Urban form: Realising the value of green space: a planners’ perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic

Ahmadpoor, Negar; Shahab, Sina

doi:10.3828/tpr.2020.37

Cited by 37 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Other studies [4,18,46] along with the results of our survey, confirmed that some cities still lack appropriate levels of open green and blue spaces to meet the outdoor exercise and recreation demands of their citizens while fulfilling social distancing requirements. Within these scientific findings, significant atten-tion is centered on the mental and physical health impacts of COVID-19 and associated lockdowns as well as other restrictions [3,48,49], and the specific role that urban nature played as a response [4,50]. In particular, it is stated that contact with nature can buffer or mitigate against the negative effects of social isolation on mental health [3,26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened the call for the government to engage more effectively with this work. For example, several European countries have seen increased calls for additional funding from central and local governments to research urban BGI [18,21,24,25,48,51,52].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some research indicates that the longer the quarantine period, the greater the negative impact on mental health and well-being [3,4], where people in quarantine have higher levels of avoidance behavior and anger. Simultaneously, the decrease in daily social behavior and interaction and physical contact with others can lead to depression and a sense of isolation [48,[57][58][59][60]. In this regard, urban BGI can provide safe outdoor activities during city quarantines and can be a buffer zone to maintain good health and quality of life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

et al. 2021

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Significant challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that features of a modern, sustainable and resilient city should not only relate to fulfilling economic and social urban strategies, but also to functional urban design, in particular, related to urban blue and green infrastructure (BGI). Using results from a web-based questionnaire survey conducted May–July 2020 in Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia), this paper provides insights regarding citizens’ needs for and values of urban BGI as well as their changes during and after the COVID-19 restrictions. Survey data collected during the lockdown period have captured information about people’s ability to access green and blue spaces within urban BGI, inequalities in access, feelings, and values as well as needs and perceived pathways of future development of urban natural environment. In both cities, lockdowns limited access of people to green spaces which affected their mental and physical health. Survey results revealed that the quality, functionality, and location of open green spaces illustrated a disparity in distribution, meaning that in many cases several communities from particular neighborhoods suffered from limited access to BGI. Furthermore, in addition to analyzing perceptions and values of urban nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, some suggestions for improvement of urban BGI based on the survey responses are provided.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

et al. 2021

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“…Perceived quality may also depend on the social circumstances of users of new spaces (e.g., low-income groups may need new transport or green infrastructure for instrumental rather than leisure purposes) [57], thus complicating the relationship between perceived space and wellbeing. This suggests that, while urban planners and designers need to ensure adequate amounts of land are allocated to green spaces and cycling/walking infrastructure, their mere existence may not necessarily lead to significant improvements on the mental wellbeing of vulnerable groups, particularly when these spaces do not consider the required qualities [58,59].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Envisioning Happy Places for All: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Transformations in the Urban Environment on the Wellbeing of Vulnerable Groups

2021

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Urban planning and design can impact mental health, but it is unclear how ever-growing and changing cities can sustain the psychological wellbeing of vulnerable groups, who are among the most mentally sensitive to spatial inequalities. This systematic review synthesised quantitative and qualitative studies on urban design interventions and their impact on wellbeing in vulnerable groups. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched five online databases from inception to May 2020. A total of 10 papers were included. We found mixed evidence of benefits for wellbeing linked to urban regeneration projects or focused interventions (green spaces, transport, security). Interventions that were centred around participation, sustainable living, and quality of design (e.g., perceived sense of safety) were associated with increased residential satisfaction and wellbeing, particularly among low-income communities and women. Risk of bias was low to medium, but there was high methodological heterogeneity; studies were mainly from Western countries, and none of the included studies investigated the experiences of people with disabilities, migrants, or racial minorities. This review highlights the importance of inclusive and sustainable design interventions to create happy places for all strata of society, although further investigation is warranted.

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“…These urban ecological networks are key to ecosystem function and resilience in cities under global change scenarios, but they also actively support the mental health, physical well-being and social interactions of present-day populations of urban dwellers (Barton & Grant, 2013;Bratman et al, 2019). Indeed, the benefits of regular access to (large) urban green spaces (UGS) were particularly exacerbated across the world urban centres during the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its associated travel restrictions (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020;Xie et al, 2020;Ahmadpoor & Shahab, 2021). For all these reasons, urban areas have become increasingly recognized as important targets for wildlife conservation (Goddard et al, 2010;Dearborn & Kark, 2010;Kowarik, 2011;Shwartz et al, 2014), as well as to comply with the UN Sustainable Development Goals aiming "to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable" (United Nations, 2015; Apfelbeck et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five years of citizen science and standardized field surveys reveal a threatened urban Eden for wild bees in Brussels, Belgium

Vereecken

Weekers

Marshall

et al. 2021

Preprint

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1. Urbanisation is often put forward as an important driver of biodiversity loss, including for pollinators such as wild bees. However, recent evidence shows that the mosaics of urban green spaces, and in particular certain categories of informal urban green spaces (IGS), can play an important role to help native wild bees thrive in cities. 2. Here, we describe the results of five years of citizen science and standardised field surveys of wild bees conducted at the Friche Josaphat, a 24-ha urban wasteland in the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). These field surveys were initiated following the planned restructuring and partial destruction of this site by the regional authorities. 3. We recorded a total of 2,507 specimens belonging to 127 species of wild bees, i.e. 60.5% of the 210 species recorded regionally, including nine that are threatened with extinction at national or European scales. The Friche Josaphat encompasses a significant share of the functional and phylogenetic diversity of wild bees known from the Brussels-Capital Region and is one of the most species-rich localities known to date for wild bees in Belgium. 4. Collectively, our results highlight the strong complementarity of citizen science and academic approaches in biodiversity surveys, and they reaffirm that wastelands are essential components of urban biodiversity. Our study stresses the need to provide biodiverse IGS with a formal status within the mosaic of urban green spaces, but also to acknowledge and safeguard their natural capital and the multiple ecosystem services they provide.

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Urban form: Realising the value of green space: a planners’ perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 37 publications

References 11 publications

Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

Human Dimensions of Urban Blue and Green Infrastructure during a Pandemic. Case Study of Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia)

Envisioning Happy Places for All: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Transformations in the Urban Environment on the Wellbeing of Vulnerable Groups

Five years of citizen science and standardized field surveys reveal a threatened urban Eden for wild bees in Brussels, Belgium

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