Temporal changes in greenspace in a highly urbanized region

Abstract

The majority of the world's population now lives in towns and cities, and urban areas are expanding faster than any other land-use type. In response to this phenomenon, two opposing arguments have emerged: whether cities should ‘sprawl’ into the wider countryside, or ‘densify’ through the development of existing urban greenspace. However, these greenspaces are increasingly recognized as being central to the amelioration of urban living conditions, supporting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision. Taking the highly urbanized region of England as a case study, we use data from a variety of sources to investigate the impact of national-level planning policy on temporal patterns in the extent of greenspace in cities. Between 1991 and 2006, greenspace showed a net increase in all but one of 13 cities. However, the majority of this gain occurred prior to 2001, and greenspace has subsequently declined in nine cities. Such a dramatic shift in land use coincides with policy reforms in 2000, which favoured densification. Here, we illustrate the dynamic and policy-responsive nature of urban land use, thereby highlighting the need for a detailed investigation of the trade-offs associated with different mechanisms of urban densification to optimize and secure the diverse benefits associated with greenspaces.

Temporal trend of green space coverage in China and its relationship with urbanization over the last two decades

“…During the process of urban sprawl, land in the wider countryside is gradually occupied, and new green space is constructed artificially (e.g. Antrop, 2000;Swenson and Franklin, 2000;Dallimer et al, 2011). Where and how urban green space is distributed is commonly controlled entirely by humans, which means that socio-economic factors significantly influence green space coverage in built-up areas.…”

“…In response to the fast-developing urban expansion, two opposing arguments have emerged: whether cities should be allowed to 'sprawl' into the wider countryside, or 'densify' through the development of existing urban green space (Dallimer et al, 2011). By 'sprawl' into the wider countryside, it is feared that the urban sprawl leads to settlement patterns which are environmentally inefficient and have negative impacts on the surrounding countryside (e.g.…”

Urbanization Effects on Vegetation and Surface Urban Heat Islands in China’s Yangtze River Basin

“…Several studies have showed that enhanced vegetation index (EVI) is more appropriate for monitoring vegetation dynamics in urban areas usually covered by sparse vegetation than the NDVI [39][40][41]. In this study, MODIS EVI data (MOD13A2, Terra satellite, 1 km spatial resolution, 16 day composite) from 2001 to 2016 was used to extract the vegetation information.…”

Ecological Drivers of Cladoceran Diversity in the Central European City (Łódź, Poland): Effects of Urbanisation and Size of the Waterbody

“…The density of urban areas is also increasing in many UK cities often at the expense of green spaces (Dallimer et al, 2011). Urban and garden ponds are likely to play an increasingly important role in supporting and contributing to urban biodiversity and mitigating against urban biodiversity loss (Colding et al, 2009;Hassall and Anderson, 2015).…”

“…Compact, high density commercial and residential spaces are being built as urban population growth continues to increase; however this urban 'densification' is at the expense of much of the urban green space that remains in towns and cities (Dallimer et al, 2011). Traditionally, ecological conservation has relied heavily on the designation of areas protected from development or modification by legislation and policy (Mcdonald et al, 2008).…”