Green area loss in San Juan&amp;#8217;s inner-ring suburban neighborhoods: a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing green/gray area dynamics

Ramos-Santiago, Luis Enrique; Villanueva-Cubero, Luis; Santiago-Acevedo, Luis E.; Rodriguez-Melendez, Yasha N.

doi:10.5751/es-06219-190204

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…However, such vegetation regrowth might be limited to high‐income neighborhoods, because low‐income neighborhoods in San Juan have been shown to substantially lose green cover as they age (Ramos‐Santiago et al. ). On the other hand, non‐residential vegetation was negatively associated with population density and building age, but positively associated with elevation and riparian areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub‐meter resolution imagery

Martinuzzi

Ramos‐González

Muñoz‐Erickson

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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Fine-scale information about urban vegetation and social-ecological relationships is crucial to inform both urban planning and ecological research, and high spatial resolution imagery is a valuable tool for assessing urban areas. However, urban ecology and remote sensing have largely focused on cities in temperate zones. Our goal was to characterize urban vegetation cover with sub-meter (<1 m) resolution aerial imagery, and identify social-ecological relationships of urban vegetation patterns in a tropical city, the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico. Our specific objectives were to (1) map vegetation cover using sub-meter spatial resolution (0.3-m) imagery, (2) quantify the amount of residential and non-residential vegetation, and (3) investigate the relationship between patterns of urban vegetation vs. socioeconomic and environmental factors. We found that 61% of the San Juan Metropolitan Area was green and that our combination of high spatial resolution imagery and object-based classification was highly successful for extracting vegetation cover in a moist tropical city (97% accuracy). In addition, simple spatial pattern analysis allowed us to separate residential from non-residential vegetation with 76% accuracy, and patterns of residential and non-residential vegetation varied greatly across the city. Both socioeconomic (e.g., population density, building age, detached homes) and environmental variables (e.g., topography) were important in explaining variations in vegetation cover in our spatial regression models. However, important socioeconomic drivers found in cities in temperate zones, such as income and home value, were not important in San Juan. Climatic and cultural differences between tropical and temperate cities may result in different social-ecological relationships. Our study provides novel information for local land use planners, highlights the value of high spatial resolution remote sensing data to advance ecological research and urban planning in tropical cities, and emphasizes the need for more studies in tropical cities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub‐meter resolution imagery

Martinuzzi

Ramos‐González

Muñoz‐Erickson

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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“…Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic representation that summarizes household GI dynamics in the RPWS. At the neighborhood scale, we know that in some areas of San Juan, residential yards have experienced dramatic reductions in pervious surfaces in the last 55 years [38]. At the same time, a recent study showed that residential yards within the watershed hold considerable plant diversity with a flora that is dominated by non-native plants (68%) and mostly ornamental shrubs [14].…”

Section: Conceptual Model Of Household Green Infrastructure Of the Rímentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because resident age and house ownership are positively related to vegetation abundance and diversity [39], one hypothesis is that these socio-demographic changes may lead to both localized increases and decreases in GI. However, consideration of these trends using an integrated SES framework suggests that the answer is not as simple, because yard area remains the main factor influencing yard vegetation and abundance, and yard area may be partially controlled by top down factors that may be influenced by temporal changes in internal or external factors in the city [38,77]. For instance, top-down redevelopment agendas at the municipal level have proposed altering green area configurations and zoning codes in San Juan through densification efforts (e.g., Bahia Urbana Project, The Resonance Report [98]; Proyecto Rio 2012, described in Act No 39 (B. S. 11), see [99]).…”

Section: What Are the Sustainability Implications Of Current Yard Manmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, top-down redevelopment agendas at the municipal level have proposed altering green area configurations and zoning codes in San Juan through densification efforts (e.g., Bahia Urbana Project, The Resonance Report [98]; Proyecto Rio 2012, described in Act No 39 (B. S. 11), see [99]). Bottom-up efforts have also led to top-down action leading to the elimination of residential green areas to make way for additional parking spaces [38]. In a shrinking city context, such top-down effects may become less important than socio-demographic impacts, as the number of vacant housing units increases and the real estate market declines, as has been the case for Puerto Rico in the last five years [44,100].…”

Section: What Are the Sustainability Implications Of Current Yard Manmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This site has also experienced significant losses of residential green areas through conversion of green spaces to built ones [77], and at rates that are much higher relative to other residential areas across the lower watershed. These were generated by a need to increase gray infrastructure amenities (living/parking space), and by neighborhood decline processes that created a demand for additional household income through the rental of living space at a time when the population of Puerto Rico was growing [38]. At the same time, residential areas in the upper portion of the RPWS are a mixture of third generation residential developments and lower density housing that resulted from subdivisions of old farms among relatives and which often have much larger yards than those in high-density residential developments [39].…”

Section: What Are the Drivers Of Yard Structure And Management In Sanmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synthesis of Household Yard Area Dynamics in the City of San Juan Using Multi-Scalar Social-Ecological Perspectives

et al. 2016

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Urban sustainability discourse promotes the increased use of green infrastructure (GI) because of its contribution of important ecosystem services to city dwellers. Under this vision, all urban green spaces, including those at the household scale, are valued for their potential contributions to a city's social-ecological functioning and associated benefits for human well-being. Understanding how urban residential green spaces have evolved can help improve sustainable urban planning and design, but it requires examining urban processes occurring at multiple scales. The interaction between social structures and ecological structures within the subtropical city of San Juan, the capital and the largest city of Puerto Rico, has been an important focus of study of the San Juan ULTRA (Urban Long-Term Research Area) network, advancing understanding of the city's vulnerabilities and potential adaptive capacity. Here we provide a synthesis of several social-ecological processes driving residential yard dynamics in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, through the evaluation of empirical findings related to yard management decisions, yard area, and yard services. We emphasize the role of factors occurring at the household scale. Results are discussed within the context of shrinking cities using an integrated, multi-scalar, social-ecological systems framework, and consider the implications of household green infrastructure for advancing urban sustainability theory.

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Sustainable Planning for Peri-urban Landscapes

Rosa

Geneletti

Spyra

et al. 2018

Ecosystem Services From Forest Landscapes

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Green area loss in San Juan’s inner-ring suburban neighborhoods: a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing green/gray area dynamics

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub‐meter resolution imagery

Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub‐meter resolution imagery

Synthesis of Household Yard Area Dynamics in the City of San Juan Using Multi-Scalar Social-Ecological Perspectives

Sustainable Planning for Peri-urban Landscapes

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