Using GIS and satellite data to assess access of green area for children living in growing cities
(2024) In Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science GISM01 20241Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- Abstract
- Urban green space (UGS) refers to open spaces within an urban context that are filled with greenery and nature. These can range from very small vegetation to expansive park areas. The common denominator is that they have proven to be beneficial for human health and well-being. Access to green spaces is also important for children. Research suggests that time spent in green spaces supports the behavioral, intellectual, and physical development of children.
When cities are growing, it is often associated with a loss of UGS due to the current concept of densification which is achieved by infill, repurposing land, and adding height to existing buildings. The loss of UGS can negatively affect access to green spaces for the inhabitants of an... (More) - Urban green space (UGS) refers to open spaces within an urban context that are filled with greenery and nature. These can range from very small vegetation to expansive park areas. The common denominator is that they have proven to be beneficial for human health and well-being. Access to green spaces is also important for children. Research suggests that time spent in green spaces supports the behavioral, intellectual, and physical development of children.
When cities are growing, it is often associated with a loss of UGS due to the current concept of densification which is achieved by infill, repurposing land, and adding height to existing buildings. The loss of UGS can negatively affect access to green spaces for the inhabitants of an urbanized city. It is supported by previous research that access is not equal, and oftentimes those with lower socio-economic standing are negatively affected by the loss of UGS.
Given the above, this study set out to examine how changes to a city influences UGS and access to green space in urban areas using the city of Malmö as a case study. A rapidly growing urban area, it is the fastest growing city in Sweden. While the city reports diminishing UGS within the urban context, the municipality has aimed to expand Malmö through densification - mostly through the refurbishing of industrial areas according to official documents regarding city development. This study uses the official greenery guidelines for Malmö, to assess how access to UGS corresponds to official aims. It focuses on the relation to children’s daytime access to UGS by examining the accessibility from school environment, using pre- and compulsory schools as the base for analysis. This study also examines how this varied depending on socio-economic background.
To assess the extent of UGS access, GIS is used to develop a methodology using open access satellite-, demographic- and socioeconomic data. By creating a landcover map of Malmö. using a satellite image and maximum-likelihood classification, the UGS was mapped for the studied year. Statistical analysis using SPSS was used to examine correlations to socioeconomic variables, making it possible to analyze how access to green space varies depending on socio-economic properties.
The study concludes that UGS access in Malmö does not correspond to official aims. It is also concluded that there are strong correlations between the access to UGS from schools and built-up environment and the socio-economic variables income, educational level, employment rate and heritage. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Urban green space (UGS) refers to open spaces within an urban context which consists of greenery and nature. These can take many forms, from just being a small patch of grass to an urban forest. These UGS have proven to be beneficial for human health and well-being. While it is said that green spaces are good for everyone, they are also very important for children’s development according to a multitude of studies – supporting the behavioral, intellectual, and physical development of children.
When cities grow, the extent of UGS often gets smaller. Research shows that the current concept of densification, which is achieved by infill, land repurposing, and adding height to existing buildings, are often to blame for this development. The... (More) - Urban green space (UGS) refers to open spaces within an urban context which consists of greenery and nature. These can take many forms, from just being a small patch of grass to an urban forest. These UGS have proven to be beneficial for human health and well-being. While it is said that green spaces are good for everyone, they are also very important for children’s development according to a multitude of studies – supporting the behavioral, intellectual, and physical development of children.
When cities grow, the extent of UGS often gets smaller. Research shows that the current concept of densification, which is achieved by infill, land repurposing, and adding height to existing buildings, are often to blame for this development. The access to UGS is not equal, and oftentimes those with lower socio-economic status are negatively affected by a loss of UGS.
Given the above, this study set out to examine how changes to a city influences UGS and access to green space in urban areas using the city of Malmö as a case study. It also sets out to examine if there is a socio-economic context to UGS access. A rapidly growing urban area, Malmö is the fastest growing city in Sweden. The municipality has aimed to expand Malmö through densification - mostly through the refurbishing of industrial areas according to official documents regarding city development. At the same time, Malmö city reports diminishing UGS within the urban context.
To assess the extent of UGS access, GIS was used to develop a methodology using open access satellite-, demographic- and socioeconomic data. By creating a landcover map of Malmö, using á satellite image and maximum-likelihood classification, the UGS was mapped for the studied year. This study uses the official greenery guidelines for Malmö to assess how access to UGS corresponds to official aims. Statistical analysis using SPSS was used to examine correlations to socioeconomic variables, making it possible to analyze how access to green space varies depending on socio-economic properties.
The study concludes that UGS access in Malmö is not on par with the aims of the city. It is also concluded that there are strong correlations between the access to UGS from schools and built-up environment and the socio-economic variables income, educational level, employment rate and heritage. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9149543
- author
- Borg, Rebecca LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- GISM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Geography, GIS, Geographical Information System, Urban green space, children, schools, Malmö
- publication/series
- Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science
- report number
- 172
- language
- English
- id
- 9149543
- date added to LUP
- 2024-03-07 09:10:36
- date last changed
- 2024-03-07 09:10:36
@misc{9149543,
abstract = {{Urban green space (UGS) refers to open spaces within an urban context that are filled with greenery and nature. These can range from very small vegetation to expansive park areas. The common denominator is that they have proven to be beneficial for human health and well-being. Access to green spaces is also important for children. Research suggests that time spent in green spaces supports the behavioral, intellectual, and physical development of children.
When cities are growing, it is often associated with a loss of UGS due to the current concept of densification which is achieved by infill, repurposing land, and adding height to existing buildings. The loss of UGS can negatively affect access to green spaces for the inhabitants of an urbanized city. It is supported by previous research that access is not equal, and oftentimes those with lower socio-economic standing are negatively affected by the loss of UGS.
Given the above, this study set out to examine how changes to a city influences UGS and access to green space in urban areas using the city of Malmö as a case study. A rapidly growing urban area, it is the fastest growing city in Sweden. While the city reports diminishing UGS within the urban context, the municipality has aimed to expand Malmö through densification - mostly through the refurbishing of industrial areas according to official documents regarding city development. This study uses the official greenery guidelines for Malmö, to assess how access to UGS corresponds to official aims. It focuses on the relation to children’s daytime access to UGS by examining the accessibility from school environment, using pre- and compulsory schools as the base for analysis. This study also examines how this varied depending on socio-economic background.
To assess the extent of UGS access, GIS is used to develop a methodology using open access satellite-, demographic- and socioeconomic data. By creating a landcover map of Malmö. using a satellite image and maximum-likelihood classification, the UGS was mapped for the studied year. Statistical analysis using SPSS was used to examine correlations to socioeconomic variables, making it possible to analyze how access to green space varies depending on socio-economic properties.
The study concludes that UGS access in Malmö does not correspond to official aims. It is also concluded that there are strong correlations between the access to UGS from schools and built-up environment and the socio-economic variables income, educational level, employment rate and heritage.}},
author = {{Borg, Rebecca}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science}},
title = {{Using GIS and satellite data to assess access of green area for children living in growing cities}},
year = {{2024}},
}