The growing evidences suggest an association between street green space and health in cities. Pollen released by street trees has a considerable adverse impact on human health. This study aims to analyze the characteristics and assess the seasonally allergenic risk of street trees in Qingyang District, Chengdu City. There are 495 streets in Qingyang District, which have been divided into five categories

Studies have found that urban environments have a negative impact on physical and mental health. This is due to urban stressors such as increased noise levels, higher crime rates and rampant pollution. Moreover, living in building-dominant surroundings increases stress levels. There’s growing scientific evidence that forest therapy is a cost-effective method of stress management, and also has the ability

The negative consequences of increased urbanization on native biological and cultural diversity have received considerable research attention. Biological and cultural diversity can be sustained by counteracting various processes of floristic homogenization and by reestablishing connections between humans and nature. However, effective instruments to help people reconnect with nature can be lacking

Cities, towns and villages are important places with almost specific greening in comparison with open landscapes. Cemeteries are one of the most common land-use types in Central European settlements; however, they are still rather marginal regarding their total extent. In this study, we focused on the diversity of lichens in these important artificial habitats. Our study was done in the Czech Republic

Though the urban forest resource has been the subject of numerous studies quantifying ecosystem benefits and assessing tree canopy cover, little is known about the managers of this resource – the urban foresters. Literature from more well-established professions shows they routinely reflect on their own profession to identify opportunities and areas for improvement. A few examples of topics addressed

Public land managers are on the front lines of vegetation management and decision making as essential players in urban sustainability efforts. Green infrastructure, including lawns, has the potential to relieve climate change-related strains on municipal budgets while enhancing the quality of life. The most common urban vegetation that managers make decisions about is turfgrass, which dominates urban

Berlin currently experiences increasing environmental challenges especially through the combined effect of urbanization and climate change. The intensification of summer temperature extremes has become increasingly evident in recent years, urging the city to promote mitigation and adaptation measures for local heat load reduction. Green roofs have been widely recognized as an effective urban greening

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides numerous environmental, social and economic benefits through direct and indirect use of ecosystem services. The maintenance of UGI also provides work opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers in the public and private sectors, so-called green collar jobs. However, the extent and benefit of such employment has rarely been examined, especially in a developing

• Soil respiration (Rs) of forests plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. However, patchy remnant forests and their Rs characteristics are rarely studied. In this study, the diurnal and seasonal dynamics of the Rs of three patchy remnant forests and two urban green landscapes were determined using a portable soil carbon flux automatic analyzer in the urban fringe of Tianjin, China. Then

The Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) is a continuing education course created by the Society of Municipal Arborists and designed to train leaders in the urban forestry field. Organizations sent almost 500 participants to this annual course during its first ten years of existence. This study documents the outcomes and impacts of employee attendance on participating organizations and examines if there

With the globalization and population growth, urbanization trends have attracted higher number of people to towns and cities causing very high population densities and space scarcity. Because of the current trends more and more buildings are being constructed causing a grave danger for the environment. This directly and indirectly increase the vulnerability of cities special in tropical context to

Globally physical inactivity is one of the significant public health issues. Low and/or insufficient participation in physical activity (PA) of adolescents during leisure time and increase sedentary behavior among them is worrisome. This paper investigates (i) associations between barriers (i.e., UGS-based and internal/social) and adolescents' PA in urban green spaces (UGSs), (ii) mediating effects

Urban trees growing in roadside locations encounter stressful impacts in terms of atmospheric and soil conditions and mechanical damage. Here, a set of lime trees from a roadside location in Helsinki was analysed for their radial growth and tree-ring width variability in relation to climate records, effects from salt injury and mechanical damage the trees have experienced during their lifetime. Cross

Arboricultural safety standards exist in some countries, but it is unclear how many standards exist, how they compare to one another, and whether (and how many) countries share standards. To address these gaps, we obtained and analyzed arboricultural safety standards from 29 countries. We determined which safety categories were included in each standard to highlight frequently and infrequently included

Public open space constitutes a significant part of the sustainable urban environment. Urban green space—which includes parks, sports fields, and wetlands—is a crucial type of public open space in a healthy urban ecosystem. Most studies on urban green spaces comprise large-scale objective evaluations, with relatively few related theoretical studies from the perspective of human behavior. This is predominantly

Excavation within the root-zone of urban trees is increasing rapidly in compact cities for the installation and repair of belowground infrastructures, but research on excavation damages is mostly limited to the assessment of their effects on growth and dieback, while effects on physiology and long-term stability are still elusive. This experiment was aimed to understand long-term mechanisms of tree

In this paper, we describe the theory and research design for a new collaborative tree-planting initiative in northwest Indiana in the Midwest United States. The CommuniTree initiative is attempting to alleviate some of the social and ecological issues experienced by post-industrial Rust Belt communities. Northwest Indiana was dominated by heavy industry, particularly steel, throughout much of the

In the context of rapid urbanization, parks are important assets for enhancing the quality of life in urban settings. They provide opportunities for outdoor physical activity, recreation, and therapeutic benefits. A growing number of park assessment studies are shifting their focus from spatial assessments such as availability, proximity, and accessibility, to nonspatial assessments such as park quality

Urban areas are often overheated, which potentially results in a range of negative effects on the urban microclimate. One way to mitigate urban overheating is to provide shading by tall vegetation (trees). Simulations of insolation with different tree locations were used for insolation mitigation in previous research. However, in urban green spaces potential tree locations can be selected with greater

Land cover change accompanying large-scale and rapid urbanization has caused major losses to biodiversity, with urban planning that incorporates biodiversity conservation being urgently needed. Understanding how land cover impacts the distribution and dynamics of breeding sites of biodiversity indicator species could facilitate the creation of long-term, landscape-scale urban planning to enhance biodiversity

Vegetated roofs, often called “green roofs”, are popular and necessary in urban greening in densely populated areas. Well-functioning vegetated roofs can provide various ecosystem services to urban residents (e.g., stormwater management, air pollution mitigation, and aesthetic value). Plants essentially determine the actualization of the ecosystem services, thus finding effective ways to establish

Trees provide important ecosystem services and benefits, with some, such as air pollutant and heat reductions, being linked to improved human health and well-being. The uneven distribution of tree cover in urban areas and subsequently the ecosystem services and benefits it provides has potential implications related to environmental justice, especially if disadvantaged socio-demographic or socio-economic

The effects on the health and well-being of under-utilized and passive greenspace with specialist functions, for example the urban cemetery have been rarely studied. In this study, we aim to examine the differences in the associations between greenspace attributes and perceived restorativeness (defined as recovering from mental fatigue) across two urban greenspace typologies; namely, parks and cemeteries

Mapping individual tree species is critical to understand the ecosystem services value of the urban forest and improve management. The main aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of integrating multi-seasonal high resolution Pléiades satellite images with airborne LiDAR data for improving urban tree species mapping in the City of Tampa, FL, USA. In this study, we evaluated and compared the

Urban development concept requires a way forward towards smarter and easier urban development. But due to unintended urbanization, which contributes to increased impervious surface areas with several environmental issues. There was a requirement to assess and map the urban built-up impervious areas for solving various socio-environmental issues. This work attempts to evaluate and implement machine

A forest environment can promote the mental state of people and the effect can result within short frames (e.g., minutes of visit). Most studies to date have used questionnaire investigation or medical examination to study how forest affect people. However, these methods were not rapid enough to assess real-time emotion of visitors who were immersed in a forest experience. In this study, twenty-four

There is a renewed interest in urban gardening in the past decade stimulated by the increased awareness of benefits that it brings to the city, local communities, and individuals. Previous studies have shown different perspectives on urban food growing in the context of developed and developing countries, but less is known about the countries in transition in Southeast Europe. Specifically, no published

Hospital is one of the areas that affect the mental and psychological conditions of the children, and the poor design of these environments may affect physical and psychological health. This study investigated the effect of a typical Dish Garden as a surrogate for green spaces in improving the physical and neuropsychological characteristics of hospitalized children. For this purpose, 54 hospitalized

Participating in forest recreation activities sometimes involves risks that result in illnesses and/or injuries. One important risk factor is participants’ preexisting medical conditions, which may lead to illness incidents. Little has been studied about the relationship between participants’ illnesses and their preexisting medical conditions, and, from a risk management perspective, that is crucial

Volatile emissions from urban parks and forests can significantly contribute to local and regional air quality due to biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions from vegetation, but the source strength of BVOC of urban habitats is difficult to assess due to a complex mixture of ornamental species with widely varying leaf and whole plant characteristics and taxonomy. Furthermore, there is very

As urbanization increases, so do the demands on public parks to serve multiple aesthetic, recreational, and ecological functions. Decisions about vegetation selection and management on parkland are complex and must reconcile the values of diverse user groups. Public land managers serve a key role in this decision-making process, though their perspectives are not well understood. We apply Ostrom’s ‘action

Despite the growing number of Urban Wetland Parks (UWPs) established in China, little scientific understanding exists regarding the most suitable design strategies and their respective benefits for nature and people. This paper aims to develop a framework of integrated design guidelines for Chinese UWPs which combines ecological issues and open space use. Our research design includes a literature review

Contemporary changes to climate pose increasing hydro-meteorological risks to cities. In Glasgow, key hydro-meteorological risks include alluvial and pluvial flooding and overheating. While the need to address these risks are clear, it is equally important to tackle these in a climate just manner. Having understood the benefits Green Infrastructure (GI) can provide in tackling the impact of climate

The peri-urban area has become a heated target of research in developing countries against the background of rapid urbanization. Especially, as the provider of ecological services and the arena of public life, green and open spaces (GOSs) in this area are at high risk of being encroached upon and privatized. Understanding and interpreting visitor satisfaction help us make more informed policies on

The range of benefits provided by urban greenspaces is reasonably well understood and a broad consensus has been reached that they provide habitats along with social ecosystem services, such as restoration, health and food. Domestic gardens, which are a primary node of contact between city residents and nature, typically represent a significant portion of the urban greenspaces, so the gardeners who

Gardening is a major pursuit in the UK, providing health and wellbeing benefits to individual gardeners, while providing important habitats for wildlife and supporting ecosystem services such as pollination. However, garden plants are afflicted by an array of pests and diseases, but until now, their importance has not been quantified, but only inferred from other sources. Here, we describe the results

Urbanization fundamentally alters soil physiochemical properties, but little is known on how this human effect alters soil biota. Microarthropods are important bioindicators due to their sedentary life form and sensitivity to environmental changes. Taxonomic richness, abundance, diversity, distribution of microarthropod communities were investigated in three urban land use types, remnant forests, low

Behavior mapping is an effective tool for the direct observation of the interaction between people and places. However, current approaches have shortcomings that introduce location inaccuracies and hinder micro-context recording of observed activities. This study explores the applicability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in behavior mapping. First, we suggest a protocol for the use of UAVs in behavior

With the growing demand for small urban green infrastructures (UGIs), knowing the public perception of small UGIs is important for future urban planning and decision-making. This study focusing on three small UGIs (a green roof, green wall, and small green lane in Guangzhou) explored residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the maintenance of small UGIs and estimated their nonmarket value via travel

Visual risk assessment remains the primary means of gauging urban tree safety and is a key facet of storm preparation and response. While past research has investigated the reproducibility of risk assessment methodologies (i.e., precision), few, if any, studies truly address the accuracy of current inspection practices — especially with regard to the characterization of likelihood of failure. In 2016

Rapid urbanization leads to a disorder land use pattern, posing severe threats to natural resources with high-quality ecosystem service (ES), hence, it is necessary to delineate ecologically constrained urban growth boundary (UGB) for containing sprawling urban expansion. The ecological constraint based on the assessment of specific or comprehensive ecosystem function provides little information about

Public urban green spaces are crucial for citizens’ wellbeing and are an important part of daily life in cities. To maximize their benefits to quality of life a thorough knowledge of citizens’ preferences and preference heterogeneity is crucial in the planning and design of urban green spaces. This study investigated visitors’ perception of typical green spaces, with a focus on vegetation structure

Children’s outdoor experiences have been explored for many years but little research has specifically highlighted the role of water in children’s outdoor play. In this paper we present findings from an innovative study which focussed on children’s play with water in three urban green spaces: two neighbourhood parks and one civic space. We define constructed and natural water features and explore children’s

This paper studied perceived physical and psychological factors that influence relations between people and urban parks. Current literature showed that these factors influence attitudes, behavior, and perceived benefits toward urban parks. While most research focused on either physical factors or psychological determinants, much less grouping them and simultaneously examining their effects on people-environment

Urban parks are of great importance for residents’ health and well-being. As two main factors influencing park visit, distance to park and park size have been studied and adopted in practice such as park planning and guidelines. This study aims to examine how travel distance and park size associated with park visits and how these effects may vary across different types of park visits in Beijing, China

Urban forestry is an interdisciplinary field of science and a profession that directly manages green infrastructure. There are many significant benefits to a properly managed urban forest resource, managers need to be appropriately prepared to successfully manage their resources. We conducted a mixed-mode survey that asked employers what skills they were looking for when they hired entry-level urban

Green outdoor environment (GOE) is a dynamic infrastructure to an urban area and part of the city’s ecosystem. Although numerous studies have been carried out on GOE, there is still a lack of information on GOE and its relationship in term of usability by office employees. The objectives of the study are to investigate the usage and constraints associated with GOE at workplaces by office employees

Urban parks are important within cities and towns for mitigating high air temperatures and improving human thermal comfort, especially during hot summer conditions. We demonstrate this benefit through an analysis of the climatic interactions between a relatively small (1.5 Ha), inner-city park and its surrounding urban environment in Melbourne, Australia, during the hot Austral summer of 2013−14. On

Cycling for recreational or commuting purposes has multiple benefits. Understanding the factors that influence the use of bicycles is important to formulate policies and promote their use. Previous studies have reached a consensus on the impact of built environments on the use of bicycles. However, very few studies have used actual cycling data to measure bicycle use, and differing opinions exist on

Previous studies that quantified or simulated loads on a tie-in point (TIP) during climber ascents, abrupt stops during descents, and falls considered crown-anchored stationary rope systems (SRS). But climbers also use basal-anchored SRS when working in trees, and because both parts of the rope—lead and fall—carry a load, the TIP presumably bears a greater load than on a crown-anchored SRS. In this

The negative impacts of urbanization on biodiversity can be mitigated via afforestation, particularly if the trees provide food, e.g., flowers and fruits. However, it is necessary to highlight the effectiveness of the tree species in attracting and supporting primary consumers in cities. Addressing animal-tree interactions in urban areas is useful for identifying such efficacy and consistently selecting

Urban trees provide natural shade and moderate human exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. To date, most studies quantifying UV attenuation by urban tree canopies have taken place in Australia, with no studies in North America. Few studies have utilized sensors sensitive to UV-B radiation, although the shorter wavelengths are more important in determining erythemal (skin burning) UV. We collected

A plethora of socioenvironmental issues, and growing concerns over the effects of climate change, are forcing cities to rethink conventional urban water management practices. However, change towards more sustainable practices has been remarkably slow. This paper examines two cases of greening projects aimed at urban rehabilitation in Stockholm and Barcelona, which have turned into examples of innovative

This study had three purposes: (1) assessing physiological and psychological responses of a 3-day forest therapy workshop, (2) evaluating the effects of the forest therapy workshop on creativity, and (3) examining the relationship between change in emotions and improvements in creativity. We employed a within-subject design in the current study and recruited 23 participants from the attendees of the

This study aims to provide an overview of the pocket parks in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur while identifying the characteristics of the pocket parks associated with the visitation and usage. This study also intends to identify the constraints that limit the use of pocket parks according to Malaysia context. A survey conducted among N=363 respondents consisting of pocket parks users and non-users