Potential drivers of urban green space availability in Latin American cities

Abstract

Urban green spaces play a critical role in regulating air temperature, reducing air pollution and enhancing people’s well being. Yet, existing data and research on potential drivers of urban green space availability in Latin America are limited. Here, focusing on 371 large cities in 11 countries in Latin America, we described the total and per capita variability of urban green space, its spatial configuration and green urban parks across the categories of cities’ natural, built and socioeconomic environments. We tested the relative importance of geographic (climate) versus city-level built environment (population, population density, street intersection density) and socioeconomic (city gross domestic product per capita, unemployment, education) drivers in explaining urban green space availability. We found a high level of heterogeneity in green space quantity across cities and across categories of cities’ environments. Relative to other city factors, climate zone had the largest influence in explaining the quantity of green space, whereas education, street intersection density and population density were the most important drivers of urban park availability. The significance of climate for green space availability, combined with the inequitable quantity of green space, indicates that cities have differing capacities to implement nature-based solutions for heat mitigation and health promotion. This study compiles detailed data on urban green spaces and analyzes the quantity and spatial configuration of green spaces in 371 cities in 11 countries in Latin America. Although there is high heterogeneity, climate seems to be the main determinant of differences in green space amount among cities compared with socioeconomic conditions and the built environment.