Search Results (769)

Urban forests, as a form of green infrastructure, play a vital role in enhancing urban resilience, environmental health, and quality of life. However, users perceive and utilize these spaces in diverse ways. This study aims to identify latent perception types among urban forest visitors and analyze their behavioral, demographic, and policy-related characteristics in Incheon Metropolitan City (Republic of Korea). Using latent class analysis, four distinct visitor types were identified: multipurpose recreationists, balanced relaxation seekers, casual forest users, and passive forest visitors. Multipurpose recreationists preferred active physical use and sports facilities, while balanced relaxation seekers emphasized emotional well-being and cultural experiences. Casual users engaged lightly with forest settings, and passive forest visitors exhibited minimal recreational interest. Satisfaction with forest elements such as vegetation, facilities, and management conditions varied across visitor types and age groups, especially among older adults. These findings highlight the need for perception-based green infrastructure planning. Policy recommendations include expanding accessible neighborhood green spaces for aging populations, promoting community-oriented events, and offering participatory forest programs for youth engagement. By integrating user segmentation into urban forest planning and governance, this study contributes to more inclusive, adaptive, and sustainable management of urban green infrastructure. Full article

Carbon (C) sequestration and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) accumulation in urban forest green spaces are significant for global climate regulation and alleviating nutrient pollution. However, the effects of management and conservation practices across different urban forest vegetation types on soil C, N, and P contents and stoichiometric ratios remain largely unexplored. We selected forest soils from Guangzhou, a major Metropolis in China, as our study area. Soil samples were collected from two urban secondary forests that naturally regenerated after disturbance (108 samples) and six urban forest parks primarily composed of artificially planted woody plant communities (72 samples). We employed mixed linear models and variance partitioning to analyze and compare soil C, N, and P contents and their stoichiometry and its main driving factors beneath suburban forests and urban park vegetation. These results exhibited that soil pH and bulk density in urban parks were higher than those in suburban forests, whereas soil water content, maximum storage capacity, and capillary porosity were higher in urban forests than in urban parks. Soil C, N, and P contents and their stoichiometry (except for N:P ratio) were significantly higher in suburban forests than in urban parks. Multiple analyzes showed that soil pH had the most pronounced negative influence on soil C, N, C:N, C:P, and N:P, but the strongest positive influence on soil P in urban parks. Soil water content had the strongest positive effect on soil C, N, P, C:N, and C:P, while soil N:P was primarily influenced by the positive effect of soil non-capillary porosity in suburban forests. Overall, our study emphasizes that suburban forests outperform urban parks in terms of carbon and nutrient accumulation, and urban green space management should focus particularly on the impact of soil pH and moisture content on soil C, N, and P contents and their stoichiometry. Full article

Rapid urbanization and demographic shifts present significant challenges to spatial justice in green space provision. Traditional static assessments have become increasingly inadequate for guiding park planning, which now requires a dynamic, future-oriented analytical approach. To address this gap, this study incorporates population dynamics into urban park planning by developing a dynamic evaluation framework for park accessibility. Building on the Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment area (Ga2SFCA) method, we propose the human-population-projection-Ga2SFCA (HPP-Ga2SFCA) model, which integrates population forecasts to assess park service efficiency under future demographic pressures. Using neighborhood-committee-level census data from 2000 to 2020 and detailed park spatial data, we identified five types of population change and forecast demographic distributions for both short- and long-term scenarios. Our findings indicate population decline in the urban core and outer suburbs, with growth concentrated in the transitional inner-suburban zones. Long-term projections suggest that 66% of communities will experience population growth, whereas short-term forecasts indicate a decline in 52%. Static models overestimate park accessibility by approximately 40%. In contrast, our dynamic model reveals that accessibility is overestimated in 71% and underestimated in 7% of the city, highlighting a potential mismatch between future population demand and current park supply. This study offers a forward-looking planning framework that enhances the responsiveness of park systems to demographic change and supports the development of more equitable, adaptive green space strategies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Urban green space has been increasingly recognized as a determinant of maternal and child health. This study investigated the association between prenatal exposure to different types of green space and the risk of congenital anomalies in South Korea. Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Service (N = 142,422). Green space exposure was measured at the area level and categorized into grassland and forest; statistical analysis was performed using generalized estimating equations and generalized additive models to analyze the associations. Additionally, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: GEE analysis showed that a 10% increase in the proportion of grassland in a residential district was associated with a reduced risk of nervous system (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63–0.94) and genitourinary system anomalies (aOR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71–0.97). The subgroup analysis results showed significance only for male infants, but the difference between the sexes was not significant. In the quartile-based analysis, we found a slightly significant p-value for trend for the effect of forests on digestive system anomalies, but the trend was toward increasing risk. In a sensitivity analysis with different exposure classifications, the overall and nervous system anomalies in built green space showed that the risk decreased as green space increased compared to that in the lowest quartile. Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of spatial environmental factors during pregnancy and suggest that different types of green spaces differentially impact the offspring’s early health outcomes. This study suggests the need for built environment planning as part of preventive maternal and child health strategies. Full article

Urban green spaces (UGS) are essential for residents’ well-being, environmental quality, and social cohesion. However, previous studies have typically employed undifferentiated analytical frameworks, overlooking UGS types and failing to adequately measure the structural disparities of different UGS types within residents’ walking distance. To address this, this study integrates Gaussian Two-Step Floating Catchment Area models, Simpson’s index, and the Gini coefficient to construct an accessibility–diversity–equality assessment framework for UGS. This study conducted an analysis of accessibility, diversity, and equity for various types of UGSs under pedestrian conditions, using the high-density city of Shenzhen, China as a case study. Results reveal high inequality in accessibility to most UGS types within 15 min to 30 min walking range, except residential green spaces, which show moderate-high inequality (Gini coefficient: 0.4–0.6). Encouragingly, UGS diversity performs well, with over 80% of residents able to access three or more UGS types within walking distance. These findings highlight the heterogeneous UGS supply and provide actionable insights for optimizing green space allocation to support healthy urban development. Full article

Urban commercial districts, with their unique characteristics, serve as a reflection of broader urban development patterns. However, only a handful of studies have harnessed point-of-interest (POI) data to model the intricate relationship between retail commercial space types and other factors. This paper endeavors to bridge this gap, focusing on the influence of urban development factors on retail commerce districts through the lens of POI data. Our exploration underscores how commercial zones impact the density of residential neighborhoods and the coherence of pedestrian pathways. To facilitate our investigation, we propose an ensemble clustering technique for identifying and outlining urban commercial areas, including Kernel Density Analysis (KDE), Density-based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN), Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). Our research uses the city of Manchester as a case study, unearthing the relationship between commercial retail catchment areas and a range of factors (retail commercial space types, land use function, walking coverage). These include land use function, walking coverage, and green park within the specified areas. As we explore the multiple impacts of different urban development factors on retail commerce models, we hope this study acts as a springboard for further exploration of the untapped potential of POI data in urban business development and planning. Full article

(1) Background: The provision of monofunctional or inadequately distributed services in urban park green spaces often constrains residents’ opportunities and diversity for outdoor activities, particularly limiting access and participation for specific age groups or activity preferences. However, functional nodes with temporal and spatial flexibility demonstrate high-quality characteristics of resilient and shared services through integrated development. Accurately identifying user demand provides a solid basis for optimizing the functional configuration of urban parks. (2) Methods: This study took the old city area of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, as a case study. By collecting and integrating various types of data, such as geographic spatial data, field investigation data, and behavioral observations, we developed a population demand quantification method and a modular analysis approach for park service functions. This framework enabled correlation analysis between diverse user needs and park services. The study further classified and combined park functions into modular units, quantifying their elastic and shared service capabilities—namely, the adaptive flexibility and shared utilization capacity of park services. Additionally, we established a demand-responsive evaluation system for identifying and diagnosing problem areas in park services based on multi-source data. (3) Results: The demand response index and diagnostic results indicate that the supply of fitness facilities—particularly equipment-based installations—is insufficient within the old urban district of Zhengzhou. Among the three user groups—children, young and middle-aged adults, and the elderly—the elderly population exhibited the lowest demand response index, revealing a significant gap in meeting their specific needs. (4) Conclusions: Based on the research findings, a three-tier optimization strategy is proposed: A. improve green space connectivity to expand the service coverage of parks; B. implement multifunctional overlay and coordinated integration in spatial design based on site characteristics and demand diagnostics; and C. increase the total supply of facilities to enhance spatial efficiency in parks. By integrating the demand assessment data and diagnostic results, this approach enabled a data-driven reorganization of service types and targeted allocation of resources within existing park infrastructure, offering a practical tool and reference for the planning of urban outdoor activity spaces. Full article

Urban green spaces are increasingly recognized as important habitats for pollinators, and wildflower seed mixes marketed as pollinator-friendly are gaining popularity, though their actual conservation value remains poorly understood. This study provides the first systematic screening of commercially available seed mixes in Portugal, evaluating their taxonomic composition, origin, life cycle traits, and potential to support pollinator communities. A total of 229 seed mixes were identified. Although these have a predominance of native species (median 86%), the taxonomic diversity was limited, with 91% of mixes comprising species from only one or two families, predominantly Poaceae and Fabaceae, potentially restricting the range of floral resources available to pollinators. Only 21 seed mixes met the criteria for being pollinator-friendly, based on a three-step decision tree prioritizing native species, extended flowering periods, and visual diversity. These showed the highest percentage of native species (median 87%) and a greater representation of flowering plants. However, 76% of all mixes still included at least one non-native species, although none is considered invasive. Perennial species dominated all seed mix types, indicating the potential for the long-term persistence of wildflower meadows in urban spaces. Despite their promise, the ecological quality and transparency of the seed mix composition remain inconsistent, with limited certification or information on species origin. This highlights the need for clearer labeling, regulatory guidance, and ecologically informed formulations. Seed mixes, if properly designed and implemented, represent a largely untapped yet cost-effective tool for enhancing the pollinator habitats and biodiversity within urban landscapes. Full article

Urban green spaces (UGS) serve as critical mitigators of urban heat islands (UHIs), yet the scale-dependent mechanisms through which UGS morphology regulates thermal effects remain insufficiently understood. This study investigates the multi-scale relationships between UGS spatial patterns and cooling effects in Macao, employing morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) to characterize UGS configurations and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to examine city-scale thermal interactions, complemented by patch-scale buffer analyses of area, perimeter, and landscape shape index effects. Results demonstrate that high-UGS-integrity areas significantly enhance cooling capacity (area with proportion of core ≥35% showing optimal performance), while fragmented elements (branches, edges) exacerbate UHIs, with patch-scale analyses revealing nonlinear threshold effects in cooling efficiency. A tripartite classification of UGS by cooling capacity identifies strong mitigation types with optimal shape metrics and cooling extents. These findings establish a tripartite UGS classification system based on cooling performance and identify optimal morphological parameters, advancing understanding of thermal regulation mechanisms in urban environments. This research provides empirical evidence for UGS planning strategies prioritizing core area conservation, morphological optimization, and seasonal adaptation to improve urban climate resilience, offering practical insights for sustainable development in high-density coastal cities. Full article

In the current context of tight constraints on land resources in major Chinese cities, the development of underground space in green spaces (USGSs) has become an important approach to exploit land use potential and alleviate the contradiction between human and land resources. Evaluating USGS development potential scientifically is crucial for project site selection and improving underground space utilization. However, most studies have focused on underground space as a whole, with limited attention to single land use types, and research on USGSs has mainly concentrated on planning and design. This study proposes a two-stage evaluation framework for urban green spaces, identifying suitable development areas while safeguarding ecological functions. The framework evaluates from “restrictiveness” and “suitability”: first extracting developable green spaces by restrictiveness evaluation and then assessing development potential by suitability evaluation. This approach overcomes traditional methods that disregard prerequisite relationships among factors. A case study in Binjiang District, Hangzhou, showed that small green spaces and connectivity were key limiting factors for the development of USGSs. The proposed framework could provide some degree of reference for future development potential evaluation of USGSs, and the results could provide actionable guidance for high-density built environments similar to Binjiang District. Full article

(1) Background: Urban parks play a critical role in conserving biodiversity within city landscapes, yet the effects of fine-scale microhabitat heterogeneity remain poorly understood. This study examines how land cover and vegetation unit type within parks influence butterfly diversity. (2) Methods: From July to September 2019 and June to September 2020, adult butterflies were surveyed in 27 urban parks across Beijing. We classified vegetation into units based on vertical structure and management intensity, and then applied the patch–matrix framework and landscape metrics to quantify fine-scale heterogeneity in vegetation unit composition and configuration. Generalized linear models (GLM), generalized additive models (GAM), and random forest (RF) models were applied to identify factors influencing butterfly richness (Chao1 index) and abundance. (3) Results: In total, 10,462 individuals representing 37 species, 28 genera, and five families were recorded. Model results revealed that the proportion of park area covered by spontaneous herbaceous areas (SHA), wooded spontaneous meadows (WSM), and the Shannon diversity index (SHDI) of vegetation units were positively associated with butterfly species richness. In contrast, butterfly abundance was primarily influenced by the proportion of park area covered by cultivated meadows (CM) and overall green-space coverage. (4) Conclusions: Fine-scale vegetation patch composition within urban parks significantly influences butterfly diversity. Our findings support applying the patch–matrix framework at intra-park scales and suggest that integrating spontaneous herbaceous zones—especially wooded spontaneous meadows—with managed flower-rich meadows will enhance butterfly diversity in urban parks. Full article

Low-impact development (LID) offers environmental, economic, and social benefits, yet research on optimizing facility combinations remains limited. This study evaluates four representative LID types—green roofs, sunken green spaces, permeable pavement, and rain gardens—using an integrated framework combining the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), NSGA-II genetic algorithm, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) at Taiyuan University of Technology in Shanxi Province, China. Based on site constraints, each LID type was pre-assigned to suitable subareas, and optimization focused on determining proportional allocations within these areas. SWMM simulations revealed that permeable paving achieved the highest runoff reduction (up to 19.4% at 65% coverage) and strong cost-effectiveness (0.013 USD per % reduction). NSGA-II was used to generate a set of optimal solutions by minimizing construction costs and maximizing runoff and pollutant reductions. AHP then ranked these solutions according to their environmental, economic, and social benefits. In this case, the ideal mix—subject to site-specific constraints and model assumptions—includes 28.58% green roofs, 19.37% sunken green spaces, 48.68% permeable paving, and 3.37% rain gardens. The study proposes a sponge campus renewal strategy, offering theoretical and practical insights for sustainable urban development and precise environmental management. Full article

Extreme rainfall events driven by climate change are increasing flood risks. Addressing flood mitigation solely from either a hydraulic engineering or urban planning perspective may overlook both feasibility and effectiveness. This study focuses on Tainan City and the Tainan Science Park in Taiwan, applying the NbS framework to assess flood mitigation strategies. From an urban planning perspective, Agricultural Development Zone Type II (Agri-DZII), parks, green spaces, and Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) land were selected as flood detention sites. Hydraulic modeling was used to evaluate their effectiveness under both current and climate-change-induced rainfall conditions. Simulation results show that under current rainfall conditions, flood mitigation measures reduced inundated areas with depths exceeding 2.0 m by up to 7.8% citywide and 20.8% within the Tainan Science Park Special District Plan Area. However, under climate change scenarios, the reduction effects declined significantly, with maximum reductions of only 1.6% and 17.8%, respectively. Results indicate that, even when utilizing all available detention areas, the overall flood reduction in Tainan City remains limited. However, TSC agri-land within the Tainan Science Park overlaps with high-flood-risk zones, demonstrating significant local flood mitigation potential. This study recommends integrating hydrological analysis into urban planning to prevent high-density residential and economic zones from being designated in flood-prone areas. Additionally, policymakers should consider reserving appropriate land for flood detention to enhance climate resilience. By combining urban planning and hydraulic engineering perspectives, this study highlights the flexibility of NbS in disaster management, advocating for the integration of Natural Water Detention Measures into flood adaptation strategies to improve urban water management and climate adaptability. Full article

We investigate a generalized quantum Schrödinger equation in a comb-like structure that imposes geometric constraints on spatial variables. The model is extended by the introduction of nonlocal and fractional potentials to capture memory effects in both space and time. We consider four distinct scenarios: (i) a time-dependent nonlocal potential, (ii) a spatially nonlocal potential, (iii) a combined space–time nonlocal interaction with memory kernels, and (iv) a fractional spatial derivative, which is related to distributions asymptotically governed by power laws and to a position-dependent effective mass. For each scenario, we propose solutions based on the Green’s function for arbitrary initial conditions and analyze the resulting quantum dynamics. Our results reveal distinct spreading regimes, depending on the type of non-locality and the fractional operator applied to the spatial variable. These findings contribute to the broader generalization of comb models and open new questions for exploring quantum dynamics in backbone-like structures. Full article

Despite the importance of Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) as a provider of multiple Ecosystem Services (ESs), some concerns have been raised regarding Ecosystem Disservices (EDs) associated with UGI design and management, namely, the link between Urban Green Spaces’ (UGSs) attributes and invasion spatial patterns. This research takes the UGI of Coimbra, a medium-sized Portuguese city, as a case study to explore the relationships between UGS attributes and the occurrence of invasive plant species. The methodology involved aerial photo-interpretation and full patch survey to collect data about UGSs types, maintenance level and occurrence of invasive plant species, and landscape metrics analysis. Our results showed that the UGI of Coimbra exhibits a large prevalence of small UGSs with regular maintenance and the occurrence of invasive plant species in a low number of patches (17%). Although these patches correspond to 64% of the UGI. The area of recent sprawl (zone 2) registers higher occurrence of invasive plant species across different UGSs types, with higher prevalence in patches with no or low maintenance. Mapping the occurrence of invasive plant species in UGS is of utmost importance to implement appropriate maintenance practices, allowing medium-sized cities like Coimbra to optimize ESs associated with UGI and minimize potential EDs. Full article