Urban Forestry & Urban Greening最新文献

Urban parks play a critical role in improving the quality of life of local residents and creating sustainable and resilient urban environments. As urban parks are essential public services, it is important that they be accessible, sufficient, and of high quality so all city residents can access and benefit from them to advocate environmental justice. To make park services more equitable, it is crucial to evaluate the distribution and quality of existing urban parks and consider potential locations for new urban parks, in terms of both park access and utilization. By adopting a new type of dynamic population data based on mobile phone-based tracking, we assessed urban park access by vulnerable populations, particularly economically marginalized older adults, and employed dynamic demographic features and neighboring environmental features of existing urban parks and park candidate sites to estimate park utilization. Ultimately, we developed an advanced multi-objective location optimization model considering park access, utilization, and construction cost. The three objectives of maximizing utilization of the candidate sites when urban parks are established, maximizing the number of vulnerable people who can be covered by the urban parks, and minimizing the total establishment cost for the urban parks were optimized in locating urban parks among candidate sites. The proposed methodology was validated with an application to Ulsan Metropolitan City in the Republic of Korea.

This paper evaluates the potential of a Green Infrastructure Policy Assessment Tool (GIPAT) by assessing national planning guidance across all four devolved UK nations. National planning guidance is a key material consideration to the formulation and implementation of green infrastructure (GI) policies in statutory development plans and decision-making. Hitherto, there has been a lack of holistic assessments of GI policy in spatial planning with most attention on specific developments. GIPAT was informed by three GI initiatives; - Building with Nature, Central Scotland Green Network and Mainstreaming GI, supported by a global academic literature to address key multifunctional and mainstreaming components within 26 assessment criteria. The tool assessed, with justification, how well national guidance met the assessment criteria, together with the strength of policy wording. The results reveal a significant weakness in policy wording across all countries highlighting GI vulnerability. In terms of coverage, biodiversity and ecological networks generally score well but there are deficiencies in stewardship, blue infrastructure and mainstreaming demanding greater policy attention. There are important implications for development plan policy(ies) highlighting the need for greater integration of grey, blue and GI and improved mainstreaming as illuminated through exemplar policies. We recommend the use of Green Blue Infrastructure (GBI) to address the blue deficiency. The paper concludes with a discussion about GIPAT’s wider transferability and the need for greater research into how policies are translated into development plans and decision-making.

Urban Green infrastructure (UGI) is strategic for developing sustainable cities to tackle tomorrow's challenges. The configuration of UGI influences the type and quality of ecosystem services provided to citizens and the efforts to have it well-maintained to guarantee its services. Under this premise, for developing UGI at all levels of city planning, it is crucial to understand how different factors like land use (LU) or ownership sectors (private, public) shape greenspaces' distribution and configuration. This analysis should account for structure as well as responsibilities. This study characterizes the UGI of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) by LU and land ownwership sectors using a detailed vegetation cover distinguishing between nominal height strata (grass, bush, tree). The UGI characterization was based on three landscape metrics: vegetation fraction, patch area and number of patches. The LUs’ characterization 1) reveals distinctive vegetation structure between the LUs, 2) allows identifying green spatial arrangements with possibilities to enhance its ecosystem services (e.g. connected domestic gardens), and 3) highlights trees as the dominant vegetation strata. The ownership indicates that: 1) private sector constitutes a high percentage of the urban vegetation cover (40 %), 2) LUs are mainly associated to single ownership sector and 3) there are differences in the vegetation percentages between the private and public sectors for same LUs. These findings support discussing ecosystem services, maintenance efforts, target groups and planning opportunities. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential of an integral analysis, considering both function and ownership, for several aspects of urban planning.

Urban Green Spaces (UGS) offer extensive benefits, yet their distribution reveals significant socioeconomic disparities. Despite the growing body of research, there is a gap in understanding the spatial equity of greenspace, especially in the Global South. This gap extends to the association between UGS and public health in the context of low-income countries. This study delves into the socioeconomic-green relationships within the Brazilian metropolitan areas’ context. The research comprised a survey of 2597 participants, assessing their sociodemographic profiles, accessibility and suitability of UGS, frequency and duration of visits to UGS, and the impact on their mental well-being (via DASS-21). Welch's ANOVA and Pearson's χ² tests revealed significant sociodemographic disparities in UGS accessibility and in well-being. Gender, age, and marital status were associated with mental health. The study found that proximity and suitability of UGS significantly impacted mental health, with well-maintained spaces linked to lower mental distress. No direct correlation was found between income levels and proximity to UGS, however, disparities in access to suitable green spaces were evident. Findings highlight the need for tailored urban planning and policies ensuring equitable access to quality UGS. Strategies should consider the characteristics of neighborhoods and involve community participation to address environmental justice effectively.

Urban outdoor spaces, as significant venues for outdoor activities, are closely linked to urban residents' quality of life and physical health. However, evidence suggests that prolonged and cold winters in cold cities, characterised by low temperatures, ice and snow, and frigid winds, profoundly impact residents' engagement in outdoor activities. Understanding the patterns of residents' utilisation of outdoor spaces and the constraints they face in the cold urban environment is crucial. Despite this, there is currently a lack of systematic reviews synthesizing evidence. This study conducts a systematic literature review from the social ecology perspective, organizing relevant evidence on residents' usage patterns, constraints, and preferences for outdoor spaces in cold urban environments. The literature review spans studies published from 2000 to 2023, drawing data from six electronic databases, including Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus. Ultimately, 31 articles (N = 31) were included in the review. The findings indicate that outdoor spaces in cold urban areas are influenced by a range of factors, encompassing individual, social, physical, and perceptual environmental attributes. Consequently, a conceptual framework based on social ecology is developed to comprehend the usage and constraints of outdoor spaces in cold urban environments. This research provides valuable insights for urban planners and designers in designing and planning outdoor spaces in cold cities.

In urban tree inventories, structural measurements such as diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (H), crown projection area (CPA) and crown volume (CV) are essential for diverse applications, including accurate ecosystem service estimation and management decisions. Traditionally, tree measurements are obtained using range finders and diameter tape. These measurements can be integrated into urban tree inventories through 3D laser scanning (also known as LiDAR). Multiple platforms for laser scanning exist, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, which have not yet been compared explicitly for urban tree inventories. We collected terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), mobile laser scanning (MLS) and airborne laser scanning (ALS) in leaf-on (TLS, MLS, ALS) and leaf-off conditions (TLS, MLS) in Ghent, Belgium. We evaluated the DBH, H, CPA and CV of 95 individual trees acquired from each acquisition platform, benchmarking against TLS. Our results show accurate DBH derivation from both TLS and MLS (bias < 2 cm, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) ≈ 1). However, during leaf-on conditions, occlusion from shrubs and ivy is observed. For leaf-on MLS, point clouds of large trees exhibited occlusion in the top canopy, impacting crown volume (CV MLS leaf-on: bias = −116 m², CCC=0.85) and, to a lesser extent, tree height (H MLS leaf-on: bias = −0.38 m, CCC=0.99). Crown projected area was less affected (bias = 0.49 m², CCC=0.99), with differences more attributed to varying point precision among sensors. The difference between the metric and benchmark increased with tree size and the structural complexity of the surroundings (e.g. buildings), especially for MLS, for which limited GNSS coverage, traffic, and suboptimal walking patterns impeded ideal data collection. Our results will help city councils and tree managers choose the most optimal LiDAR platform for urban tree inventories, accounting for their purpose, site complexity and budget.

Monitoring CO₂ concentrations in urban areas is crucial for determining the efficacy of climate change mitigation policies. However, highly heterogeneous land use, local geography, and local convection patterns, which vary throughout the urban landscape, complicate this task. To establish continuous monitoring programs, it is important to first determine the heterogeneity of urban landscapes on the ground. To understand the role these factors play in the distribution of CO₂ over an urban area, we conducted a CO₂ measurement campaign over the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) over four urban land uses: impervious, green, forest, and agricultural. There is a clear tendency for CO₂ mixing ratios to decrease as the degree of urban vegetation increases, even in the midst of a developed boundary layer. For example, CO₂ concentrations were 429 and 427 ppm at forest and agricultural sites, respectively, while 485 ppm was reported at urban sites. A decrease in atmospheric CO₂ was observed from 458 to 428 ppm in the gradient from urban to suburban areas, in which the biosphere component increased. The biosphere component of the CO₂ signal was significant and was observed in the gradient from urban to suburban areas, which averaged a reduction from 458 to 428 ppm. Our findings show that the large spatial variability in CO₂ concentrations (ranging from 410 to 495 ppm) is best explained by anthropogenic activity. We propose increasing the spatiotemporal resolution of CO₂ monitoring in the AMB to determine these trends more precisely over longer periods of time.

Many scholars have developed tools to assess the public green environment and examine the impact of parks on people's health and recreational activities. However, environmental reviews often overlook the vulnerability of older adults, and an age-friendly community parks survey (AF-CPS) is lacking. This study developed a comprehensive assessment system, the AF-CPS. The research process was divided into three phases covering eight dimensions: a. humanistic environment (e.g., participation in the green space environment and in cultural exchange); b. infrastructure (e.g., edutainment, medical, and sports facilities); c. recreation comfort (e.g., atmospheric conditions, noise environment, trail comfortableness); d. site planning (e.g., spatial layout, activity space diversity); e. environmental quality (e.g., plant richness, latitude of vision); f. barrier-free environment (e.g., barrier-free site identification，barrier-free service facilities and barrier-free functional facilities); g. environmental maintenance (e.g., participation in building policy decisions, landscape maintenance management); and h. security management. The establishment of the evaluation system was based on a literature review. During the verification and modification of the model, an on-site investigation and questionnaire survey were conducted with elderly individuals (60+) in a community park to identify an evaluation system that can be used as a research tool to promote the construction and renewal of an aging-friendly environment in community parks.

Reports of continuing declines in some insect populations have raised concerns and calls for action to protect insects. The establishment of insect-friendly meadows in urban areas provides an opportunity to conserve both insect and plant diversity. However, public acceptance can be an obstacle to the implementation of such meadows, for example, due to competing land use interests and the perception that tall meadows are visually unattractive. To address these concerns and align urban green spaces with both public preferences and environmental needs, a systematic understanding of the factors influencing public acceptance of meadows is essential. To this end, a representative online survey was conducted in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with 899 participants to assess the acceptance of insect-friendly meadows in urban areas. The study shows significant support for insect-friendly meadows across all subgroups and within each country-specific subgroup. The factor that most influences their acceptance is the recognition of the ecological benefits of these meadows. It is therefore highly recommended to prioritize public awareness campaigns that highlight the complex relationship between plant and insect diversity. Such efforts can contribute to a better understanding of the benefits of insect-friendly meadows for biodiversity, thereby increasing public support for these conservation measures. Additionally, considerations related to perceived aesthetics, appreciation of an increase in insect abundance, preference for public funding, and a general sense of safety around these meadows should inform the development and communication strategies for insect-friendly green spaces, as they significantly influence public acceptance. These design and perception aspects of meadows were shown to have a stronger influence on the acceptance of meadows than individual, attitudinal characteristics such as environmental attitudes or attitudes toward insect decline. While this study provides insights into the general public acceptance of insect-friendly meadows, more research is needed to understand the influence of the specific local context on meadow acceptance.

Sympodial trees are prevalent in tropical and subtropical urban areas while suffering the threat of wind storms every year, which leads to unpredictable economic losses and secondary hazards. However, the research on the dynamics of sympodial tree, which exhibits extremely complex structures, is limited. Therefore, this study conducts wind tunnel tests to systematically investigate vibration characteristics for trees with different crown configurations. Results show that as the scaled Cauchy number increases, the base overturning moment coefficient ($C_M$) gradually reduces, yet its reduction rate decreases. Subsequently, a higher spectral peak and narrower bandwidth of $C_M$ is observed with the extent of pruning severity. Finally, an energy coefficient ($C_E$) is developed to depict the wind energy absorption ability of trees. It is revealed that $C_E$ displays a declining trend with an increase in $\mathrm{LA}{I}_1$ (leave area / ground area) and $\mathrm{LA}{I}_2$ (leaf area / frontal area). Furthermore, it is found that trees characterized by robust and squat trunks along with dense foliage possess an enhanced capacity for wind energy dissipation.