[go: up one dir, main page]
Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

City-wide relationships between green spaces, urban land use and topography

  • Published:
Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The growing proportion of human populations living in urban areas, and consequent trends of increasing urban expansion and densification fuel a need to understand how urban form and land use affect environmental quality, including the availability of urban green spaces. Here we use Sheffield as a case study of city-wide relationships between urban green space extent, quality (vegetation cover and tree-cover), and gradients in urban form and topography. The total area of buildings and length of the road network are equally strong negative predictors of extent of green space, while the former predictor is a more important negative influence upon green space quality. Elevation positively influences extent of green space but negatively influences tree-cover. In contrast, slope of terrain positively influences green space quality and is the best predictor of tree-cover. Overall housing density is a more important negative predictor of extent of green space and tree-cover than the densities of individual housing types. Nevertheless, the latter are more important influences upon levels of vegetation cover. Threshold effects of densities of different housing types suggest opportunities for optimising green space quality, with implications for housing policy. Variation in ecological quality of green space may partly reflect different historical intensities of industrial activity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bennett J, Dixon M (2006) Single person households and social policy: looking forwards. Report of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York. www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop. Cited 30 May 2007

  • Bolitzer B, Netusil NR (2000) The impact of open spaces on property values in Portland, Oregon. J Environ Manag 59:185–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolund P, Hunhammar S (1999) Ecosystem services in urban areas. Ecol Econ 29:293–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brande A, Böcker R, Graf A (1990) Changes of flora, vegetation and urban biotopes in Berlin (West). In: Sukopp H, Hejný S, Kowarik I (eds) Urban ecology: plants and plant communities in urban environments. SPB Academic, The Hague, pp 155–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2001) Model selection and multi-model inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • CABE Space (2004) The value of public space: how high quality parks and public spaces create economic, social and environmental value. CABE Space, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Colding J (2007) Ecological land-use complementation for building resilience in urban ecosystems. Landsc Urban Plan 81:46–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DETR (2000) Our Towns and Cities: the future—full report. Department of Transport and the Regions, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Duhme F, Pauleit S (1998) Some examples of different landscape systems and their biodiversity potential. Landsc Urban Plan 41:249–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunnett N, Quasim M (2000) Perceived benefits to human well-being of urban gardens. Hort Technol 10:40–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Er KBH, Innes JL, Martin K, Klinkenberg B (2005) Forest loss with urbanization predicts bird extirpations in Vancouver. Biol Conserv 126:410–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller RM, Smith GM, Sanderson JM, Hill RA, Thomson AG, Cox R, Brown NJ, Clarke RT, Rothery P, Gerard FF (2002) Countryside Survey 2000 Module 7: Land Cover Map 2000. Final Report CSLCM/Final. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Monks Wood

  • Fuller RA, Irvine KN, Devine-Wright P, Warren PH, Gaston KJ (2007) Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity. Biol Lett 3:390–394

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller RA, Armsworth PR, Warren PH, Tratalos JA, Barbosa O, Gaston KJ (2008) Garden bird feeding predicts the structure of urban avian assemblages. Div Distrib 14:131–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galea S, Ahern J, Rudenstine S, Wallace Z, Vlahov D (2005) Urban built environment and depression: a multilevel analysis. J Epidemiol Community Health 59:822–827

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston KJ, Smith RM, Thompson K, Warren PH (2004) Gardens and wildlife—the BUGS project. Br Wildl 16:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston KJ, Warren PH, Thompson K, Smith RM (2005a) Urban domestic gardens (IV): the extent of the resource and its associated features. Biodiv Conserv 14:3327–3349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston KJ, Smith RM, Thompson K, Warren PH (2005b) Urban domestic gardens (II): experimental tests of methods for increasing biodiversity. Biodiv Conserv 14:395–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawbaker TJ, Radeloff VC, Hammer RB, Clayton MK (2005) Road density and landscape pattern in relation to housing density, land ownership, land cover, and soils. Landsc Ecol 20:609–625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hey D (2005) A history of Sheffield. Carnegie Publishing, Lancaster

    Google Scholar 

  • Kühn I, Klotz S (2006) Urbanization and homogenization—comparing the floras of urban and rural areas in Germany. Biol Conserv 127:292–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P (1993) Spatial autocorrelation—trouble or a new paradigm. Ecology 74:1659–1673

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lennon JJ, Greenwood JJD, Turner JRG (2000) Bird diversity and environmental gradients in Britain: a test of the species-energy hypothesis. J Anim Ecol 69:581–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luttik J (2000) The value of trees, water and open space as reflected by house prices in the Netherlands. Landsc Urban Plan 48:161–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson EG, Nowak D, Heisler G, Grimmond S, Souch C, Grant R, Rowntree R (1997) Quantifying urban forest structure, function, and value: the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project. Urban Ecosyst 1:49–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morancho AB (2003) A hedonic valuation of urban green areas. Landsc Urban Plan 66:35–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myeong S, Nowak DJ, Hopkins PF, Brock RH (2001) Urban cover mapping using digital, high-spatial resolution aerial imagery. Urban Ecosyst 5:243–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak DJ, Crane DE, Stevens JC, Ibarra M (2002) Brooklyn’s urban forest. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North-Eastern Forest Experiment Station, General Technical Report NE-290. Radnor, Pennsylvania

  • ODPM (2001) Habitat UK National Report. http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_planning/documents/page/odpm_plan_606539–02.hcsp

  • ODPM (2002) Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG 3). Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. HMSO, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ordnance Survey (2006) OS MasterMap User Guide. Version 6.1.1. Ordnance Survey, Southampton, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauleit S (2003) Urban street tree plantings: identifying the key requirements. Proc Inst Civil Eng Munic Eng 156:43–50

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauleit S, Duhme F (2000) Assessing the environmental performance of landcover types for urban planning. Landsc Urban Plan 52:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pauleit S, Ennos R, Golding Y (2005) Modeling the environmental impacts of urban land use and land cover change—a study in Merseyside, UK. Landsc Urban Plan 71:295–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn GP, Keough MJ (2002) Experimental design and data analysis for Biologists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith RM, Gaston KJ, Warren PH, Thompson K (2005) Urban domestic gardens (V): relationships between landcover composition, housing and landscape. Landsc Ecol 20:235–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith RM, Thompson K, Hodgson JG, Warren PH, Gaston KJ (2006) Urban domestic gardens (IX): Composition and richness of the vascular plant flora, and implications for native biodiversity. Biol Conserv 129:312–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanwick C, Dunnett N, Woolley H (2003) Nature, role and value of green space in towns and cities: an overview. Built Environ 29:94–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takano T, Nakamura K, Watanabe M (2002) Urban residential environments and senior citizen’s longevity in megacity areas: the importance of walkable green spaces. J Epidemiol Comm Hlth 56:913–918

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Theobald DM, Miller JR, Hobbs NT (1997) Estimating the cumulative effect of development on wildlife habitat. Landsc Urban Plann 39:25–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K, Austin KC, Smith RH, Warren PH, Angold PG, Gaston KJ (2003) Urban domestic gardens (I): Putting small-scale plant diversity in context. J Veg Sci 14:71–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K, Hodgson JG, Smith RM, Warren PH, Gaston KJ (2004) Urban domestic gardens (III): Composition and diversity of lawn floras. J Veg Sci 15:371–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K, Colsell S, Carpenter J, Smith RM, Warren PH, Gaston KJ (2005) Urban domestic gardens (VII): a preliminary survey of soil seed banks. Seed Sci Res 15:133–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tratalos J, Fuller RA, Warren PH, Davies RG, Gaston KJ (2007) Urban form, biodiversity potential and ecosystem services. Landsc Urban Plann 83:308–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich RS (1998) View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science 224:420–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, and World Resources Institute (2000) World Resources 2000–2001. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (2004) World urbanization prospects: the 2003 revision. United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank R. Bryant for technical advice. This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (through the CityForm research consortium). Ordnance Survey kindly provided MasterMap data under license to the consortium. K.J.G. holds a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Richard G. Davies, Olga Barbosa, Richard A. Fuller, Jamie Tratalos, Philip H. Warren & Kevin J. Gaston

  2. Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    Richard G. Davies

  3. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile

    Olga Barbosa

  4. Parks and Countryside Service, Trees and Woodlands Section, Sheffield City Council, Meersbrook Park, Brook Road, Sheffield, S8 9FL, UK

    Nicholas Burke & Daniel Lewis

Authors
  1. Richard G. Davies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Olga Barbosa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard A. Fuller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jamie Tratalos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nicholas Burke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Daniel Lewis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Philip H. Warren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Kevin J. Gaston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard G. Davies.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Davies, R.G., Barbosa, O., Fuller, R.A. et al. City-wide relationships between green spaces, urban land use and topography. Urban Ecosyst 11, 269–287 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-008-0062-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-008-0062-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation