Lai Wei, Zhenhuan Liu, Yi Zhou, Zhiwen Tao, Fan Yang
{"title":"Global urban green spaces in the functional urban areas: Spatial pattern, drivers and size hierarchy","authors":"Lai Wei, Zhenhuan Liu, Yi Zhou, Zhiwen Tao, Fan Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128770","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128770","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban green spaces (UGS) play a vital role in the urban eco-environment and are essential for human well-being. However, the spatial heterogeneity and size hierarchy of UGS, as well as the driving factors in geographically remain unclear. This study applies the rank-size law to elucidate the multi-scale distribution patterns of UGS in functional urban areas worldwide. Subsequently, the gradient boosted regression tree method was used to quantitatively analyze the contributions and thresholds of natural environmental and socioeconomic factors influencing UGS. The results indicate that: (1) Globally, the top 20 % of cities in terms of UGS area represent nearly 60 % of the total urban green space. Developed regions like North America and Europe tend to have more extensive and larger UGS, whereas developing and rapidly urbanizing regions like Asia and Africa have more compact and smaller green spaces. (2) The rank-size distribution of UGS can be explained to some extent by Pareto's law and the size hierarchies of UGS and FUAs are highly consistent. (3) Area of UGS is more closely related to urban area rather than the population it serves. (4) Socioeconomic factors have a significant impact on UGS, exerting a dominant influence on both UGS area (UGSA) and per capita UGS area (PUGSA). Specifically, the human development index and impervious surface percentage contribute 61.51 % to UGSA, with all socioeconomic factors collectively contributing up to 68.59 %. For PUGSA, socioeconomic factors contribute 63.07 %, while three natural environmental factors contribute less than 37 %. These findings offer valuable insights for urban ecological construction aimed at promoting sustainable urban development, ensuring equitable green space resource allocation, and enhancing urban living environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128770"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143643157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Min Guo , Hua Zheng , Xin-xin Wang , Han Ye , Siyu Song , Bin J.W. Chen , Ming-Juan Zhang
{"title":"Understanding the factors driving species composition similarity of urban spontaneous plants","authors":"Min Guo , Hua Zheng , Xin-xin Wang , Han Ye , Siyu Song , Bin J.W. Chen , Ming-Juan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128766","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128766","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding factors that influence spontaneous plant species similarity across urban sites provides insights into species exchange processes in urban environments. We surveyed spontaneous plants in 30 urban sites in Nanjing, China, to investigate how seed capture opportunity, establishment resistance, and movement resistance affect species similarity between paired sites. Using various gravity models, we found that establishment resistance, measured by differences in land cover and building density between sites, explained 35.52 % of species similarity variation. Seed capture opportunity, calculated from paired sites' forest areas, explained 25.70 % of the variation. While Euclidean distance and land cover-based movement resistance showed no significant correlation with species similarity, building density-based movement resistance (measured within 50-meter buffers) explained 20.52 % of the variation. A combined model incorporating these factors achieved an R² of 47.93 %. Analysis of dispersal modes revealed that wind-dispersed plants showed the highest inter-site similarity, followed by animal-dispersed plants, with unassisted dispersal plants showing the lowest similarity. Establishment resistance strongly influenced unassisted dispersal plants, while wind- and animal-dispersed plants responded to combinations of all three factors. These findings highlight how establishment resistance, forest coverage, and building density patterns shape spontaneous plant distribution across urban landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128766"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143636394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haochen Shi , Liyue Zhang , Ding Ma , Menghan Zhang , Mo Wang , Zongcai Wei
{"title":"Exploring recreational walking and its correlated built environment factors in river corridor space through a trajectory sematic-based approach","authors":"Haochen Shi , Liyue Zhang , Ding Ma , Menghan Zhang , Mo Wang , Zongcai Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128767","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128767","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Investigating recreational walking in river corridor areas—an important green and blue space—is essential for developing a walking-friendly city and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3. However, existing studies have yet to thoroughly explore the specific behaviors characteristics of walking in these spaces, particularly through the lens of high-resolution geo-located data such as GPS tracks. This study addresses this gap by mining moving, staying, and photo-taking behaviors from trajectory data, grounded in a semantic conceptual model developed by GIS scholars. Using the river corridor in downtown Guangzhou as a case study, we analyze the spatial distribution and potential environmental factors influencing recreational walking activities. Our findings reveal that: (1) The patterns of moving, staying, and taking photos during recreational walking in river corridors exhibit diverse spatial distributions; moving is homogeneously distributed, while the latter two show typical spatial heterogeneity. (2) The characteristics of the three types of recreational walking are linked to the built environment, with varying strengths of correlation; staying behavior is most influenced by built environment factors. Based on these results, we propose planning strategies to enhance the quality of waterfront spaces, emphasizing the creation of flower borders and ensuring transportation accessibility to meet the outdoor activity needs of residents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128767"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giuseppe Picca , Asier Goñi-Urtiaga , Laura Lozano de Sosa , Maria Victoria Colombo Rodriguez , Isabel Fernández Navarro , César Plaza , Marco Panettieri
{"title":"Sustainability in urban agriculture: The role of biochar in enhancing the productive capacity of compost-based growing media for rooftop farming","authors":"Giuseppe Picca , Asier Goñi-Urtiaga , Laura Lozano de Sosa , Maria Victoria Colombo Rodriguez , Isabel Fernández Navarro , César Plaza , Marco Panettieri","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128774","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128774","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rooftop agriculture offers ecosystem services and urban greening benefits, requiring lightweight, peat-free growing media. Composted organic waste, enhanced with biochar-rich materials, could serve as an effective component for these media. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of six different substrates made from organic wastes (spent coffee grounds, coffee silverskin, and seaweeds) composted with or without biochar as alternatives to peat for rooftop agriculture. Over three years, substrate fertility, crop yield, and quality were assessed using a tomato variety (<em>Solanum lycopersicum</em> L., cv. Moruno de Aranjuez) and a consociation of lettuce (<em>Lactuca sativa</em> L., cv. Romana) and chard (<em>Beta vulgaris</em> var. Cicla). A peat-based substrate and open-field conventional cultivation on soil served as controls. Co-composted substrates significantly increased productivity by 102 % compared to peat-based controls and by 43 % compared to open-field systems. For lettuce, compared to peat-based control, compost-based substrates without biochar yielded 380 % more in the first year, while those with biochar yielded 149 % more in the second year. Additionally, incorporating biochar during composting improved tomato quality, making it comparable to that achieved in open-field cultivation systems. In conclusion, co-composting organic waste with biochar to obtain growing substrates presents a sustainable alternative for city-focused rooftop agriculture, providing considerable horticultural yields that could reduce the environmental impact of the urban food needs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128774"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143628568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Behind greenspace provision: Stakeholders’ perceptions of the co-production of urban parks in Beijing","authors":"Luquan Liang , Sun Sheng Han","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128773","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128773","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies on greenspace planning and governance acknowledge the importance of co-production because stakeholders’ perceptions of and commitments to their involvement determine the processes and outcomes. However, little is known about how participants characterize the co-production process. This paper explores the convergent and divergent perceptions among multiple greenspace co-producers using the Q-method. Data were collected from 36 participants who ranked 41 statements relating to stakeholder roles, resources, and approaches in co-producing urban parks in Beijing, China. Data analysis involved the computation and interpretation of factor scores. The findings reveal five shared perceptions among co-producers based on their underlying values rather than professional roles: optimists, decentralists, mediators, elitists, and pessimists. Governmental and non-governmental actors reach a consensus on information-sharing, empowerment, and incorporation of local knowledge. It reflects the strong endorsement for greenspace co-production in Beijing, primarily driven by normative motivations, including genuine participation, empowerment, and transparency. Willingness to co-produce, mutual trust, and flexible management were more important than resource inputs. The government is mainly perceived as the decision-maker while it is anticipated to organize the co-production. Citizens are perceived as potential mobilizers and partners. NGOs are expected to play an intermediary role. Stakeholders could better support greenspace co-production if organizers prioritize consensus-seeking, involvement of intermediaries, and stakeholder interests and views.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128773"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143696104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mao Wakayama , Kota Mameno , Tatsuya Owake , Tetsuya Aikoh , Yasushi Shoji
{"title":"Climate change-induced heat reduces urban green space use: Insights from mobile phone location big data","authors":"Mao Wakayama , Kota Mameno , Tatsuya Owake , Tetsuya Aikoh , Yasushi Shoji","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128771","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128771","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global climate change poses a major challenge in human–nature interactions. Particularly, increasing extreme weather events and rising temperatures in summer are barriers to the access and use of urban green spaces (UGSs) for urban residents. However, there is no unified view on whether the number of users changes during extreme heat events. This study examined the impact of increasing temperatures and humidity in summer (Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature: WBGT) on the number of green space users by applying propensity score matching (PSM) and linear regression to smartphone location data. The study focused on 20 major UGSs in Sapporo, Japan, where in August 2023, Sapporo experienced temperatures 2.7 °C higher than the previous decade's average, aligning with the projected 2050 average according to forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We observed a discernible increase up to a WBGT of 28 °C, with a significant user-decline trend beyond this threshold. PSM estimates indicated a decrease of 1781 UGS users. Based on individual space analyses, UGSs with water play and indoor facilities maintained high user numbers even at elevated heat indices, suggesting the effectiveness of those facilities in climate change adaptation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128771"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yi Zhou , Guoliang Zhang , Xincheng Yi , Fei Lun , Hao Zhou , Gaohui Wen , Xianhui Hu
{"title":"Balancing cooling benefits and costs: Determining a moderate park scale in 24 Chinese cities","authors":"Yi Zhou , Guoliang Zhang , Xincheng Yi , Fei Lun , Hao Zhou , Gaohui Wen , Xianhui Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128772","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128772","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban parks present an effective solution to mitigate urban heat, but their implementation can be costly. Thus, determining a moderate park scale is essential to balance cooling benefits and associated costs. However, the magnitude of park cooling benefits and their associated costs remain poorly understood. This study analyzed park cooling benefits and costs using high-resolution satellite data on land surface temperatures for 3258 urban parks in 24 Chinese cities. A novel method was developed to determine the moderate park scale for these cities. The study revealed that urban parks in 24 Chinese cities, on average, lower temperatures by 1.48 °C and extend this cooling effect over an average distance of 183 m. The cooled areas of urban parks account for 5.67 % of the total built-up area and benefit 18.13 % of urban residents. The total cooling benefit is estimated at 1.73 billion yuan, mainly due to the extended cooling effect. Park cooling costs are estimated at 0.83 billion yuan, resulting in net cooling benefits of 0.9 billion yuan across these cities. Beijing exhibited the highest park cooling benefits but also the highest cooling costs. The study identified a moderate scale range of 3.2–8.3 ha, which could enhance total and net cooling benefits by 25–50 % across these cities. Notably, in water scarce megacities like Beijing and Tianjin, smaller parks (3–4 ha) may yield the highest net cooling benefits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128772"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lighting the night: Unveiling the restorative potential of urban green spaces in nighttime environments","authors":"Ming Gao , Xun Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128769","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128769","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The evolution of modern lifestyles has significantly enriched the diversity of nighttime outdoor activities, making the creation of high-quality urban green spaces a significant demand in contemporary living. However, research on the restorative potential of green spaces at night remains scarce, particularly with respect to the restorative benefits of vegetation and lighting characteristics in nocturnal environments. Based on a field experiment conducted in Singapore, known as a Garden City, we assessed visitors’ nighttime restorative experiences in green spaces through self-reported measures. The study focuses on measuring degree of illumination and investigating how nighttime characteristics influence restoration. Our findings reveal that high visual accessibility plays a more positive role in promoting restoration. In addition, path lighting may diminish the experiences of fascination and being away, as does foreground lighting. Restorative effects increase with additional background lighting, closely associated with extent. Enhanced lighting around paths improves evaluations of extent and compatibility, further supporting restoration. Finally, across different lighting directions and distributions, scattered lighting demonstrates greater restorative benefits compared to focused lighting, while uniform light distribution proves critical for visitor experiences. These insights provide valuable guidance for landscape planners and policymakers, enabling them to design restorative nighttime environments through targeted interventions. By integrating social sustainability considerations, nighttime green space lighting design can attract more users, thereby fostering the restorative and health benefits of nocturnal urban environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128769"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding street tree inequities: The interrelation of urban layout and socio-economics","authors":"Mirjam Schindler , Jan Schindler","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128765","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128765","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Trees play a crucial role in urban ecosystems, such as enhancing air quality, mitigating climate change impacts, and promoting community well-being. However, their distribution within cities often reflects socio-spatial disparities, disproportionately benefiting some neighbourhoods over others. This study examines the distribution of trees, particularly street trees, in Pōneke Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand and investigates whether urban layout and socio-economic indicators explain the observed disparities in street tree distribution and planting potential. Using spatial analysis of a comprehensive city-wide tree dataset, we explore spatial patterns of (street) tree distribution and employ spatial error models to explore the influence of urban layout and socio-economic indicators on street tree distribution. Our findings reveal significant spatial disparities in tree coverage across the urban area. Notably, only a small fraction of trees (7 %) are located on roadside reserves, despite substantial non-treed roadside areas suitable for additional planting (17 %). The spatial error model indicates that factors such as building set-backs, parcel irregularity, and road complexity significantly influence street tree distribution and planting potential, while socio-economic indicators alone provide limited explanatory power. These results highlight the critical role of urban design in shaping urban greening justice within cities, while also illustrating the complex interrelations between urban layout and socio-economic factors in shaping tree distribution. The study suggests that targeted street tree planting and informed urban planning have potential to address observed disparities in (street) tree distribution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128765"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143592163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
María García-Martín , Julia Schaupp , Anton Stahl Olafsson , Jonas Vester Legarth , Thomas H. Beery , Silvia Tobias
{"title":"Perceived constraints for psychological restoration in nearby greenspaces. An exploratory and multi-dimensional approach","authors":"María García-Martín , Julia Schaupp , Anton Stahl Olafsson , Jonas Vester Legarth , Thomas H. Beery , Silvia Tobias","doi":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128746","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128746","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stress-related illnesses are a major problem among urban societies. Greenspaces near residential areas are crucial for supporting mental well-being and mitigating urban stressors. While various studies have demonstrated the benefits of greenspaces for stress recovery, the constraints to experiencing these benefits are less explored. This study aims to explore the multidimensional factors constraining psychological restoration in everyday outdoor activities, to inform urban planning and enhance environmental psychology theories. In an online survey 1134 Swiss residents were presented with an open-ended question about the constraints they experienced during their latest outdoor activity, along with closed-ended questions about their personal traits, the activity performed, and the restorativeness of the experience. Through an inductive coding process followed by a deductive classification, we identified a wide range of constraints and categorized them into structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal constraints, further distinguishing between supply and demand factors. Structural supply constraints were predominant, particularly overcrowding, traffic, and noise, which negatively correlated with the perceived restorativeness of the environment. Intrapersonal demand constraints, such as thoughts and stress were mentioned frequently, and hindered restoration outcomes. Women and younger adults were more frequently affected by these constraints. Results underscore the subjective and context-dependent nature of restorative experiences in everyday environments, shaped by the interplay of individual, societal, and environmental factors. Our findings highlight the need for inclusive planning and social measures to support vulnerable groups in enhancing the restorative potential of outdoor activities in nearby greenspaces.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49394,"journal":{"name":"Urban Forestry & Urban Greening","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 128746"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}