1. Incorporating human nature in urban ecology: Measuring functional quality of Urban Green Space
- Author
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Schrammeijer, Elizabeth Anna and Schrammeijer, Elizabeth Anna
- Abstract
Access to urban green spaces (UGS) is essential for the health of urban residents. Nonetheless, urban vegetation is often undervalued in urban development because the way we value nature does not properly consider the range of benefits it provides us. The social benefits provided by UGS rely on complex interactions between urban residents and urban nature and are therefore not easily quantified. Therefore, knowledge is needed on how to measure subjective values and quantify demand and supply of social functions to improve urban planning processes. This thesis explores how we can better measure the subjective qualities of UGS and how they relate to social benefits. In each chapter of this thesis a different valuation method is developed, used and tested by exploring the following questions: How do different approaches measure the ways in which UGS quality is related to delivery of social benefits? How is demand and supply of the benefits obtained from UGS influenced by the location or the user? How does UGS quantity and quality and the delivered benefits relate to urban development? Chapter two of this thesis shows that nature-based methods enable large-scale and rapid assessment of UGS. The results of our global analysis using vegetation data derived from remote sensing suggest that UGS quantity is insufficient in dense urban areas in many parts of the world. However, nature-based methods do require that assumptions are made about which characteristics enable social benefits. Additionally, it is not possible to consider differences in demand for social benefits between resident groups. Statement-based methods are more applicable to local scale and enable collection of insights into how residents prefer, perceive and value specific qualities to inform urban planning processes. In chapter three we test the use of a dedicated mobile app to measure how people perceive aspects of a local park and compare it to traditional survey methods. Taking the perspectives of reside
- Published
- 2024
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