Understanding coupled coordination relationships between social and ecological functions of urban green spaces

ABSTRACT Urban Green Spaces (UGSs) can provide social and ecological benefits, and the coordination of these two functions will largely advance human-nature harmony in cities. As such, we proposed a comprehensive framework to evaluate UGSs multifunctionality, i.e. the coupling coordination relationship of ecological connectivity and spatial accessibility of UGSs. Wuhan City in Central China was taken as a case study, and multiple ecosystem service values of green space patches and the disordered use of UGSs multifunctionality were explored. The results demonstrated low-level coupling coordination of UGSs multifunctionality in Wuhan. More than 70% of UGSs were imbalanced, 27.91% of which featured small sizes, low connectivity and accessibility. We suggest that planners should optimize UGSs arrangement to improve species reachability, especially for species with dispersal distance less than 4 km, and to create 15-minute community life circles for residents at the same time. Our findings are expected to support the promotion of UGSs multifunctionality and the balance of urban development and habitat conservation.