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Ecosystem Services in the Planning and Sustainable Development of Urban Green Spaces

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 2893

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wei Hou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center of Natural Resources Survey and Monitoring, Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, Beijing 100036, China
Interests: ecological modelling; simulation and optimization of ecological networks; quantification and assessment of landscape structure and landscape change; ecological indicators; environmental impact assessment; spatial statistics; remote sensing applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Chunxiao Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geographic Information Science, School of Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
Interests: knowledge- and data-driven geographic simulation; virtual geographic environments; urban thermal environment simulation; urban flood control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cheng Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
Interests: remote sensing and GIS applications; regional development and planning; ecosystem services modelling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The term urban green spaces (UGSs) refers to all urban greenery whether composed of natural, semi-natural, or artificial elements located within, around, and between urban areas at all spatial scales. UGSs provide a variety of ecosystem services that are essential for human health, wellbeing, and the overall sustainability of urban environments including, but not limited to, air and water purification, climate regulation, pollination, flood prevention, leisure and recreation, and biodiversity conservation. There is a growing interest in incorporating the concept of ecosystem services into urban planning frameworks to ensure that green spaces are designed and managed in a way that maximizes their benefits to society. This involves identifying trade-offs between different land use options and designing urban landscapes that are both functional and resilient. Developing effective planning tools and techniques that can help identify priority areas for conservation and restoration of UGSs in a manner that is based on their ecosystem service potential is a key research area. It is also vital to understand how the public values and uses UGSs. This involves studying public preferences, perceptions, and behaviors related to ecosystem services to ensure that planning initiatives are responsive to community needs. From a macro point of view, it is also worth exploring the effects of urbanization on the supply of and demand for ecosystem services.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, and research areas may include, but are not limited to:

  • Valuation methods for quantifying ecosystem services in urban areas;
  • Spatiotemporal variation characteristics of ecosystem services in urban areas;
  • The trade-off–synergy relationship between ecosystem services provided by USGs;
  • Habitat fragmentation, connectivity, and their impacts on ecological processes;
  • Supply-demand matches and mismatches of ecosystem services;
  • The relationship between ecosystem services and human wellbeing;
  • The spatial optimization of USGs.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Wei Hou
Dr. Chunxiao Zhang
Dr. Cheng Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban green spaces
  • ecosystem services
  • supply–demand relationship
  • trade-offs/synergies
  • driving factors
  • spatiotemporal variation
  • human wellbeing

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 2016 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Perceived Cultural Ecosystem Services in Urban Green Spaces Using Big Data and Machine Learning: Insights from Fragrance Hill Park in Beijing, China
by Lingbo Fu, Hongpeng Fu and Chengyu Xiong
Sustainability 2025, 17(4), 1725; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041725 - 19 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1024
Abstract
Cultural ecosystem services (CESs) are essential for the sustainable development and management of urban green spaces. However, there remains a gap in leveraging big data and unsupervised machine learning to comprehensively evaluate perceived CESs. This study introduces a hybrid research methodology integrating latent [...] Read more.
Cultural ecosystem services (CESs) are essential for the sustainable development and management of urban green spaces. However, there remains a gap in leveraging big data and unsupervised machine learning to comprehensively evaluate perceived CESs. This study introduces a hybrid research methodology integrating latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) and importance–performance analysis (IPA) to analyze 20,087 user-generated reviews of Fragrance Hill Park in Beijing from Meituan. The key findings are the following: (1) ten types of CESs were identified, including five related to personal well-being, four to public well-being, and one bridging both categories; (2) the most significant dimensions were “recreational activities”, “aesthetic appreciation”, “physical well-being”, and “mental well-being”; (3) users expressed positive sentiments toward “history and culture”, “mental well-being”, and “religious engagement”, while “social relations” received the most negative feedback; (4) IPA results highlight “recreational activities” and “aesthetic appreciation” as priority areas for improvement. This study provides a scalable, data-driven framework for evaluating CESs in urban green spaces. The insights gained can inform urban green space management and policy decisions to enhance user experiences and promote sustainable urban development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services in the Planning and Sustainable Development of Urban Green Spaces)
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14 pages, 2954 KiB  
Article
Coordination Analysis Between Urban Livability and Population Distribution in China’s Major Urban Agglomerations
by Yingfeng Ran, Wei Hou, Jingli Sun, Liang Zhai, Chuan Du and Jingyang Li
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10438; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310438 - 28 Nov 2024
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Abstract
The mismatch between urban livability and population distribution can result in overcrowding and excessive pressure on ecosystem services if population growth surpasses urban capacity. Conversely, if urban expansion outpaces population needs, it can lead to underutilized infrastructure and inefficient land use. This study [...] Read more.
The mismatch between urban livability and population distribution can result in overcrowding and excessive pressure on ecosystem services if population growth surpasses urban capacity. Conversely, if urban expansion outpaces population needs, it can lead to underutilized infrastructure and inefficient land use. This study aims to assess the coordination between urban livability and population distribution in five major urban agglomerations in China: Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD), Mid-Yangtze River (MYR), and Chengdu–Chongqing (CC). A comprehensive index for urban livability is established, from the aspects of social–economic development and ecosystem service. Additionally, a Coordination Distance Index (CDI) is developed to measure the relationship between urban livability and population distribution. Data from 2010, 2015, and 2020 are analyzed to evaluate the coordination levels and trends across the five urban agglomerations. The results show that from 2010 to 2020, most cities within these urban agglomerations experience improvements in their coordination levels, with the most notable advancements in the PRD and YRD regions. By 2020, the PRD and YRD were classified as having “high coordination”, while BTH, MYR, and CC were categorized as having “moderate coordination”. However, certain cities, such as Chengde in BTH, Shanghai in YRD, Ya’an in CC, and Zhuhai in PRD, still exhibited “low coordination”, highlighting areas requiring spatial planning adjustments. This study introduces a method for quantitatively assessing the coordination between urban livability and population distribution, providing essential insights for policymakers and urban planners to refine urbanization development strategies and population regulation policies in China’s major urban agglomerations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services in the Planning and Sustainable Development of Urban Green Spaces)
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25 pages, 2307 KiB  
Systematic Review
Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services in Sponge City Infrastructure: A Systematic Review and Framework Proposal
by Nuan Han, Roziya Binti Ibrahim and Mohd Sallehuddin Bin Mat Noor
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 5130; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115130 - 3 Jun 2025
Viewed by 116
Abstract
Urbanization has significantly transformed ecological landscapes and created challenges in sustaining both environmental functionality and cultural values. In response, China’s Sponge City Infrastructure (SPI) aims to enhance urban water resilience by integrating green and blue infrastructure. While the ecological benefits of SPI have [...] Read more.
Urbanization has significantly transformed ecological landscapes and created challenges in sustaining both environmental functionality and cultural values. In response, China’s Sponge City Infrastructure (SPI) aims to enhance urban water resilience by integrating green and blue infrastructure. While the ecological benefits of SPI have been widely studied, the cultural ecosystem services (CES) it provides remain underexplored. This study systematically reviews 61 empirical articles to evaluate how CES has been addressed in SPI-related research. Bibliometric analysis was conducted to identify CES research trends and to systematically categorize CES types, assessment methods, and evaluation indicators in SPI-related studies. The findings reveal a dominant use of non-monetary assessment methods, led by questionnaire surveys (47.5%), while monetary approaches were rarely applied. However, several limitations were identified, including the geographic concentration of studies in a few major cities, the scarcity of research on abstract CES categories (e.g., inspiration and sense of place), and the lack of measurable indicators in nearly half of the reviewed studies. To address these issues, this study proposes a context-specific CES assessment framework aligned with China’s socio-cultural conditions and planning priorities in sponge city development. The framework, based on the reviewed literature, provides a preliminary tool for evaluating CES in sponge city contexts. This work contributes to the integration of cultural ecosystem services into urban ecological planning and offers insights for sustainable development in rapidly urbanizing regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services in the Planning and Sustainable Development of Urban Green Spaces)
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