini, Sofia Marini and Stefania Toselli

Land 2025, 14(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14010013 - 25 Dec 2024

Viewed by 767

Abstract

Rapid urbanisation has highlighted the importance of urban green spaces (UGS) in promoting environmental sustainability and human wellbeing, yet the gap between urban planning practices and community preferences remains a significant challenge. This study investigated residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards UGS in a [...] Read more.

Rapid urbanisation has highlighted the importance of urban green spaces (UGS) in promoting environmental sustainability and human wellbeing, yet the gap between urban planning practices and community preferences remains a significant challenge. This study investigated residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards UGS in a neighbourhood of an Italian city (Quartiere Marconi, Imola), focusing on understanding both the strengths and limitations of existing public green spaces from users’ perspectives. Through a comprehensive questionnaire survey of 126 residents, we examined the associations between socio-demographic characteristics and four aspects of UGS utilisation: visiting purposes, barriers to visits, satisfaction levels, and suggestions for improvement. Chi-square tests were conducted to identify significant relationships. The results indicate that life stage, rather than scattered socio-demographic factors, plays a crucial role in shaping UGS perceptions and usage patterns. Particularly, the 31–45 and 46–60 age groups, characterised by family-caring and career responsibilities, showed distinct preferences for social activities, while individual users focused more on nature enjoyment. Although accessibility was generally sufficient, satisfaction levels varied significantly based on living arrangements, with families emphasising facility-related issues and individual users prioritising natural features. These findings suggest that successful UGS planning requires attention to both high-quality natural elements and user-oriented facilities to meet the diverse needs of different life stages. This study represents the preliminary phase of a project, which concerns the redevelopment of the area under study, in order to create a more inclusive and high-quality UGS, taking into account the needs of the resident population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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16 pages, 1712 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Behavioral Conflicts in Urban Greenway Recreation: A Case Study of the “Three Rivers and One Mountain” Greenway in Xi’an, China

by Xiaolu Yang, Jingyi Zhang, Yueyang Yu and Xiu-Juan Qiao

Land 2024, 13(7), 1097; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13071097 - 20 Jul 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1150

Abstract

The current greenway systems in China are relatively homogenous, whereas recreational groups and their needs are highly diverse. This discrepancy has resulted in increasingly severe behavioral conflicts during greenway recreation. However, scholarly research on behavioral conflicts in greenway recreational activities is lacking. Recreationists’ [...] Read more.

The current greenway systems in China are relatively homogenous, whereas recreational groups and their needs are highly diverse. This discrepancy has resulted in increasingly severe behavioral conflicts during greenway recreation. However, scholarly research on behavioral conflicts in greenway recreational activities is lacking. Recreationists’ perceptions of conflict negatively impact their evaluation of the recreational experience, thereby limiting the ecological and recreational benefits of greenways. Therefore, it is crucial to categorize these conflicts, understand their formation mechanisms, and identify influencing factors, so as to put forward targeted management strategies for greenway construction. This study selected urban segments of greenways along the Wei and Feng rivers in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. Field observation, semi-structured interviews, and NVivo 12 three-level coding were used to investigate and analyze the main types of behavioral conflicts perceived by various recreational groups on urban greenways and the factors influencing these perceptions. The results indicate that the primary types of behavioral conflicts are danger perception, space occupancy, environmental damage, and noise disturbance. Younger groups, highly educated individuals, local residents, and those with exercise as their primary recreational purpose are more likely to perceive conflicts. In addition, recreationists also focus on the completeness of greenway infrastructure, the richness of green landscapes, and the adequacy of behavior management. These findings can help greenway managers and planners understand the perception of recreational conflicts, enabling the formulation of targeted design strategies and management measures to mitigate these conflicts in urban greenway recreation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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25 pages, 19458 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Evaluating Urban Green Space Inequity to Promote Distributional Justice in Portland, Oregon

by Evan Elderbrock, Kory Russel, Yekang Ko, Elizabeth Budd, Lilah Gonen and Chris Enright

Land 2024, 13(6), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060720 - 21 May 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2901

Abstract

Access and exposure to urban green space—the combination of parks and vegetative cover in cities—are associated with various health benefits. As urban green space is often unequally distributed throughout cities, understanding how it is allocated across socio-demographic populations can help city planners and [...] Read more.

Access and exposure to urban green space—the combination of parks and vegetative cover in cities—are associated with various health benefits. As urban green space is often unequally distributed throughout cities, understanding how it is allocated across socio-demographic populations can help city planners and policy makers identify and address urban environmental justice and health equity issues. To our knowledge, no studies have yet combined assessments of park quality, park availability, and green cover to inform equitable urban green space planning. To this end, we developed a comprehensive methodology to identify urban green space inequities at the city scale and applied it in Portland, OR, USA. After auditing all public parks in Portland and gathering green cover data from publicly accessible repositories, we used a suite of statistical tests to evaluate distribution of parks and green cover across Census block groups, comprising race, ethnicity, income, and educational attainment characteristics. Right-of-way tree canopy cover was the most significant urban green space inequity identified in bivariate analysis (r_s = −0.73). Spatial autoregressive models identified that right-of-way, private, and overall tree canopy cover (Nagelkerke pseudo-R² = 0.66, 0.77, and 0.67, respectively) significantly decreased with the proportion of minoritized racial population and increased with median income. The results were then used to identify priority locations for specific urban green space investments. This research establishes a process to assess intra-urban green space inequities, as well as identify data-informed and spatially explicit planning priorities to promote health equity and environmental justice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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24 pages, 25057 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Participatory Design of Urban Green Spaces to Improve Residents’ Health

by Bram Oosterbroek, Joop de Kraker, Sandra Akkermans, Paola Esser and Pim Martens

Land 2024, 13(1), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010088 - 11 Jan 2024

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4756

Abstract

Urban green space (UGS) has important impacts on human health, but an integrated participatory approach to UGS design for improved residents’ health has been lacking to date. The aim of our study was to develop and evaluate such a novel approach to address [...] Read more.

Urban green space (UGS) has important impacts on human health, but an integrated participatory approach to UGS design for improved residents’ health has been lacking to date. The aim of our study was to develop and evaluate such a novel approach to address this gap. The approach was developed following guiding principles from the literature and tested with groups of children and elderly as participants in two neighborhoods of Maastricht (The Netherlands) with a low score in economic and health indicators. The novel aspects of the approach are the inclusion of both positive and negative health effects, the combination of resident self-assessment and model-based assessment of the health effects of UGS designs, and the use of maps to visualize UGS designs and health effects. The participant-generated UGS designs resulted in a considerable (up to fourfold) self-assessed increase in the use of the UGSs for meeting, stress reduction, and leisure-based physical activity as compared to the current situation. The model-assessed positive and negative health effects of the participant-generated UGS designs were limited: heat stress slightly decreased (by 0.1 °C), active transport slightly increased (by 30 m per day), and the perceived unsafety slightly increased (8%). The effects on unattractive views, air pollution, tick bite risk, and traffic unsafety were negligible. The major strength of this approach is that it combines active participation of residents in UGS (re)design with assessment of the health effects of these UGS designs. While in other participatory approaches to UGS design, it often remains unclear whether the resulting designs represent an improvement in terms of health, our combination of computer model-based assessment and a participatory process produced clear outcomes regarding the health benefits and use of UGS designs. A major recommendation for improvement is to involve decision makers already in the initial steps of the approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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31 pages, 7346 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolution Pattern and Spatial Mismatch of Urban Greenspace and Its Impact Mechanism: Evidence from Parkland of Hunan Province

by Zhipeng Xing, Sidong Zhao and Kerun Li

Land 2023, 12(11), 2071; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112071 - 17 Nov 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1930

Abstract

Planners need to fully understand the quantity of land supply and its matching relationship with population demand, as these are prerequisites for urban greenspace planning. Most papers have focused on single cities and parks, with little attention paid to comparative analysis between multiple [...] Read more.

Planners need to fully understand the quantity of land supply and its matching relationship with population demand, as these are prerequisites for urban greenspace planning. Most papers have focused on single cities and parks, with little attention paid to comparative analysis between multiple cities on a macro scale, ignoring the influence of spatial effects and leading to a lack of basis for regional green infrastructure planning. This paper selected 102 cities in Hunan province as case studies to comprehensively conduct empirical research using the spatial mismatch model and the geographically weighted regression method. The urban parkland in Hunan province are characterized by significant spatial heterogeneity and correlation, and the mismatch between land supply and population demand should not be ignored, with oversupply and undersupply co-existing. The urban parkland and its mismatch with population are influenced by a number of factors, and each factor has a stronger influence on the latter than the former. Different factors vary widely in the nature and intensity of their effects, and the dynamics are more complex. Economic development, financial capacity, and air quality are key factors, with the former having a negative impact and the latter having opposite (positive) effects. We suggest that when the government allocates land resources and targets for urban parks, it should formulate a differentiated allocation plan based on the supply and demand conditions of each city; besides, it should also place emphasis on regional integration and coordination and support mutual cooperation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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16 pages, 2479 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Landscape Preference and Place Attachment on Responsible Environmental Behavior—A Study of Taipei’s Guandu Nature Park Wetlands, Taiwan

by Szu-Ju Wu, Eric Ng, Kai-Bo Lin, Yi-Hsin Cheng, Ben A. LePage and Wei-Ta Fang

Land 2023, 12(11), 2036; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112036 - 8 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2720

Abstract

Wetlands provide important ecological services and aesthetic value at the landscape level. A landscape that makes people feel or appreciate the beauty of nature and is ecologically healthy and aesthetically beautiful can elicit positive emotions for people that are exposed to such landscapes. [...] Read more.

Wetlands provide important ecological services and aesthetic value at the landscape level. A landscape that makes people feel or appreciate the beauty of nature and is ecologically healthy and aesthetically beautiful can elicit positive emotions for people that are exposed to such landscapes. This then translates into protective environmental behaviors. Despite the growing importance of wetland conservation and human sensitivities to landscapes, little is known about the relationship between wetland landscapes and responsible environmental behaviors (REBs). This study was conducted at the wetlands at Guandu Nature Park (GNP), Taipei, Taiwan, using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test three hypotheses aiming to examine the influence of (1) landscape preference on REBs, (2) landscape preference on place attachment, and (3) place attachment on REBs. The findings indicated individuals displayed environmentally friendly behaviors because of the healthy environmental conditions of GNP wetlands and that an individuals’ sense of place attachment was influenced by the beauty of these wetlands. In addition, place attachment had a mediating effect on landscape preference and REBs. This study contributes to the limited resources associated regarding the effects of wetland landscapes on REBs and provides a basis for future comparative studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Urban Greenspace Planning, Design and Management)

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