What Urban Nature Provides Which Services?

Abstract

Natural elements are found in cities that also occur outside them. What makes their urbanity special, however, is the density of their distribution, the intensity of their use and the variability of their often small-scale structure. The aim in the city is to preserve, re-establish, maintain and develop these natural elements in such a way that they can meet the needs of urban dwellers as far as possible. To this end, the services of urban nature of various kinds should be wisely considered so that they also correspond well to the changing needs of urban dwellers. Many demands on urban nature contradict each other or are only expressed by certain groups of the population. Some cannot be realised at the same time at all (see ► Chap. 7). A formative moderation process is therefore required between the services of urban nature and the needs of the population perceiving these services. First of all, there should be clarity about which services can actually be provided by which urban nature and how they are already being used. That is the subject of this chapter. For a better overview, four frequently occurring, typical urban nature types were considered in a selected manner. They are the main service providers, are also widespread nationally and in part worldwide, and are used most intensively: urban parks, urban forests, urban gardens and urban waters.