Urban oases
The social-ecological importance of small urban green spaces
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19585403 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Monika Egerer (0000-0002-3304-0725, Technical University of Munich, corresponding author), Peter Annighöfer (0000-0001-8126-5307, Technical University of Munich), Sophie Arzberger (0000-0002-3284-0253, Technical University of Munich), Stefanie Burger (0009-0003-4827-8829, Technical University of Munich), Yannik Hecher (Technical University of Munich), Vera Knill (0009-0003-2531-5965, Technical University of Munich), Birgit M Probst (0000-0001-9597-3160, Technical University of Munich), Michael Suda (Technical University of Munich) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2024-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ecosystems and People (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2639-5908 • E-ISSN: 2639-5916 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/26395916.2024.2315991 |
| OpenAlex | W4392003225 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 115 |
Global challenges around biodiversity loss, climate change, and public health are heightening the importance of urban green spaces for supporting ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Trees, parks and forests integrated across cityscapes are proposed strategies to combat climate change and promote human health for current and future cities. This is true for small urban green spaces, perhaps just < 1 ha in size. Depending on their structure and size, these spaces can provide structural vegetation complexity, promote species diversity, regulate temperatures and offer human thermal comfort. These spaces also provide recreation opportunity, nature experience, sense of belonging, and restoration to people. As cities densify, it is crucial to understand where these dimensions intersect in theory and practice to design and manage small green spaces in particular, as these systems may be easier than large green spaces to implement in urban planning. In this paper, we narratively review known biophysical and ecological properties of green spaces that support biodiversity, promote temperature regulation and climate resilience, and may ultimately benefit residents’ health through different use activities and multisensory experiences that promote restoration and wellbeing. Furthermore, we review how stakeholder engagement and participatory processes can guide equitable green space provision and design, and we use case studies and our own research as examples. In doing so, this paper aims to further the understanding of the social-ecological importance of small urban green spaces and calls for inter- and transdisciplinary research that generates insight to design, manage and protect these places in a changing climate
Biology · Geography · Urban ecology · Urbanization · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Urban Green Space and Health · Ecology
Urban heat and public green space
Neighbourhood Income Disparities and Access to Urban Natural Assets in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana
Actionable information and climate change awareness drive consumer selection of environmentally beneficial garden plants
Recognizing dominant factors for urban green space degradation in the arid city
Multisensory Interactions in Greenway Plazas of Differing Openness and Effects on User Behaviors
Navigating the Digital Public Sphere
Urban Green Spaces, Privatization, and Sustainable Development
When honeybees come to town
Action-oriented urban agriculture opportunity spaces
Thermal comfort during hot days in Munich, Germany
Daily Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality
Climate change impacts and adaptation in cities
Traits of trees for cooling urban heat islands
Health Benefits from Nature Experiences Depend on Dose
Magnitude of urban heat islands largely explained by climate and population
Enabling Green and Blue Infrastructure to Improve Contributions to Human Well-Being and Equity in Urban Systems
Reduction of physiological stress by urban green space in a multisensory virtual experiment
Pathways linking biodiversity to human health
How to make a city climate-proof, addressing the urban heat island effect
Effects of spatial pattern of greenspace on urban cooling in a large metropolitan area of eastern China
Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings
Green space and loneliness
A Review of the Benefits of Nature Experiences
Use of Small Public Urban Green Spaces (SPUGS)
Urban green space cooling effect in cities
The health benefits of the great outdoors
Evaluating restoration in urban green spaces
The influence of small green space type and structure at the street level on urban heat island mitigation
Scale-dependent interactions between tree canopy cover and impervious surfaces reduce daytime urban heat during summer
The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures
Nature and mental health
The city and urban heat islands
Pocket parks for people – A study of park design and use
Nature Contact and Human Health
Green justice or just green? Provision of urban green spaces in Berlin, Germany
Urban natural environments as nature-based solutions for improved public health – A systematic review of reviews
Social Life Under Cover
Quantifying the impacts of climate change and extreme climate events on energy systems
Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke
Linking public urban green spaces and human well-being
A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks
Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide
Nature and Health
Area is the primary correlate of annual and seasonal patterns of avian species richness in urban green spaces
Urban green space alone is not enough
Calculating a national Anomie Density Ratio
The multisensory interaction between auditory, visual, and thermal to the overall comfort in public open space
Geography of disservices in urban forests
The effect of loneliness on depression
Projecting global urban land expansion and heat island intensification through 2050
What Personal and Environmental Factors Determine Frequency of Urban Greenspace Use
The Relationship between Social Cohesion and Urban Green Space
An Outline of a Theory of Affordances
An assessment of urban vulnerability in the Amazon Delta and Estuary
Making nature-based solutions climate-ready for the 50 °C world
Restorative effects of urban green environments and the role of urban-nature orientedness and noise sensitivity
Not all types of nature have an equal effect on urban residents’ well-being
Is It Really Just a Social Construction
Greening cities – To be socially inclusive? About the alleged paradox of society and ecology in cities
Toward Improved Public Health Outcomes From Urban Nature
From Multifunctionality to Multiple Ecosystem Services? A Conceptual Framework for Multifunctionality in Green Infrastructure Planning for Urban Areas
Landscape and Health
The World Health Organization's definition of health
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |