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The Incremental Demise of Urban Green Spaces

Author

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  • Johan Colding

    (Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Kungsbäcksvägen 47, 80176 Gävle, Sweden
    The Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Åsa Gren

    (The Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden)

  • Stephan Barthel

    (Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Kungsbäcksvägen 47, 80176 Gävle, Sweden
    Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden)

Abstract

More precise explanations are needed to better understand why public green spaces are diminishing in cities, leading to the loss of ecosystem services that humans receive from natural systems. This paper is devoted to the incremental change of green spaces—a fate that is largely undetectable by urban residents. The paper elucidates a set of drivers resulting in the subtle loss of urban green spaces and elaborates on the consequences of this for resilience planning of ecosystem services. Incremental changes of greenspace trigger baseline shifts, where each generation of humans tends to take the current condition of an ecosystem as the normal state, disregarding its previous states. Even well-intended political land-use decisions, such as current privatization schemes, can cumulatively result in undesirable societal outcomes, leading to a gradual loss of opportunities for nature experience. Alfred E. Kahn referred to such decision making as ‘the tyranny of small decisions.’ This is mirrored in urban planning as problems that are dealt with in an ad hoc manner with no officially formulated vision for long-term spatial planning. Urban common property systems could provide interim solutions for local governments to survive periods of fiscal shortfalls. Transfer of proprietor rights to civil society groups can enhance the resilience of ecosystem services in cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Colding & Åsa Gren & Stephan Barthel, 2020. "The Incremental Demise of Urban Green Spaces," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-11, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:5:p:162-:d:360762
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marcin Feltynowski & Jakub Kronenberg, 2020. "Urban Green Spaces—An Underestimated Resource in Third-Tier Towns in Poland," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Karolina Zięba-Kulawik & Piotr Wężyk, 2022. "Monitoring 3D Changes in Urban Forests Using Landscape Metrics Analyses Based on Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, June.
    3. Tania Noël & Benoit Dardenne, 2022. "Relationships between Green Space Attendance, Perceived Crowdedness, Perceived Beauty and Prosocial Behavior in Time of Health Crisis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-18, June.
    4. Hernandez, Edward Russel & Sy, Patricia Breanne & Cirunay, Michelle T. & Batac, Rene C., 2024. "Power-law distributions of urban tree cover," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 643(C).
    5. Jörg Priess & Luis Valença Pinto & Ieva Misiune & Julia Palliwoda, 2021. "Ecosystem Service Use and the Motivations for Use in Central Parks in Three European Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Wing Shan Kan & Raul P. Lejano, 2021. "How Land Use, Climate Change, and an Ageing Demographic Intersect to Create New Vulnerabilities in Hong Kong," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-8, April.
    7. Víctor García-Díez & Marina García-Llorente & José A. González, 2020. "Participatory Mapping of Cultural Ecosystem Services in Madrid: Insights for Landscape Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Shaswati Chowdhury & Jaan-Henrik Kain & Marco Adelfio & Yevheniya Volchko & Jenny Norrman, 2023. "Transforming brownfields into urban greenspaces: A working process for stakeholder analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(1), pages 1-25, January.
    9. Johan Colding & Karl Samuelsson & Lars Marcus & Åsa Gren & Ann Legeby & Meta Berghauser Pont & Stephan Barthel, 2022. "Frontiers in Social–Ecological Urbanism," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Bo Li & Yue Wang & Tong Wang & Xiaoman He & Jan K. Kazak, 2022. "Scenario Analysis for Resilient Urban Green Infrastructure," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, September.
    11. Alessio Russo & Giuseppe T. Cirella, 2021. "Urban Ecosystem Services: New Findings for Landscape Architects, Urban Planners, and Policymakers," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-5, January.
    12. Nordström, Jonas & Hammarlund, Cecilia, 2021. "You win some, you lose some - compensating the loss of green space in cities taking heterogeneous population characteristics into consideration," AgriFood-WP 2021:3, Lund University, AgriFood Economics Centre.
    13. Jeonghee Choi & Gunwoo Kim, 2022. "History of Seoul’s Parks and Green Space Policies: Focusing on Policy Changes in Urban Development," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, March.
    14. Mariusz Starzec & Sabina Kordana-Obuch & Daniel Słyś, 2023. "Assessment of the Feasibility of Implementing a Flash Flood Early Warning System in a Small Catchment Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-43, May.
    15. Adriano Bressane & Rogério Galante Negri & Irineu de Brito Junior & Liliam César de Castro Medeiros & Isabela Lopes Lima Araújo & Mirela Beatriz Silva & Amanda Louisi dos Santos Galvão & Graziele Cora, 2022. "Association between Contact with Nature and Anxiety, Stress and Depression Symptoms: A Primary Survey in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-10, August.
    16. Peter Brokking & Ulla Mörtberg & Berit Balfors, 2021. "Municipal Practices for Integrated Planning of Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Development in the Stockholm Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-20, September.
    17. Alessio Russo & Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez & Annick St-Denis & Mark G. Tjoelker, 2025. "Native vs. Non-Native Plants: Public Preferences, Ecosystem Services, and Conservation Strategies for Climate-Resilient Urban Green Spaces," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-22, April.
    18. Koudoua Ferhati & Saliha Chouguiat Belmallem & Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu, 2023. "The Role of the COVID-19 Crisis in Shaping Urban Planning for Improved Public Health: A Triangulated Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-26, February.
    19. Jonas Nordström & Cecilia Hammarlund, 2021. "You Win Some, You Lose Some: Compensating the Loss of Green Space in Cities Considering Heterogeneous Population Characteristics," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, October.

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