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A novel hierarchical framework to evaluate residential exposure to green spaces

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Abstract

Contexts

It has been widely acknowledged that exposure to green space (e-GS) has positive health benefits to urban residents. While most studies estimate e-GS from an availability or accessibility perspective, few studies have considered GS quality, which is closely related to the willingness and time of residents' visits to GS.

Objectives

Here we propose a hierarchical framework to assess residential e-GS including three individual indicators—availability, accessibility, and attractiveness, and further explore the disparities in GS exposure across rural, peri-urban, and urban areas in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city (Yangzhou). Specifically, availability means assessing the quantity of surrounding greenness including all types of GSs; accessibility means calculating the network distance from home to major GS with recreational facilities (e.g., public parks); and attractiveness indicator integrated the major GS 'micro' features (i.e., quality), proximity and population density calculated by a modified gravity model.

Results

The results show the spatial distribution of residential e-GS was different among availability, accessibility, and attractiveness, and these metrics showed weak correlations suggesting they are three distinct e-GS metrics. Significant differences (Kruskal–Wallis test, p < 0.01) were revealed in the comparisons of the GS availability, accessibility, and attractiveness values among the urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. Further, we outlined the potentially preferable exposure metrics in exploring the pathways linking GS to various dimensions of health outcomes.

Conclusions

The hierarchical framework has important theoretical and practical significance in identifying the hierarchical form of e-GS and targeting vulnerable communities that may suffer from health issues due to lack of GSs.

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Funding

Funding was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42171093), Scientific and Innovative Action Plan of Shanghai (Grant No. 21ZR1408500), Shanghai Pujiang Program (Grant No. 21PJ1401600), Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration (Grant No SHUES2021A02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Jinguang Zhang, Zhaowu Yu, Xiaohan Sha & Hanyu Zhang

  2. College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Jinguang Zhang & Yingyi Cheng

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  1. Jinguang Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhaowu Yu.

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Zhang, J., Yu, Z., Cheng, Y. et al. A novel hierarchical framework to evaluate residential exposure to green spaces. Landsc Ecol 37, 895–911 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-021-01378-5

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