A Guide to Public Green Space Planning for Urban Ecosystem Services

Unveiling the complex networks of urban tree diversity research: A global perspective

Ecosystem services offered by urban forests must be proactively managed to remain diverse and sustainable. Recent research findings deserve a systematic synthesis to elucidate inherent knowledge structures and dynamics. This study focused on the urban tree diversity theme from 2000 to 2022. Web of Science Core Collection database provided bibliometric details on academic publications. The data-driven quantitative analysis explored research quantities, emphasis, trends, patterns, linkages, and impacts by countries, institutions, authors, journals, and citations. Publications and research topics have expanded continually, with accelerated growth in recent years. Research activities, outputs and interactions demonstrated conspicuous spatial clustering. A few countries, institutions and researchers generated a notable proportion of publications. Their scholarly contributions were visualized in knowledge graphs as complex networks of nodes and inter-node links. Keyword analysis generated a network to indicate research hotspots and frontiers to steer and prioritize future studies. Recent findings affirmed that cities can harbor substantial tree diversity due to enhanced habitat heterogeneity and successful species adaptation. Aligning tree traits with environmental conditions and management objectives can improve benefits. Urbanization can filter tree traits to shape community assemblages through stressors: habitat degradation, fragmentation and loss, in conjunction with pollution, climate change, and introduced species. Diversity preservation strategies include protecting remnant natural vegetation, connecting green spaces, and restoring complex canopy geometry and biomass structure. The emerging frontiers are marked by modeling future species distributions, leveraging technologies like remote sensing, linking ecology with human values, and committing to community-based stewardship. Management can be upgraded by interdisciplinary perspectives integrating ecological science and social engagement. The findings highlight the need for biodiversity enrichment anchored by native species, trait-matched assemblages, adaptive policies, and community participation to create livable-green cities. This review synthesizes key advances in urban tree ecology and biodiversity research to inform the planning and stewardship of resilient urban forests.

Rethinking urban park irrigation under climate change

Climate change is forcing cities to reassess their water management practices, particularly for water-intensive applications like park irrigation. If water scarcity requires governments to deviate from current park management norms and allocate less water towards parks, it is essential that park managers design spaces that maintain community wellbeing. We apply the hedonic pricing method and use detailed park management information to assess the value of parks in a region where local climatic conditions require extensive irrigation to keep turf green, and where climate change is further constraining water supplies. Here we show that the impacts of irrigation on the value of parks differ depending on the dwelling types of the nearby housing populations that they serve. In most cases, the convention that parks have to be irrigated to deliver ecosystem services to the public is supported. However, we find that non-irrigated park areas are also valued positively by nearby apartment dwellers. Accelerating rates of urbanization and shifts towards high-density living may support the development of more diverse park options that are less water-intensive. Increased visibility of these alternative park forms, which could include more areas of native vegetation that do not require irrigation, may subsequently influence public expectations for landscape design.

Nature-Based Solutions to Hydro-Climatic Risks: Barriers and Triggers for Their Implementation in Seville (Spain)

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are currently a priority of international institutions (UN and EU) to improve urban resilience to hydro-climatic risks. However, responsible institutions, such as river basin authorities and local governments, while still prioritizing gray infrastructure, often present resistance to these strategies. This paper analyzes this issue in the case of Seville (Spain). We identify historical and recent institutional practices related to the development of gray infrastructure and the experience of citizens’ movements that demand the implementation of green infrastructure and the naturalization of urban space. Based on the theoretical framework of the sustainability transition, the article contributes to the identification of the factors that hinder or trigger the processes of change, drawing from the results of a case with a long tradition in hydro-climatic disaster management. The research has included an in-depth review of risk planning in the city of Seville, semi-structured interviews with 24 social and institutional actors, and participant observation of both urban planning processes and the practices of citizen movements. Our results show that the generation of shared visions clashes, first with conflicting perceptions of the city’s strengths and weaknesses regarding risks; second, with contradictions between institutional discourses and practices, and finally, with the operational limitations of public participation processes.

Urban Green Space Arrangement for an Optimal Landscape Planning Strategy for Runoff Reduction

Increased impervious surfaces due to urbanization have reduced evaporation and infiltration into the soil compared with existing natural water cycle systems, which causes various problems, such as urban floods, landslides, and deterioration of water quality. To effectively solve the urban water cycle issue, green infrastructure using urban green space has emerged to reduce runoff and increase evaporation. It has the advantage of restoring the water cycle system of urban areas by complementing the failure of conventional stormwater treatment systems. However, urban areas under high-density development have limited green space for stormwater treatment. Hence, it is necessary to efficiently utilize street trees and small green spaces to improve the urban water cycle through green space. In this study, we simulated different green space distribution scenarios in the virtual domain to find the optimal strategy of green space planning. Compared to clustered scenarios, dispersed green space distribution scenarios and placing green space downstream were more effective in reducing the runoff amount. The paper provides insights into the considerations for determining green space spatial plan and zoning regulations for stormwater treatment by green infrastructure.

Ecosystem Service Use and the Motivations for Use in Central Parks in Three European Cities

The majority of Europeans live in cities, where parks as components of Urban Green Spaces (UGSs) play an important role in well-being and the provision of ecosystem services (ES). UGSs are especially relevant for the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals “Good health and wellbeing” (Goal 3) and “Sustainable cities and communities” (Goal 11). This study focused on ES use and users’ motives, which were surveyed during visits at central parks in the cities Leipzig, Coimbra and Vilnius. Park visitors used 17 different ES, dominated by physical interactions such as walking or biking, followed by experiential and aesthetical ES and ES linked to social relations. Age of visitors, cultural setting and distance to homes influenced ES use in the parks differently in each city, limiting the transferability of park—user behaviour or motivations across different spatial and cultural contexts. Results also indicate that aligning sustainability objectives and usability, good accessibility of urban parks plays a central role and encourages the use of non-motorized or public transport for park visits. Concrete information about UGS user motivation and behaviour generated in this and similar studies contributes to convert the UN Agenda 2030 strategies at the municipal level into sustainability and user-oriented design and management of UGS.

Urban Ecosystem Services: New Findings for Landscape Architects, Urban Planners, and Policymakers

More than half of the world’s population lives in urban ecosystems [...]

Estimating Changes in Habitat Quality through Land-Use Predictions: Case Study of Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus) in Jeju Island

This study predicts future land-use changes and the resulting changes in habitat quality, suggesting a method for establishing land-use management to ensure sustainable wildlife habitats. The conservation effects were verified in terms of wild animal habitat quality according to the designation of protected areas. Land-use change until 2050 was predicted using the Dyna-Conversion of Land Use Change and its effects (Dyna-CLUE) model for Jeju Island, Korea, and the change in the quality of roe deer habitats was predicted using the Integrated Valuation and Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. Results indicate that, compared to 2030, urbanized area increased by 42.55 km2, farmland decreased by 81.36 km2, and natural area increased by 38.82 km2 by 2050. The average habitat quality on Jeju Island was predicted to decrease from 0.306 in 2030 to 0.303 in 2050. The average habitat quality ranged from 0.477 in 2030 to 0.476 in 2050 in protected areas and 0.281 in 2030 to 0.278 in 2050 outside protected areas. Habitat quality in protected areas was relatively high, and its reduction was limited. Areas with lower habitat quality need approaches such as expanding greenery and improving its quality. By establishing appropriate land-use plans by predicting habitat quality, wildlife habitats can be better maintained and protected, which is a primary goal of green infrastructure.