Assessing Structural Connectivity of Urban Green Spaces in Metropolitan Hong Kong

Abstract

Connectivity is a vital element in landscape structure because of its importance in species-landscape interactions. Connectivity analysis of green spaces in urban landscapes, especially in high-density cities such as Hong Kong, differs from that of habitats in natural or rural landscapes. Using the human being as the target species, we formulated with GIS techniques a resistance weight, a structural connectivity index and an ecological barrier effect index to assess connectivity of green spaces. Two factors were included in the modeling, namely the resistance of different land uses related to human activities, and the distance between different urban green spaces. We analyzed the relationships between the connectivity index of green spaces and green cover, elevation, building density and population density. Our results indicate that low connectivity usually occurs in both old and new town centers with high building density and low green cover, and in areas occupied by land uses with a high resistance weight. However, urban density may not necessarily have a negative influence on the structural connectivity of green spaces. Green cover also may not necessarily have positive impact on connectivity if the green spaces have a poor spatial pattern. Adding more green stepping stones, large green spaces and green corridors to form greenways and shortening the distance between urban green spaces can offer a spatial-planning strategy to increase the green space connectivity in Hong Kong. The study provides insights to optimize connectivity of green spaces to improve the urban living environment in high-density metropolises.

The Unexploited Potential of Converting Rail Tracks to Greenways: The Spanish Vías Verdes

“…Biological corridors [7,8]. • Networks of green spaces or green elements, such as belts, avenues or green public realm, which introduce nature to the artificial urban environment [9].…”

“…In the aforementioned cases, connectivity is one of the common key focuses of these approaches and relates to the GI network's structural and functional aspects. The structural aspect refers to the physical characteristics of the GI, and the functional aspect covers the goals aimed at improving ecological conditions, environmental livability and economic growth [6,9], which is fully aligned with the European Union strategy on GI as an essential component of spatial and physical planning [13,14].…”

Does the Connectivity of Urban Public Green Space Promote Its Use? An Empirical Study of Wuhan

“…Considering that, several researchers have argued that enhancing the connectivity of these green spaces by referring to the principals of landscape ecology is likely a relatively economical and efficient way to handle with the aforementioned challenges [22,24,25].In the urban context, well connected green spaces not only reflect more ecology and sustainability, contributing to improved residents' perception of well-being; but they also tend to increase the accessibility to green space system [26]. In other words, the connectivity of green space could improve the micro-climate, living environment, urban landscape quality, etc., which, in turn, has the potential to enhance green space use [27]. The connectivity of green space plays a significant role in the movement of organisms and processes, which is beneficial to biodiversity conservation [28].…”

“…Therefore, connectivity could partly reflect accessibility between two arbitrary nodes (green spaces) within a certain scope, but not be necessarily equal to accessibility. Furthermore, the accessibility of green space is the essential precondition for the influence of connectivity on green space use, because residents need to access to the green space system first, then it is possible that good connection among green spaces would lead to users' (such as the commuters, runners and cyclists) continuous use of the green space system, while bad connectivity might shorten the time people spend in the green space system.Connectivity was first put forward to measure the movement of wildlife among dispersed habitat patches in ecology theory [27]. A series of studies have explored the impact factors of connectivity [35], ecological benefits of connectivity [36], construction and optimization of ecological networks [37], measurement and evaluation of connectivity [38], and structural assessment of green spaces' connectivity [27].…”

“…Connectivity was first put forward to measure the movement of wildlife among dispersed habitat patches in ecology theory [27]. A series of studies have explored the impact factors of connectivity [35], ecological benefits of connectivity [36], construction and optimization of ecological networks [37], measurement and evaluation of connectivity [38], and structural assessment of green spaces' connectivity [27]. Most of these focus on how the connectivity of habitat patches or green spaces influence their use by the wildlife and its ecological effects on human beings.…”