Neighborhood greenspace has been linked to various disability risk factors, including immunoregulation, mental health issues, and neurological and degenerative diseases. However, the precise nature of the relationship between greenspace and disability remains poorly defined, particularly concerning the spatial characteristics of greenspace beyond its mere quantity. This study aims to elucidate the

The Piedmont Forest in northwest Argentina, like most Neotropical seasonal dry forests, is one of the world́s most threatened ecosystems due to deforestation and climate change. To plan conservation strategies aimed at sustaining this forest type, the response to projected changes in habitat conditions must be anticipated. Our objectives were to determine the potential distribution and identify priority

The role of building characteristics and survival during wildfires are well studied. Less so is the role of urban vegetation type, condition, and location on building loss in fire events. We mapped and statistically modeled parcel-scale urban vegetation characteristics across different Defensible Space Buffers (DSBs) and their role in predicting building loss in shrub and forest dominated urban ecosystems

Children’s direct experiences with nature are crucial for their health, development, and the cultivation of pro-conservation attitudes and behavior. However, there is growing evidence that these experiences are declining across many regions worldwide, contributing to what is known as the extinction of experience. Urbanization and increased digital media use have been suggested as major drivers of this

Emotions, being individuals’ transient affective experiences, are shaped by relational dynamics and environmental interactions over time and cross places. Contact with greenspace as a vital health determinant and well-being resource, similarly, is situationally dependent and culturally influenced. Mobile methods, which involve collecting and analysing data from participants as they move through various

The lingering effects of redlining are linked to contemporary heat inequities observed across US cities. Residential security maps created by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) have been widely used to analyze neighborhood-level disparities in land surface temperatures. However, the use of aggregated spatial units often fails to capture internal landscape heterogeneity and the heat vulnerabilities

Land-use change, climate crisis, and subsequent biodiversity loss are critical challenges that need to be addressed in sustainable urban development. The concept of ecosystem services (ES) is a promising approach to guide this development. Trees are key elements of urban nature that provide a variety of ES, including carbon storage and food and habitat for diverse faunistic groups. It is often suggested

Although numerous studies have established the positive link between green spaces and human restorative effects, little research has deeply explored how different combinations of natural elements in green spaces affect various occupational groups, especially in the context of post-pandemic urban space compression. This study employed virtual reality (VR) to design a mixed-design experiment involving

Green infrastructure (GI) is a vital strategy for climate change adaptation and urban sustainability, yet integrating its multifunctionality remains significantly challenging. This study develops a sustainability-oriented optimization framework for GI systems, incorporating emergy analysis, multi-objective optimization, and regional climate models. It highlights a sound cross-domain assessment and

Access to nature in cities is critical to human well-being; however, it is not equitably distributed. In this study, we investigated a specific type of access to nature, access to positive interactions with urban birds. We explored whether these interactions are equitably distributed in 20 community gardens across an income gradient in the city of San Francisco, U.S.A. We used an interdisciplinary

Efforts to restore urban green spaces (UGSs) aim to enhance benefits for both people and nature. Right-of-way (ROW) corridors, such as those beneath powerlines, offer key opportunities. By removing invasive species and introducing native plants through urban-adapted management practices, these spaces could become biodiverse UGSs in expanding cities. In this study we evaluate the effectiveness of invasive

As the global urban population is expected to reach 70% by 2050, sustainable urban planning is essential for creating resilient and livable cities. Urban trees and green spaces are vital for mitigating climate change and enhancing public health. The 3–30–300 rule, introduced in 2021, mandates that every citizen should see at least three mature trees from their home, live in neighborhoods with at least

Evidence on the preventable disease and economic burdens associated with increasing green spaces for the Chinese population remains lacking. This health impact assessment study aimed to provide such evidence for China between 2000 and 2020. Using two green space proxies (percentage of green space [GS%] and normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI] within a 300-m buffer around each grid cell) and

Enhancing human well-being based on relatedness to nature requires a clear understanding of the associations between nature relatedness and well-being, particularly in urban contexts. The socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of neighborhoods are associated with residents’ perceptions of and access to nature. However, research addressing the interplay between area-level deprivation, objective

Most cities are likely to experience hotter summers and less precipitation in dry months by 2050. Urban tree species selected based on historical climates may be vulnerable to future climate extremes, particularly heatwaves during drought. In Sydney, Australia, an extreme summer in 2019–2020 caused extensive canopy dieback in 20 % and the death of 8 % of surveyed trees (n = 150 trees), but it was unclear

Numerous studies have highlighted the dramatic hydro-geomorphological and ecological alterations that are the hydrological consequences of urban sprawl. However, most studies did not include the social dimensions. We propose an innovative interdisciplinary approach that combines biophysical and social issues using an example in the Paris urban area. We developed an Urban River Socio-environmental index

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly used to build urban climate resilience by employing natural features and processes. Implementing NBS in urban residential areas relies on the availability of unsealed soil surfaces. Here we investigate how soil is distributed at fine spatial scales across Los Angeles County, the second largest metropolitan area in the United States, to examine the potential

A distant view through a window is preferred by urban dwellers due to its benefits to human health and well-being. A high window view distance is also valued in real estate markets, especially in high-rise, high-density urban areas. Thus, an urban-scale assessment of window view distance is significant in examining the disparity of sharing of view openness for applications and analytics in urban health

Sustainability planning toolkits serve as critical instruments for guiding communities toward environmental, social, and economic resilience. Yet toolkits vary widely in their design, influencing how communities balance local flexibility with global sustainability commitments. While prior research has emphasized the risks of greenwashing and green fatigue, this study identifies an additional key tension:

Explicit urban growth patterns (UGPs) exhibit complex association with implicit urban green growth (UGG). However, the scaling trajectories linking carbon metabolism and socio-economic development in UGG remain uncertain, and it is unclear which UGP is optimal for local or global UGG. Here, we establish dynamic scaling laws between CO2 emissions and the socio-economic size of 77,677 newly built-up

Urban parks play a crucial role in mitigating urban overheating, but their unequal distribution exacerbates heat inequality. Park cooling effects extend beyond park boundaries, benefiting surrounding residential communities. However, it remains uncertain whether the spatial spillover of park cooling effects can compensate for the unequal distribution of urban parks. This study estimated the park cooling

The waterfront connects aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and its landscape quality is an indicator of the status of blue-green infrastructure. Especially in urban areas, the consequences of direct human interventions on the waterfront are evident, yet there is a need for more comprehensive and easy approaches to quantify the dynamics of the waterfront landscapes. Herein, we propose a simple, rapid

Urban densification faces challenges due to the declining availability of land in urban areas worldwide and the need to balance various demands regarding the use of the remaining land, which can provide high ecological and social value. At the same time, in many residential areas, small-scale vacant lots with existing building rights can be found. The decision as to whether or not densification on

Urban blue and green spaces, like ponds and parks, can mitigate the negative effects of urbanization on biodiversity by providing diverse, connected habitats and enabling resource flows between ecosystems. While studies have evaluated these spaces for terrestrial and aquatic communities individually, few have examined shared factors influencing both communities simultaneously. Consequently, it is unclear

Urban visual perception is important for the human experience in cities, shaped by intertwined characteristics of urban landscapes. By quantifying and explaining these perceptual experiences, researchers can gain insights into human preferences and support decision-making in planning and design. However, past studies have shown inconsistencies in survey design and ambiguities in reporting, leading

Forests in cities are important social and ecological resources that vary in spatial extent, configuration, and ownership across urban areas, yet these patterns are not well described. Using high resolution urban tree canopy maps and planimetric data from three major cities of the eastern United States (New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD), we distinguish patches of forest from other tree

Urban green spaces (UGS) are recognized as effective strategy to regulate microclimates. The vertical structure and size of UGS are both key factors influencing their microclimate regulation capacity. However, in different seasons and under extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, the cross-effect of vertical structure and size, as well as the impact of energy and water vapor transfer processes

Urban habitat gardens, designed at the urban community scale, are increasingly recognized as vital components of urban green infrastructure, contributing to biodiversity conservation and enhancing urban resident well-being. Despite their growing implementation, comprehensive studies examining their delivery of cultural ecosystem services (CESs) in densely populated areas remain limited. Previous research

This study explores the potential of large language models (LLMs) to approximate human preferences for and aesthetic judgments of natural landscapes using natural language processing techniques. Our research addresses the gap in understanding how well LLMs can replicate complex human perceptions related to landscape preferences. We compared human responses and model predictions across 30 natural scenes

The evolving discourse around IGS – the unplanned and unintended green spaces in our cities – has developed to a point where we have a strong and growing understanding of their diverse social-ecological value. With our growing understanding of IGS comes the capacity and responsibility to think more critically about how these spaces should be more actively considered in land use decision making to improve

Urban plantings can improve the liveability of cities, but wide-scale implementation can be deterred by maintenance costs. Naturalistic plantings are low-maintenance and are being used to provide multiple ecosystem services and amenity in cities worldwide. In hotter and drier climates, naturalistic plantings could take inspiration from natural shrubland communities to tolerate summer droughts and remain

The colors of urban streets play a vital role in shaping the city's image and influencing people's emotional perceptions. However, the relationship between street color environments and residents' perceptions has rarely been explored in depth, and existing studies predominantly adopt qualitative approaches. To accurately and effectively assess the connection and impact between street landscape colors

Understanding how social networks facilitate the adoption of marginal urban greening actions can provide valuable impetus to guide transformative change in urban landscapes, which are under multiple social and environmental stressors globally. Social network mapping of resource flows, particularly information sharing, is one tool for understanding the emergent and transformative urban greening practice

Urban green spaces are becoming increasingly important due to their multitude of ecosystem services. Until now, the focus of environmental impact assessment has been mainly on greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, this study aims to assess common green spaces in Vienna with the method of life cycle assessment for the impact categories climate change, fine particulate matter formation, marine eutrophication

Urban sustainability relies on maintaining a delicate balance between humans and nature. Urban rooftop farming (URF) has emerged as a potentially transformative practice in this regard. However, ensuring effective implementation of URF requires appropriate parameters that align with citizens’ ambitions. This study delves into residents’ experiences practicing URF in Dhaka city, advocating for a separate

Land value is a crucial indicator of economic dynamics and regional development, providing essential information for urban planning and policy development. However, most existing studies estimate a singular land value over large areas, lacking the fine-grained details for urban management. This study therefore develops a RAHGV (relative-to-absolute hybrid generative valuation) framework for regional

Urbanization poses significant threats to pollinators, but they may respond differently to habitat modification according to their nesting and foraging requirements. Despite the diversity of pollinator groups and species found in urban areas, research often focus on bees, neglecting other groups. Whether bee response to urbanization suffice in representing the wider pollinator spectrum, however, is

This article presents a spatially integrated method for forest management planning and outdoor recreation in forest areas. A survey of 1402 respondents with varied socio-demographic profiles assessed the recreational attractiveness of forest areas. We classified silvicultural regimes into four categories (no management, low, medium, and high-intensity management) and mapped the potential attractiveness

Neighborhood greenspaces are widely known to benefit bird diversity and human mental health. However, whether bird richness mediates the relationship between greenspace and mental health is unknown. We ascertain such mediation effects in 294 census tracts in Los Angeles City. We obtained greenspace data from one-meter resolution satellite imagery, bird species data from eBird citizen science datasets

Urban greenspaces significantly influence the ecological environment, resident health, and sustainable development of cities. Fractional vegetation cover (FVC) is a common measure of urban greenspace, and a long-term FVC dataset is required to characterize the dynamics of vegetation in a complex urban environment along with socioeconomic development. This study proposed a data fusion method to integrate

Landscape planning and design holds the potential to contribute to efforts toward repairing our growing psychological disconnection with nature. To do so, however, it is important to know what types of environmental features impact how connected to nature certain environments make us feel. The present study used a novel application of network analysis to identify which environmental features are most

Rural exodus from European mountain regions to lowlands has triggered natural reforestation of abandoned lands in the 19th and 20th centuries, altering the provision of ecosystem services and creating management challenges. Post-abandonment forests are complex ecosystems that respond over time and space to several drivers. Their management requires integrated approaches that involve insights from historical

Greenness and noise are important environmental determinants of human health. The rapid urbanization and population growth have intensified the densification of urban environments, escalating traffic noise and the depletion of green spaces.

Understanding the spatial factors that shape wildlife communities across human-modified landscapes is vital for biodiversity conservation. Although human activities can decrease biodiversity, humans can also provide resources, which can potentially increase species richness. However, it is largely unknown how seasonal community characteristics vary in relation to the characteristics of both the landscape

Leisure-oriented active travel, such as walking and running, offers significant health and environmental benefits. It promotes physical activity and reduces reliance on motorized transport. Despite its importance, many studies focus primarily on urban areas, often neglecting suburban and natural regions. Additionally, these studies frequently include an excess of unfiltered features, leading to overly

Growing interest in green infrastructure to improve urban life and address the challenges of climate change is often channeled, at the level of municipal government, into programs to plant street trees. Existing disparities in urban tree canopy are well documented, yet the street tree spacing guidelines which dictate where trees can be located relative to other infrastructure in the right-of-way, which

Air pollution and green spaces are intricately linked to the health of older adults. However, there is a notable paucity of research that examines the differential impacts of air pollution and green spaces on the physical and mental health of older adults across different age groups. This study utilizes data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, covering the period from 2014 to 2020, alongside

As central-place foragers, wild bees are key witnesses of landscape transformations. Despite a prolific literature on their conservation, the impact of urbanization on bee communities remains unclear, yielding highly context-dependent results. In contrast, few data are available to assess the effectiveness of protected areas in conserving bee diversity. Our study aimed at quantifying the effect of

Sustainable urban planning requires identification of priority areas for people and biodiversity that should not be lost due to urban growth. We present a spatial prioritization of urban green areas of the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, to identify those areas that are needed to preserve both urban biodiversity and the equitable provision of recreational green spaces among all city districts

Urban green infrastructure (UGI), an effective nature-based solution for urban sustainability, is also crucial in coping with the prevalent urban heat island (UHI) effect. However, how to enhance its cooling effect through optimized spatial patterns (e.g., city-level structure and network) has received little concern. Based on 310 Chinese cities, this study explored the multi-dimensional features of

Parks provide environmental and recreational services to urban areas, and are valuable for human health and social cohesion. Current literature demonstrates the positive influence of urban parks on property values. This work, which typically examines the relationship between proximity or quality of parks and surrounding property values, assumes the value of park attributes is not influenced by neighborhood

Community green spaces play a crucial role in providing leisure services by offering accessible areas for recreation, relaxation, and social activities. However, little is known regarding their impact on leisure service benefits perception (LSBP) in peri-urban areas over space and time. Taking Huadu District of Guangzhou in China as a case study area, this research assesses community green space quality

Urban design significantly influences the physical activity (PA) behaviors of residents, impacting public health and well-being. This study examines how the built environment, social structures, economic conditions, and political context shape PA behaviors in three socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods in Bilbao, Spain. Using the Photovoice method, forty-one participants documented and discussed

Few studies have investigated the effects of green space exposure during individuals’ daily activities on respiratory health. This study aims to evaluate how exposure to green space both within residential vicinities and during out-of-home activities influences the incidence of acute respiratory illness (ARI) among older adults.

Habitat fragmentation in agricultural landscapes threatens biodiversity. Enhancing landscape connectivity across cultivated areas requires a thorough understanding of farmers’ spatial considerations and their willingness to create semi-natural habitats. We therefore conducted a spatial choice experiment with farmers from ten European countries to assess their preferences for placing linear wildlife

Road verges have considerable potential to benefit wildlife, but in highly urbanised areas management often limits their value for biodiversity. Evaluating how the management of road verges affects wildlife, both directly and indirectly, provides opportunities to integrate biodiversity into urban planning, design, and management. We studied butterfly pollinators next to main roads across Singapore