Conversely, urban residents are less likely to live close to natural spaces and so often must make a specific trip to access the benefits of spending time in nature (Žlender & Ward Thompson, 2017). This trip does not necessarily have to be large, and could involve spending time relatively locally, e.g. in urban green space. However, access to urban green space can depend on socio-economic status. Urban areas with more green space (both public and private) are more expensive to live in and this excludes potential beneficiaries who cannot afford to live there, reducing their access to green space and the associated benefits (Wolch et al., 2014). Alternatively, people could leave the urban area completely to access nature in rural areas, although this incurs a greater travel cost in terms of time and money (Mayer & Woltering, 2018).

Whilst proximity and access opportunities are factors in how much time people spend in green space, people's level of connection to nature, both in rural and urban areas, also plays a part. Lin et al. (2014) showed that living close to an urban green space did not necessarily mean people spent time there. Nature orientation, or connection, was a much stronger factor in predicting whether people spent time in urban green space. Those who reported a greater connection to nature spent longer in their own private gardens, urban green spaces and would travel further to spend time nature (Lin et al., 2014). Therefore, people must have some level of connection to nature to want to spend time there and gain the associated benefits (Martin et al., 2020).

### 5 Conclusion

Breaking down ES flows into two components (i.e. the movement of natural goods and the flow of beneficiaries) highlights that each of the three categories of ES (provisioning, regulating and cultural) can show substantial differences across the rural-urban spectrum. As the global urban population grows, these differences in ES flows may become increasingly important, and inequalities in these flows might lead to some sectors of society becoming disconnected with nature (Ives et al., 2018). Here, we have illustrated the differences in ES flows by contrasting rural and urban areas, dispelling some of the broad generalisations resulting from red-loop, greenloop theory (Cumming et al., 2014). However, we acknowledge that ES are often spatially and temporally distinct, and largely unique to the individual. Thus, future work must continue to disaggregate ES to beneficiaries with increasing resolution. Similarly, the ongoing expansion of urban areas results in a continuous spectrum and that the rural/urban categories we use here are somewhat arbitrary. As such, we finish by highlighting that the large and expanding global peri-urban zones where ES flows are not well understood. In peri-urban areas, ES flows might be predicted to be intermediary between those observed in rural and urban areas, but further research into this is urgently required.

Acknowledgement We acknowledge funding from multiple sources including: UKRI (ES/T007877/1, NE/T00391X/1, ES/R009279/1, ES/R006865/1, ES/V004077/1), Bangor University, the Envision DTP (http://www.envision-dtp.org/) and the Drapers Company (https:// thedrapers.co.uk/).

### References

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### Chapter 16 A Typology for Green Infrastructure Planning to Enhance Multifunctionality Incorporating Peri-Urban Agricultural Land

#### Werner Rolf

Significance Statement This work addresses a research gap that exists when it comes to Green Infrastructure planning as a new spatial planning approach to develop multifunctional green networks. I introduce a typology for spatial planning to integrate peri-urban farmland in Green Infrastructure, supporting the development of a multifunctional open space network. This typology is based on a two-tiered approach, involving an inter- and transdisciplinary approach and an evidence synthesis. It contributes to the conceptual understanding of multifunctionality planning, provides evidence that peri-urban farmland bears potentials to address urban challenges, such as biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, green economy development, and social cohesion, and reveals research gaps that still need to be addressed in future.

Keywords Green infrastructure · Farmland · Sustainable land use · Stakeholder · Participation · Evidence

### 1 Introduction

Urbanization is an important driver of environmental change at different scales (Grimm et al., 2008). It causes habitat loss and fragmentation, over-exploitation of natural resources, pollution and climate change, with effects on human health and well-being (Raworth, 2017; Steffen et al., 2015). In Europe, about 75% of the population lived in urban areas in 2018, expected to reach about 85% by 2050 (UN DESA, 2019). While urban growth increasingly concentrates demands of ecosystem services, this leads in the same time to spatial shift of ecosystem service supply, due to dynamic land use changes, land consumption, and depletion of natural resources in the peri-urban landscape (Eigenbrod et al., 2011). As a consequence, the

W. Rolf (\*)

Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
peri-urban landscape is a hotspot of multiple competing land use interests, like housing development, recreation, food production, and protection of wildlife habitat (Willemen et al., 2008).

Furthermore, urban growth has been identified as a significant factor to diminish productive farmland worldwide (Bren d'Amour et al., 2017). In Europe, more than 75% of all land uptake by urban and other artificial land development between 2000–2012 affected farmland (EEA, 2018). On the other hand, urban and peri-urban agriculture are considered as promising options for local food supply to address challenges of food justice and to promote sustainable development (IPCC, 2019). Thus, the depletion of productive agricultural land by urban growth diminishes opportunities for sustainability transformation and sustainable urban land use development.

To address these challenges, urban growth needs to take into account social, economic, and environmental dimensions to minimizing environmental degradation (UN DESA, 2019). Moreover, to address multifaceted character and to meet the demands of different interests of peri-urbanization processes holistic planning and policy approaches are needed for sustainable management of peri-urban landscapes addressing both socio-economic and spatial aspects (Shaw et al., 2020). Various different strategic spatial planning approaches have been developed in the meanwhile to address these challenges and to promote sustainable land use development in urban areas (Healey, 2006). The conception of Green Infrastructure (GI) is one of the latest thinking about spatial planning approaches contributing to sustainable development and to manage urban growth (Benedict & McMahon, 2002). It is being considered as promising and is increasingly receiving attention to promote the development of resilient cities (IASS, 2013; WBGU, 2016).

GI is understood as a strategically planned network in urban and rural landscapes, designed to deliver multiple ecosystem services (European Commission, 2013). Thus, multifunctionality is one of the core principles of GI planning. Ideally, GI planning aims to develop synergies between different functions that contribute to a number of environmental and social aims, such as biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, green economy development, and social cohesion (Fig. 16.1).

Although GI planning is understood as an integrated cross-sectoral spatial planning approach, there are still knowledge gaps when it comes to urban and peri-urban utilizable agricultural land and its potentials to contribute to multifunctionality of GI. On the other hand, this would complement already established knowledge about multifunctionality of urban and peri-urban agriculture on multiple dimensions with regard to the landscape level (e.g. Mougeot, 2006; Piorr et al., 2018). Furthermore, it would build upon conceptions of integrated approaches for agricultural landscapes, such 'differentiated land use' (Haber, 1971), 'diversified farming systems'(Kremen & Miles, 2012) and multifunctionality as a management tool for sustainable agriculture and rural development (Mander et al., 2007; Renting et al., 2009; Wiggering et al., 2003). Furthermore, it extends the debate about the integration of utilizable agricultural land into urban spatial planning (e.g. Mougeot, 2006; Philips, 2013; Viljoen & Bohn, 2014) by directly relating it to the GI conception.

Fig. 16.1 Schematic illustration of the understanding of GI planning as conceptualized. (Adapted from Hansen et al., 2017 and reproduced from Rolf, 2020)

In this article a developed typology for the integration of multifunctional urban and peri-urban farmland in GI planning will be proposed that can be used for spatial planning to promote sustainable development.

#### 2 Methodological Approach

The development of this typology was based on a two-tiered approach.

The first phase involved an inter- and transdisciplinary approach incorporating 15 stakeholders – researchers and local actors representing different interest sectors – to identify opportunities for multifunctional farmland suitable for GI development (Rolf et al., 2019). The study was conducted in the City of Malmö, Sweden. Malmö's peri-urban landscape is dominated by agricultural land uses under very different prevailing natural conditions and site specific potentials and constrains, ranging from large scale agricultural land with primary arable land use management to rather heterogeneous farmland with diverse topography including semi natural grassland. By adapting normative scenario techniques from Nassauer and Corry (2004) the different knowledge holders collaboratively developed several 'desirable farmland characteristics' based on their valuations and appreciations of different functions and benefits. Out of these, the participants derived 'strategic objectives' that represent abstract conclusions of the individual cases, to enable transferability to other regional contexts.

The second phase involved evidence synthesis to reflect current research outcomes and to evaluate potential of urban and peri-urban farmland to tackle major urban challenges and contributing in various ways to the quality of life and human well-being in functional urban areas (Rolf et al., 2020). To assess evidence, a fourbox-model was adapted from Moss and Schneider (2000) categorizing confidence of evidence into four classes: established, limited, indirect, and unverified (inconsistent or missing) evidence.

Finally, as a result from these two phases a typology of four different spatial planning strategies has emerged that link peri-urban farmland with GI planning, supporting the development of a multifunctional green space network.

#### 3 Four Ways for Strategic Spatial Planning of a Multifunctional Green Space Network

As an outcome of the first tier, it becomes clear that there is no 'one size fits all' solution for farmland, but strategic objectives to enhance multifunctionality needs to consider prevailing site conditions and underlying landscape parameters (primary topography, soil, water and micro climate) that define agricultural productivity (Rolf et al., 2019). Essentially, stakeholder agreed on two main strategy strands with four different objectives in total, to assist multifunctionality on highly-productive farmland on the one hand, and to assist multifunctionality on less-productive farmland on the other hand (Fig. 16.2). This study has shown that preferences can vary between different situations, and one and the same stakeholder considered functions more relevant in some places than in others.

Fig. 16.2 Overview of the workshop outcomes with suggested strategy strands to assist multifunctionality in peri-urban farmland, with polar area chart used to illustrate the evaluation by the different stakeholders involved (red ¼ urban planning, blue ¼ urban space planning, purple ¼ recreation planning, brown ¼ cultural heritage conservation, green ¼ nature conservation, yellow ¼ agricultural management, blue ¼ water resource management); full segment indicates core function, half segment indicates co-benefits and no segment indicates no benefit. (Based on Rolf et al., 2019)

Fig. 16.3 Overview of evidence synthesis, with assessment of confidence of evidence related to potential contribution in an explicit functional urban context using the four-box-model. (Based on Rolf et al., 2020)

As an outcome of the second phase, the evidence synthesis includes 54 literature findings in total that have been assessed in accordance to the four GI objectives using the four-box-model as summarized in Fig. 16.3 (Rolf et al., 2020). In sum, although this study reveals research gaps that still need to be addressed, there is clear evidence that peri-urban farmland bears potentials to promote economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Finally, as an outcome of this two-tiered approach a typology of four different spatial planning strategies to integrate peri-urban farmland in GI planning emerged, supporting the development of a multifunctional green space network. As an abstraction of reality, these four ways can be understood as ideal types, that intertwine physical, ecological, social, as well as the economic functions, thus, contributing to multifunctional GI. They can stimulate discussion about how GI planning can and should incorporate utilizable agricultural land, especially the agriculturally dominated landscape at the urban fringe and its surroundings.

#### 3.1 The Connecting Way – Multifunctional Farmland Corridors as Links

The connecting way aims to develop 'multifunctional farmland corridors' as links within agriculturally dominated green belts or rings at the urban fringe (Fig. 16.4). These, multifunctional farmland corridors function as linear network elements in a highly productive agricultural landscape.

They enhance accessibility of the wider landscape for urban dwellers and contribute to a functional recreational network, offering opportunities for leisure activities, such as walking, cycling, and riding. Accompanying margin strips promote dispersal within the landscape matrix and provide small habitat opportunities for wildlife thereby augmenting urban biodiversity. Furthermore, these multifunctional farmland corridors can be beneficial for farmers, contributing to biological pest control and pollination or prevent soil erosion, while providing farm tracks. Thus, within the agriculturally dominated landscape matrix they coherently and mutually reinforce multiple functions. The involvement of land owners of adjacent properties as well as current track users (farmers, recreational users etc.) is considered to be essential. Thus, infrastructural developments, land consolidation procedures and reparcelling offer a 'window of opportunity' or by subsequent integration with the existing farm infrastructure and to synergize effects.

Fig. 16.4 Illustration of multifunctional farmland corridors with potential key functions and benefits. (Rolf, 2020)

#### 3.2 The Productive Way – Multifunctional Sites for Value Added Farm Production

The productive way is particular suitable for sites of high productivity. It aims to combine GI development with the agricultural production cycle on- site that benefits directly from the site fertility. It combines food production with the inclusion of further social functions, such as recreation, regeneration, and education, into agricultural production, and which offers new farming models and relationships between consumer and producer (Fig. 16.5).

Business models, such as rent-a-field farms or self-picking farms (e.g., fruit, vegetables, flowers) enable an 'on-field' experience for citizens in their spare time or at the weekend. Thus, it offers opportunities for alternative business models and new income situations, promoting transition pathways towards sustainable economic growth in the agricultural sector. Hence, the integration of 'productive farmland' in spatial planning strategies bears potential to support multiple benefits, contributing to the livability of the urban environment. Furthermore, it does not just offer potentials for cross-sectoral planning, collaboration and cooperation between farmers and urban development authorities, but stimulates networks and active involvement to strengthen relationships between farmers and citizens.

#### 3.3 The Integrated Way – Multifunctional Semi-natural Farmland

Next, the integrated way of 'multifunctional semi-natural farmland' takes into account region-specific management practices that are constrained by prevailing environmental conditions (soil, climate, topography) and their geophysical constraints. It can be related to traditional agricultural management of which multiple natural and cultural values have been well investigated all across Europe (Oppermann, 2012). Accordingly, management can be very different, with or without livestock or mixed, leading to different farmland character, ranging from

Fig. 16.5 Illustration of productive farmland with potential key functions and benefits. (Rolf, 2020)

Fig. 16.6 Illustration of semi-natural farmland with potential key functions and benefits. (Rolf, 2020)

grassland systems, such as meadows and pastures, to agroforestry and cropping systems, like pastoral woodland, orchards, olive groves and other arable systems and may be in some cases also considered as high nature value farmland (Paracchini & Capitani, 2012). Interdependencies between their relevance for biodiversity and multiple ecosystem services in these agroecosystems are evident. Because it is well known that peri-urban agricultural landscape has the ability to provide a number of positive externalities to the urban public the integrated way enables to contribute integrated amenities, such as ecological and social-cultural functions and values to the quality of the urban environment (Fig. 16.6). Furthermore, the integration of semi-natural farmland as vital part in urban development, offers opportunities to promote ecosystem stewardship and collaboration, generating and catalyzing new pathways for innovative ecosystem management leading to more sustainable and balanced land use and urban growth. Quantitative analysis suggests significant spatial potential for low-intensity farmland within the peri-urban landscape (Rolf et al., 2018).

#### 3.4 The Adapted Way – Farming Interventions to Develop Multifunctional Sites

The adapted way sheds light on farming management as interventions at sites that have not been under agricultural cultivation previously. Here, agricultural land use is being initiated as a measure to provide new functions and benefits (Fig. 16.7). Low-intensity farming can promote active ecological rehabilitation and restoration for the reparation of ecosystem processes, functions and services and to support the re-establishment of species compositions and community structure (SER, 2004). As such grassland farming systems can contribute to climate change adaption by innerurban stormwater retention sites, supplementing green river banks and inner-city fields as ventilation corridors and urban cooling. Although empirical studies are limited, interrelations between social-cultural services farms, nature experience and education for urban dwellers, school classes seem promising. Inner-urban grazing

Fig. 16.7 Illustration of adapted farmland with potential key functions and benefits. (Rolf, 2020)

management has the potential to add aesthetical and recreational values. In sum, adapted farming may be understood as an intervention to complement or further develop multifunctional GI by providing additional benefits. Adapted farming offers new opportunities for cooperation with farmers and to develop new business models for GI maintenance. Nevertheless, agricultural production is of subordinate relevance at such sites. If farming management is supposed to support functions and provide benefits to the urban people, strong incentives are needed to involve farmers in such interventions.

### 4 Conclusions

This article contributes to the conceptual understanding of multifunctionality planning to enhance GI as a strategic spatial planning approach that incorporates peri-urban farmland. It shows that multifunctionality planning needs to consider ecological site characteristics that define landscape conditions. Furthermore, it suggests that multifunctionality can be very different across the whole agricultural landscape matrix. Emerging from the conducted participatory approach involving stakeholders two main aspects can be concluded:

As an outcome of this work, essentially four different spatial planning strategies are proposed that show the ability to link peri-urban farmland with the GI conception, contributing to the development of a multifunctional open space network. These strategies can be used as recommendations to stimulate Green Infrastructure planning for the agriculturally dominated landscape at the urban fringe and its surroundings. Furthermore, it may give impulses on how also inner-urban utilizable agricultural land may be further developed. However, these findings need to be carefully applied and need to be adapted to the local context. More importantly, they need to be negotiated with local stakeholders for acceptance and successful implementation. Thus, these strategies cannot be applied one by one but do offer promising starting points, as they are outcome of a transdisciplinary processes and co-designed in cooperation with different stakeholders including farmers as key actors.

Acknowledgments I thank the following people for contributing directly or indirectly to this work: Hubert Wiggering, Ingo Zasada, Katharina Diehl, Rieke Hansen, Stefan Pauleit, Wolfgang Haber, and David Peters. Furthermore, I'd like to thank stakeholders from the City of Malmö that contributed to the Malmö workshop as part of this research. This research was partially funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme FP7 2013-2017 (FP7-ENV.2013.6.2-5-603567).

### References

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

#### Chapter 17 Urban Green Spaces in a Post-Apartheid City: Challenges and Opportunities for Nature-based Solutions

#### Valentina Giombini and Jessica P. R. Thorn

Significance Statement Cities in sub-Saharan countries are simultaneously facing climate change, rapid urbanisation, and social inequalities. Nature-based Solutions harness nature's benefits to address these environmental, social, and economic challenges. In this study, we investigate how taking into account temporal dynamics and multiple values of nature helps to implement better Nature-based Solutions. Through satellite images and interviews with practitioners and residents, we look at how green spaces and dry riverbeds are distributed, managed, and perceived in the capital city of Namibia, south-western Africa. We find that apartheid spatial segregation legacies persist through the unequal distribution of urban green spaces, and that, although their current management limits their capacity to deliver benefits, riverbeds have the potential to support sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

Keywords Ecosystem services · Urban green infrastructure · Namibia · Environmental justice · River networks

V. Giombini (\*)

J. P. R. Thorn

Institute for Alpine Environment, Eurac Research, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK

York Institute of Tropical Ecosystems, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK

African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

### 1 Introduction

Urban green spaces are widely recognised as multifunctional areas that can help address converging urban and global environmental change challenges (Ahern et al., 2014; Lindley et al., 2018). Studies and practical applications in cities have shown how green spaces improve the quality of life of urban residents and help to adapt to climate change by reducing, for example, the impact of heatwaves or slowing floodwater (Gómez-Baggethun & Barton, 2013; Andersson et al., 2019). Disadvantaged groups of people, however, often live in districts where green urban spaces are scarce or of lesser quality, and thus receive fewer socio-economic and environmental benefits stemming from natural areas. The adverse effects of climate change indeed frequently disproportionally affect the most vulnerable parts of society, which are often more exposed to risks and lack the socio-economic means (e.g., lack of insurance) to recover from shocks (Black et al., 2011). A closer understanding of the relationship between green urban spaces and social inequalities is therefore a critical step needed to identify effective, climate resilient development pathways, which also meet Sustainable Development Goals (Ernstson, 2013; United Nations, 2015; Langemeyer & Connolly, 2020). This chapter aims to show how the discourse on ecosystem (dis)services and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is linked to historical racial and socio-economic inequalities. We approach this by using the case of the capital city of Namibia, focusing on riverbeds as they represent a diffuse network of natural green areas, critical for regulating water in one of the most arid countries in the world.

Many studies have shown how the distribution of green urban spaces and the delivery of ecosystem services is uneven in cities and regions around the world. Recently, influenced by the field of political ecology, there has been a growing interest to understand the causal dynamics and implications occurring around such patterns of unequal distribution (McConnachie & Shackleton, 2010; Ernstson, 2013; Sandberg et al., 2014). Research in the field of ecosystem service justice highlights that when distributional, procedural, and recognition justice is not considered, practical applications of ecosystem services approaches are unlikely to develop in a just manner, and risk to recreate or reinforce prior patterns (Friedman et al., 2018; Venter et al., 2020; Langemeyer & Connolly, 2020). Ecosystem service justice moreover interacts with other socio-economic dynamics, including power, historical legacies, race, and gender, which affect the way people receive benefits or disservices from the natural environment (Ernstson, 2013; Langemeyer & Connolly, 2020).

McConnachie and Shackleton (2010) showed how today poorer and formerly categorized non-white neighbourhoods have the smallest percentage of green areas in South African cities, while more affluent, former white neighbourhoods have the most. These results indicate that to ensure a fair distribution of ecosystem services temporal dynamics should also be considered, acknowledging the legacy of historic inequalities (Venter et al., 2020; Langemeyer & Connolly, 2020). During the apartheid regime, urban plans in South Africa and Namibia were indeed developed on apartheid principles which used strict land use zoning and racial segregation. Business activities were concentrated in the centre of the city, "townships" for non-white communities were often built at the city's periphery, and neighbourhoods for predominantly black, coloured, white, or other communities were built using different standards (McConnachie & Shackleton, 2010). Natural areas without built infrastructure, highways, railways, and industrial areas were built with the explicit intention to physically separate areas (Müeller-Friedman, 2006).

Accounting for the socio-cultural dynamics occurring around urban green spaces is essential to ensure that NbS are effective in increasing the well-being of people and in giving rise to benefits, advancing recognitional justice (Langemeyer & Connolly, 2020). To determine whether residents would benefit from, endorse, and contribute to managing NbS, it is critical to understand the way nature is perceived by local people (Andersson et al., 2015; du Toit et al., 2018; Shackleton & Njwaxu, 2021). In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the body of literature on ecosystem services provision, and especially on cultural ecosystem services, remains limited. There is, therefore, the concern that an inadequate understanding of the interaction between nature and local communities hinders a fair and effective implementation of NbS in Africa (Cilliers et al., 2013; du Toit et al., 2018).

Here, we present the findings of a study conducted in the city of Windhoek, Namibia, to shed light on the perceptions and dynamics surrounding a riverbed network in a post-apartheid Southern African city. Based on the mapping of the greenness of the city and on the fieldwork conducted over 6 weeks in July–August 2019, involving residents and key informants, we aim to answer the following questions:

### 2 Methods

#### 2.1 Case Study of Windhoek, Namibia: An Arid, Post-Apartheid City

Windhoek is the capital city of Namibia, a country of 2.6 million people in southwest Africa which spreads across the Namib Desert and the semi-arid savannah of the Kalahari. Historically, Namibia was a German and then a British colony, administered by South Africa from the end of the First World War until its independence in 1990. Namibian citizens were therefore subject to apartheid laws between the 1950s and the 1990s. Since independence, the growth of informal settlements (or peri-urban areas or slums) and the rate of urbanisation has accelerated, as people from rural areas arrived in the city in search of employment and education opportunities (Weber & Mendelsohn, 2017). With predicted warming, drier conditions, and increased variability in the spring rainfall, internal rural-urban migration is likely to grow as people move away from subsistence farming and pastoral lifestyles (Niang et al., 2014). In 2019, 49% of the population lived in urban areas, 31.5% of which lived in Windhoek, the biggest city of the country which had 404,280 inhabitants in 2018 (Ritchie & Roser, 2019). Windhoek developed on a flood plain and the surrounding hills, in a plateau ranging between 1200–1700 m.a.s. l. in the central region of the country. Every summer growing water demand, coupled with recurrent nationwide droughts, puts the city under stress. Two main river systems run through the city (Gammans and Arrebusch) and collect the seasonal storm water from the surrounding hills into three city dams. Despite the ephemeral nature of the river network, riverbeds have the potential to foster NbS, supporting most of the city's greenery and hosting perennial trees, bushes and grasses adapted to arid conditions (e.g., acacia trees, trumpet thorn trees, dwarf shrub species) (Mendelsohn et al., 2002), (Fig. 17.1).

#### 2.2 Study Approach

Between July and August 2019, we applied a mixed method approach, combining satellite observations of the distribution of urban greenery with interviews of practitioners and of residents living close to the city's river network, to understand how green urban spaces in the city of Windhoek are distributed, managed, and perceived. First, we computed and mapped, on the Google Earth Engine platform, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to reveal the greenness of the area of the city of Windhoek, using the greenest pixels available in the annual collection of satellite images. Second, we interviewed 12 key informants representing the City of Windhoek, NGOs, or businesses in the field of spatial planning, nature resource management, and housing, to understand how green urban spaces, including riverbeds, are managed, and what is the interaction between NbS and ongoing development. Third, we conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with residents of four neighbourhoods living close to the river network to gain an understanding of how riverbeds are used and perceived in terms of accessibility and provision of ecosystem services and disservices. Interviews were conducted in English or local dialects, translated when needed, recorded, transcribed, and manually analysed using thematic coding. The four neighbourhoods we studied represented a gradient of formal and informal land tenure arrangements and structural and socio-economic characteristics of neighbourhoods formerly racially segregated during the apartheid regime. The formal neighbourhoods included in the study were: Klein Windhoek (formerly white), Khomasdal (formerly coloured),

Fig. 17.1 (a) Riverbeds in Klein Windhoek, a wealthier area of the city with more green spaces along riverbeds (Van Rooy et al., 2006). (b) An interviewee of Khomasdal, the formerly coloured neighbourhood, showing us the riverbeds behind his house. (c) The "United Nations Plaza" city park in Katutura, which is a green space developed around a river section in the former black neighbourhood after independence, and frequently used for picnics, letting children play, taking photos and relaxing. (d) The first author interviewing residents of Okuryangava, an informal settlement with fewer green spaces along riverbeds. Behind interviewees, trees along the river can be seen, used for shade, as meeting areas, and for selling camelthorn pods for fodder. (Photo source: V. Giombini)

and Katutura (formerly black). Broadly speaking, progressing from formerly white to black neighbourhoods, the size of each property decreases and the distance to the central business district increases (Müeller-Friedman, 2006) (Fig. 17.2). The Okuryangava neighbourhood represented an informal settlement (or peri-urban area or slum) characterised by insecure land tenure, limited access to formal services such as running water, sanitation and electricity, and makeshift corrugated iron sheet housing. To gain a deeper understanding of the context of the study, we visited on foot, with the support of a local research assistant and a community guide, the riverbeds and the four neighbourhoods where the residents were interviewed.

Fig. 17.2 The position of Namibia in Africa (top-right panel), and the greenness (NDVI) of the capital of Namibia. The main panel displays the NDVI values of the area of Windhoek, overlayed with the outlines of the central business district, the neighbourhoods analysed in this study, and the city parks mentioned by interviewees. The ephemeral river network (dark green) and the Goreangab dam on the top left, are clearly visible. NDVI ¼ Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, representing the greenness of a pixel

### 3 Discussion of the Main Findings

#### 3.1 Distribution of Urban Green Spaces Across Neighbourhoods

The analysis of the satellite images of the region showed that the area of Windhoek has overall a low degree of greenness (NDVI values between 0.020 and 0.863), consistent with the arid conditions of Namibia. Nonetheless, higher than average photosynthetic activity was evident along riverbeds, around the Goreangab dam, and in irrigated public parks or soccer fields (Fig. 17.2). Among the neighbourhoods analysed, the former white and more affluent neighbourhood of Klein Windhoek displayed the highest NDVI values (mean ¼ 0.326), while the smallest values were found in the poorer informal settlement of Okuryangava (mean ¼ 0.196), and in the former black neighbourhood of Katutura (mean ¼ 0.200). The former coloured neighbourhood of Khomasdal displayed an intermediate level of greenness (mean ¼ 0.214). As documented in several southern African cities by McConnachie and Shackleton (2010), similarly, it appears that in Windhoek formerly white, coloured, and black neighbourhoods have respectively the highest, intermediate, and the lowest values of greenery. The pattern observed in Windhoek is likely to be the combination of the fact that former black neighbourhoods were built with a higher density of houses compared to coloured areas, and that former white neighbourhoods developed on lush hilly areas and have bigger properties and gardens (Müeller-Friedman, 2006). The Okuryangava informal settlement, on the other hand, unregulated by municipal planning processes, is subject predominantly to informal rental or procurement arrangements between residents. Most of the local vegetation continues to be removed to make space for corrugated iron shacks or for energy biomass. However, larger trees are left standing to provide shade, and some bushes and plants have been planted to delineate properties, grow vegetables gardens, or embellish houses. These findings on the greenness of Windhoek highlight how social inequalities shape the way people can benefit from the environment (Sandberg et al., 2014). We argue that such inequalities should be closely examined and mitigated prior to the design and implementation of any nature-based adaptation or mitigation intervention. Studies mapping NDVI and ecosystem services can help quantify the distribution of greenery and the delivery of ecosystem service. Results can be used to prioritize intervention areas and guide the development of NbS such as urban green infrastructure (Hansen & Pauleit, 2014).

#### 3.2 Ecosystem Services and Disservices Provided by Riverbeds Across Neighbourhoods

Key informants highlighted how riverbeds and natural features, if well managed throughout the year, mitigate the risk of both summer city-wide water stress and seasonal destructive flash floods. Interviews with residents shed light on the

Table 17.1 Services and disservices deriving from riverbeds, as perceived by residents of four socio-economically and structurally differentiated neighbourhoods of Windhoek, Namibia

perceived benefits provided by riverbeds (Table 17.1). In the former white neighbourhood, many residents appreciate how riverbeds have the potential to support biodiversity and outdoor recreation. In the former black and coloured neighbourhoods, the majority describes how the riverbeds allow them to relax and watch the water flow.  Living close to the riverbeds in the Okuryangava informal settlement allows some households to have home gardens and to alleviate heat stress in summer, improving living conditions in corrugated iron houses with minimal ventilation. Furthermore, some residents of the informal areas sustain their livelihoods collecting and selling fodder.

Interviews with residents and key informants also outlined several ecosystem disservices (Table 17.1), intended as ecosystems' characteristics that give rise to disadvantages for people (Lyytimäki & Sipilä, 2009). The major concern of the residents of Windhoek regarding riverbeds is the risk of being robbed and the limited security of the areas. In more affluent neighbourhoods, there is the fear that living close to the riverbeds increases the risk of having one's home burgled, as riverbeds provide escape routes for criminals. In all the neighbourhoods studied, the overflow of poorly maintained sewage manholes running beneath the riverbeds spurs the fear of contracting waterborne diseases. This is especially felt in the former black neighbourhood and in informal settlements, where sewage maintenance is often limited and delayed. An interviewee from Khomasdal summed his feelings about the river saying: "it made me feel a bit relaxed, you know, just admiring the nature, even though, the problem about it, the environment (and) this kind of river, is [...] sewage water flows there, the smell and all that makes it uncomfortable. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind sitting in the river, you know, and drinking some cool drink". In the informal settlements, people fear being assaulted or raped when using the riverbeds for open defecation, as well as mugging when using riverbeds to commute on foot.

#### 3.3 Perceptions of Access to and Management of Urban Green Spaces

Overall, although the riverbeds in the city of Windhoek are a diffuse network of naturally green areas, few residents perceive riverbeds as an asset or access them for pleasure other than for commuting or necessity. To enjoy natural areas, residents who can afford it drive to farms and dams on the outskirts of the city. Poorer residents, on the other hand, go to city parks like the Central Zoo Park (2 ha) or UN Plaza (3.5 ha) in Katutura (Fig. 17.1, panel (c)). Yet, such parks are generally not reachable by foot, being several kilometres away from the informal settlements. Interviews with key informants highlighted how riverbeds are not managed by the City of Windhoek to be used by the public as urban parks. The reason for this is, in part, due to issues of maintenance, financing, and clarity of mandates between municipal departments. The City of Windhoek indeed manages riverbeds by keeping them in their natural state and removing litter and invasive species. Moreover, the fact that the riverbeds and the waterways are under the jurisdiction of two separate divisions of the City of Windhoek hinders the possibility to harness synergies, such as those occurring between recreation and water management.

#### 3.4 Challenges to the Successful Implementation of Nature-based Solutions

This study highlights how it is important for researchers and practitioners working towards implementing NbS in a given social-ecological system to also consider the historical context, the multiple values of nature in place, and the presence of underlying socio-economic and development dynamics (Ernstson, 2013; Langemeyer & Connolly, 2020). In the case of Windhoek, for example, approaches for developing urban green infrastructure will not be fully effective if synergies and trade-offs with other development issues such as housing, sanitation, transport, and economic inequalities are not navigated and sensitively addressed at the same time. Moreover, it should not be taken for granted that natural features always hold a positive value to residents. This is because individual factors (e.g., gender, age) and socio-cultural dynamics affect how nature is perceived in specific contexts (Chan et al., 2012). Spatial planners highlighted, for example, how natural areas and vacant land of post-apartheid cities hold an explicit segregation value. Müller-Friedman (2008), reflecting on her experience as a practitioner in Namibia, suggests that architecture and spatial planning approaches in the country unintentionally fortify the apartheid-built form by adopting modernist principles, viewing planning as a technical issue, and failing to recognise how the urban form is not politically and culturally "neutral". Building on this argument, we suggest that vacant and natural land in Windhoek should also not be considered "neutral" but connected to the historical legacy of apartheid spatial planning.

#### 3.5 Opportunities for the Fair and Effective Implementation of Nature-based Solutions

The implementation of NbS represents an opportunity to overcome the aforementioned challenges. Strategically addressing the historical legacy of apartheid era's spatial planning, a green infrastructure network should be developed to incorporate, for example, naturally green riverbeds and vacant land currently separating neighbourhoods, in addition to other types of green spaces such as meeting areas, parks, and drought-tolerant botanical gardens. In the context of Windhoek, NbS should also be designed to maximise synergies with sustainable development goals (United Nations, 2015) and managed to meet the needs of local people, by limiting sewage outbursts, fostering a secure environment, and supporting recreation, urban farming, and rainwater harvesting. We argue that eliciting the local perceptions of residents represents an opportunity to investigate the plurality of ecosystem (dis) services and values, and can help ensure a fair delivery of ecosystem services and an effective implementation of NbS (Andersson et al., 2015; Chan et al., 2012). Although riverbeds and their buffer zones are currently exposed to densification and sprawl pressures in informal settlements and their current management gives rise to ecosystem disservices, they should be considered as an asset. Being naturally green areas in one of the most arid countries of the world, riverbeds have the potential to represent the backbone of a green infrastructure network which fosters synergies between the development and climate adaptation goals.

### 4 Conclusions

This case study shows the importance of adopting both quantitative and qualitative methods for gaining a holistic understanding of the interactions occurring within complex social ecological systems. Interviews and other participatory processes are critical for acknowledging the multiple values of nature, exploring ecosystem services and disservices, and ensuring that local needs are met. Although more research is needed across longer temporal scales, with larger sample sizes and diverse neighbourhoods, this study highlights that practical implementations of ecosystem services approaches should acknowledge that nature and natural areas do not always hold a positive value and that their distribution might be the result of prior unjust patterns. It furthermore shows that failing to acknowledge historical legacies of apartheid spatial planning carries the risk of maintaining and strengthening green space inequity. To this end, the ecosystem service concept can provide a framework for identifying and managing disservices, harnessing synergies among ecosystem services, and exploring their interaction with sustainable development goals. Moreover, research from the field of political ecology and ecosystem service justice can greatly contribute to provide the frameworks and tools necessary to approach the discourse of NbS in a critical and foresighted way.

Acknowledgments We would like to thank all interviewees for having given their time and their voice; research assistants Erikka Mokanya and Penda B. Nembwaya; Green Templeton College and the Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford for supporting and funding field work in Windhoek; and Climate Research 4 Development fellowship (CR4D-19-21) for funding the Urban Ecolution project – implemented by the African Academy of Sciences in partnership with the UK's Department for International Development, Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa programme and the African Climate Policy Centre of the United Economic Commission for Africa. This study has also been funded in part by the African Women in Climate Change Science Fellowship supported by the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences Next Einstein Forum and the International Development Research Centre of Canada Aid, the UK's Research and Innovation's Global Challenges Research Fund under the Development Corridors Partnership project (ES/P011500/1).

### References

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

#### Chapter 18 Green Infrastructure and Social Perception of Its Ecosystem Services Within Spatial Structure of the City – Examples from Poznań, Poland

Iwona Zwierzchowska and Małgorzata Stępniewska

Significance Statement The structure of the city and related composition and configuration of green infrastructure (GI) translate into supply and distribution of ecosystem services (ES). Therefore, we aimed to recognize the social perception of ES at the background of the spatial structure (from the dense centre to the rural-like suburbs) based on a case study of Poznań city in Poland. The findings revealed that although distribution and types of GI vary among main urban zones, inhabitants appreciate the cultural ES of GI regardless of its type or location. They expressed the demand for enhancement of recreational ES and the importance of accessibility to the green spaces. The study also emphasised the complex trade-offs between cultural and regulating ES highlighting the role of ES-oriented planning.

Keywords Cultural ecosystem services · Urban green · Parks · River valley · Postindustrial areas

### 1 Introduction

The ongoing processes of urban densification (EEA, 2016) and urban sprawl (Hennig et al., 2015; Patacchini et al., 2009) are common for many cities that face the challenge of developing policies that ensure the continuous delivery of key ecosystem services (ES) to maintaining resilience and vitality in urban areas (Grêt-Regamey et al., 2020). In some urban areas, mixed processes of depopulation in less favourable areas and urban development in other areas of the urban region can be observed. These complex processes contribute to the creation of an urban-rural continuum, which can be observed both within and outside the administrative boundaries of the city. Łowicki and Walz (2015) see the differences in the pattern of the rural-urban gradient as a result of legal aspects of spatial planning. Indeed,

I. Misiune et al. (eds.), Human-Nature Interactions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01980-7\_18

I. Zwierzchowska (\*) · M. Stępniewska

Department of Integrated Geography, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
spatial planning determines the distribution of green infrastructure and the availability of its individual elements, which translates into the level of ecosystem services in cities (Zwierzchowska & Mizgajski, 2019). The concept of green infrastructure (GI) is widely studied by science and practice, as it can bring multiple benefits to nature and humans alike. The GI covers diverse areas of terrestrial, aquatic and water-dependent ecosystems transformed by humans to varying degrees. The above diversity translates into differences in the type and level of ES provided by GI. This overlaps with various demands for ES from society. For this reason, in order to support more ecosystem services-oriented land-use planning not only recognition of spatial composition and configuration of ecosystems is needed but also an understanding of GI users' preferences is desired.

The complexity and diversity of spatial relationship that varies in different scales and change in time are reflected in the urban-rural gradient analysis of ES. Rall et al. (2017) found that the density of cultural ES perceived decreased from the inner to the outer edges of the city of Berlin, wherein the inner-city is a place of recreational, social and cultural heritage and identity services concentration, while perceived biodiversity and spiritual, inspirational, and nature experience and educational services are more scattered. Calderón-Contreras and Quiroz-Rosas (2017) demonstrated that growing pressures of urban development results in reduction of serviceproviding units at the regional scale, and their low quality at the local scale.

Larondelle and Haase (2013) point out that there is no typical urban–rural gradient of ES provisioning nor a uniform urban spatial pattern of ES provisioning. What is more, Grêt-Regamey et al. (2020) highlighted that ES supply is highly dependent on the urban form and there is no simple linear relation between ES supply and green area coverage. They also highlight the importance of trees for supporting regulating ES in built-up neighbourhoods. Similarly, studies of Larondelle and Haase (2013) showed that even core cities with a high degree of imperviousness do not necessarily provide fewer ES compared to their regions because of presence of mature trees which contribute to ES. However, the regulating ES bound to trees and forest cover are higher outside the city boundaries. The local zoom-in is particularly important for more densely built-up areas. Zwierzchowska et al. (2021) found at a local scale of multifamily housing areas a variety of green space types and solution that can improve nature-based outdoor activities. They also highlight that the potential of GI to provide ES is not yet fully used.

The above discussion indicates that both quantitative and qualitative approaches to GI need to be taken into account while studying ES resulting from mixture of green and man-made infrastructure of different composition and configuration. This chapter aims to present the variety of GI and its ES at the background of the spatial structure of the city on the example of Poznań. First, we consider the diversity in the distribution and structure of urban GI from the dense centre to rural-like suburbs. Then, we discuss the social perception of GI and its ES based on the existing case studies covering different types of GI – urban parks, river valley, and post-industrial revitalized area.

Fig. 18.1 Distribution and diversity of green infrastructure of Pozna<sup>ń</sup>

### 2 Study Area

We have analysed GI and its ES based on case study of Poznań in Poland (Fig. 18.1). The city is 0,5 M inhabitants and covers an area of 262 km2 . It is an interesting example, as the city structure was shaped through the different periods of time reflecting various patterns of development and respecting wedge-ring green system shaped from XIX century and preserved in large part in plans since 1930s. The ES of Poznań are subject of various studies and were one of the case studies within the 4th Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services (MAES) report concerning urban ecosystem (Maes et al., 2016) as well as EnRoute City Lab (Maes et al., 2019). Currently Poznań is a front runner city in the project Connecting Nature (within European Union Programme Horizon, 2020) focusing on multiplication of naturebased solutions.

### 3 Methods

First, the quantitative GIS analysis has been applied to diagnose distribution and diversity of GI along urban core and rural-like suburbs in the administrative units functioning for local decision-making. The analysis was based on BDOT10k<sup>1</sup> database (2019) and Urban Atlas<sup>2</sup> (2018), which provide relevant land use and land cover data. The data were processed using ArcGIS 10.5.1 software. The distribution and diversity of GI have been analyzed within three main urban zones including: (1) core zone – representing historical areas characterized by dense development of tenement houses and urban villas; (2) inner suburbs – covering development areas around the city center, including both multi-family and singlefamily housing estates from the twentieth century; (3) outer suburbs – peripheral areas consisting of single-family housing estates and new multi-family buildings in a mosaic with industrial and agricultural areas.

Secondly, we applied quantitative and qualitative assessment of social perception and demand for ES based on a comparative analysis of surveys conducted among users of various GI categories in Poznań (Table 18.1). Data for the analysis were obtained from available original datasets supplemented with data from journal articles and theses. The scope of the individual surveys was subordinated to specific research objectives concerning ES. Hence, in spite of different sources, the questions in the surveys are partially convergent, while in some respects, they differ. On the one hand, this creates an opportunity to identify general patterns of ES for the city, and on the other hand, to show some specific aspects for GI sites located in different spatial, ecological and social conditions.

### 4 Results and Discussion

#### 4.1 Distribution of Green Infrastructure in Urban Zones

In general, distribution of GI in Poznań reflects the spatial structure of urban-rural gradient (Fig. 18.2).

The core zone is predominantly characterized by high share of built up area at the level >70%. Inner suburbs show the built-up areas between 27 and 71%, while outer suburbs are in general less built-up (<35%). In the peripheral zone only few

<sup>1</sup> BDOT 10 k, (2019). Polish official land cover classification according to Regulation of Minister of Infrastructure and Development from 17 November 2011 concerning database of topographical objects and database of general geographic objects and standard cartographic works (Dz.U. 279 poz. 1642).

<sup>2</sup> Urban Atlas, (2018). European Environment Agency, Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry (DG-ENTR), Directorate-General for Regional Policy, Retrieved May 13, 2019 from http://www. eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/

Table 18.1 Surveys concerning ES of green infrastructure in Pozna<sup>ń</sup>

administrative units are characterized by higher rate of built-up. Share of GI in urban core is lower than in other parts of the city (below 30%), however, there are some exceptions, where despite densely built-up higher share of GI is observed. These are areas that benefit from the city's green wedge-ring system that is based on the physiographic conditions of Warta River Valley and its' tributaries. The wedges run from suburbs through the centre of the city and are supplemented by the ring of greenery of the historical fortifications (including Citadel Park). Green infrastructure is more abundant in suburbs, while in the outer suburbs the share of agriculture land is visibly higher than in other zones of the city. The preliminary mapping and assessment of provisioning and regulating ES in Poznań has been presented in

Fig. 18.2 Share of the main types of land use in basic administrative units by urban zones

Zepp et al. (2016), underlying connectivity of urban ecosystems and its richness in peripheral areas. The distribution of the main ecosystems forming wedge-ring system mirrors their crucial role in supplying regulating ES such as potential cooling effect at the city scale (Maes et al., 2016). However, more detailed view is needed to

Fig. 18.3 Diversity of the green spaces and its distribution by urban zones

capture and assess the diversity of GI and its potential to deliver ES on the local level (Zwierzchowska et al., 2021).

Green infrastructure varies across the urban zones (Fig. 18.3). Urban green dominates in the core zone and is also the most abundant type in the inner suburbs. The core zone and the inner suburbs are also more rich in green spaces associated with public spaces and residential areas (multi-family estates). In contrast, forested areas are the most extensive type of GI in the outer suburbs, still present in the inner zone, but absent from the core zone. Different pattern is visible of the green spaces associated with the agriculture land. The largest share of this type of GI is in the outer zone, but thanks to the location of Warta river in the city centre it is also present in the form of a riverside grassy areas in the core and inner zones.

#### 4.2 Social Perception of Green Infrastructure and Its Ecosystem Services

The surveys have showed that – regardless of the location of GI site in the urban tissue – their users attach the greatest importance to its cultural ES. Among the benefits of cultural ES, the most important were those related to outdoor recreation and aesthetic values of the landscape (Stępniewska, 2021; Stępniewska & Abramowicz, 2016; Stępniewska & Sobczak, 2017; Zwierzchowska et al., 2018). Findings for the cities around the world confirm the importance of cultural services of urban GI (e.g. Bertram & Rehdanz, 2015; Sirina et al., 2017; Swapan et al., 2017). The results of the surveys concerning GI and its ES in Poznań show that regulating ES are less obvious to the citizens (Stępniewska, 2021; Stępniewska & Abramowicz, 2016). In the case of Szachty – respondents perceived only improving the quality of air (Stępniewska & Abramowicz, 2016), while in Citadel Park – reduction of air pollution, improvement of acoustic climate and microclimate regulation, as well as provision of habitats for bats (Stępniewska, 2021).

As an important reason for choosing the urban GI as a place of rest and recreation, the respondents usually quoted its high accessibility. Direct vicinity of GI with housing estates, well-developed road network, including bike paths and the proximity of the public transport stops make urban green and blue spaces relatively easy to reach (Stępniewska & Abramowicz, 2016; Stępniewska & Sobczak, 2017). The accessibility to GI is inevitably a crucial factor that influences the flow of ES, however, the power to attract visitors vary among green spaces. These differences are visible between urban parks of inner suburbs. As much as 79.6% of respondents visiting B. Chrobrego Park (local park) came from the park's service zone of 800 m (Zwierzchowska et al., 2018). Warta Park is used mainly (62%) by visitors coming from a distance up to 900 m (Sławuta, 2019). However, in the case of the Sołacki Park (representative city park), 85.4% of respondents came from areas more distant than 800 m (Zwierzchowska et al., 2018). The proximity to green spaces encourages as much as 88.2% of visitors of Szachty in outer suburbs and only 16% of respondents visiting the Warta River Valley. Those results indicate that representative GI located in the core zone or inner zone is accessible not only for the local community but also for visitors from more distant areas, while GI of outer suburbs can be recognized as less accessible.

Ensuring sufficient green spaces is particularly challenging in the densely built-up city's core zone. The survey conducted among inhabitants of Old City revealed that the vast majority of the respondents notice the shortage of green spaces associated with housing and street-side greenery. That corresponds with a high (over 75%) percentage of build land development of the overall area and only several small public squares and green spaces associated with housing (lawns, trees, playgrounds, etc.) in the tenement backyards (Poniży et al., 2017). However, at the same time, 53% of respondents assess that there is a sufficient area of urban parks (which inhabitants use most) within a 800 m buffer zone (Poniży et al., 2017), which mirrors the location of elements of city's green wedge-ring system. Deficits in the quantity of GI in strongly urbanized core zone cause that even unspectacular bluegreen spaces arouse a feeling of beauty and pleasure (Sławuta, 2019; Stępniewska & Sobczak, 2017) due to their perceived naturalness, the presence of greenery and wildlife. As it was highlighted by one of the visitors to the Warta River Valley in the centre of Poznań: 'Yeah, it's just a bit of water and greenery, but still it's in contrast to the overwhelming concrete' (Stępniewska & Sobczak, 2017).

Comparison of green space users' common activities (Table 18.2), shows that in general most frequent way of interacting in nature is walking (47.6%), meeting with other people (33.3%), getting sun or fresh air or passive rest in nature (30.1%), observing nature (23.9%), picnicking or barbequing (18.9%), and cycling,

18.2Themostfrequentactivitiesreportedbygreenspace

18 Green Infrastructure and Social Perception of Its Ecosystem... 229

(continued)

Table 18.2

(continued)

therefore the percentages do not sum up and can exceed 100%. In italics – most frequent answers in each case study

aOld City – activities conducted often; Warta River Valley – floodplain – 3 most frequently reported activities; Citadel Park – the most common purpose of visit; Wartą River Valley – Warta Park – activities reported as very frequent or frequent; B. Chrobrego Park and Sołacki Park– activities conducted always or often; Post-industrial area of Szachty – activities conducted at least several times a week;

bSport in general rollerblading, skateboarding, etc. (15.5%). In the core zone, there is a clear distinction between representative green spaces such as Citadel Park and Warta River Valley and local green spaces. The former is mostly used as places for a walk or social meetings with particularly popular picnicking or barbequing. For inhabitants of the old city, the green spaces in the core zone serve predominantly as a place for enjoying fresh air and walking. High engagement in children's outdoor activities is also characteristic. In comparison to other urban zones, visitors of green spaces from the inner zone more frequently appreciate passive rest as well as doing sports such as cycling, rollerblading, skateboarding, etc. They also put the highest attention to observe nature. In outer zone, Szachty are most frequently used for enjoying the fresh air and walks and valued for landscape and nature.

Anthropogenic contributions influence the possibility of interaction with ecosystems (Costanza et al., 2014). For this reason, the structure and level of ES do not depend only on natural capital, but also on the site arrangement. The results of the surveys from Poznań show preferences of citizens regarding GI development focus on improving the conditions for recreation. Insufficient infrastructure for leisure and recreation is one of the most important factors which according to the respondents limits the green space usage in each considered urban zone.

The value associated with experiencing cultural ES and the related use creates a strong pressure on the urban GI. The trade-offs between cultural and regulating ES are not perceived at all or are hardly perceived by citizens. Threats to GI related to the intensification of its recreational use concern not only sites located in core zone (Stępniewska & Sobczak, 2017), but also green spaces outside the city center (Abramowicz & Stępniewska, 2020).

#### 5 Conclusions

Our findings highlight that although distribution and types of GI vary among the main urban zones, the inhabitants appreciate the GI and its CES regardless its location in the urban tissue. The common finding from the analyzed surveys on GI is the inhabitants' perception of mainly cultural ES and the expectation of further development of infrastructure enhancing recreational opportunities. That expresses the need for contact with nature despite its character and highlights the importance of accessibility to green spaces as well as need for enhancement of their recreational ES.

The composition and configuration of GI elements and its usage contribute to the complex trade-offs between cultural and regulating ES. Therefore, it is necessary to undertake a place-based analysis of the effects of various development scenarios, which will allow to optimize the decisions made in relation to individual GI sites.

Ensuring equality of accessibility to urban GI and its capacity for providing a bundle of ES requires ES-oriented planning. In Poland, planning arrangements made at the local level have the largest influence on spatial changes (Stępniewska et al., 2017). Therefore, the local government has basic tools that can be used for balancing land use decisions toward sustainable ES provision. However, the implementation of available tools is often voluntary, not imposed by law (Zwierzchowska et al., 2021). Shaping GI towards provisioning of a wide range of ES should take into account the diversity of its quality, spatial composition and configuration, as well as residents' demands and perception.

In the case of Poznań, the urban core zone is characterized by a limited number of small green spaces although they are relatively rich in urban recreation facilities. Therefore, the informal green spaces (especially along Warta River Valley) and parks in the core zone are of particular importance for inhabitants. In turn, in the inner suburbs there is a high potential in parks and neighbourhood green spaces. As for the outer suburbs – they are abundant in forests and agriculture areas, although not equally distributed.

The GI development in the dense urban core should include revitalization and multiplication of small-scale interventions such as nature-based solution (NBS) with the preferences to include trees in the urban fabric. Activities around GI in inner suburbs should focus on maintaining its existing resources (including avoidance of over-compaction) and improving its multifunctionality. With regard to outer suburbs, the combination of reasonable density of development with protection of existing green spaces and its connectivity from transformation is the key issue.

The findings of the study can provide valuable support in developing policies aimed at ensuring the continuous provision of all ES of GI that are key to the maintenance of resilience and vitality along gradient of core-peripheral urban areas.

#### References

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

### Chapter 19 Accessibility to and Fragmentation of Urban Green Infrastructure: Importance for Adaptation to Climate Change

Ieva Misiune and Justas Kazys

Significance Statement Urban green infrastructure (GI) is one of the key strategies to respond to environmental problems. It helps to support biodiversity, adaptation to climate change and ensure the provision of ecosystem services (ES). Scientific literature suggests that there are thresholds for minimum viable green area patch sizes. Besides the size, accessibility is another important factor for the supply of ES. This work assesses how demand and accessibility can be improved addressing fragmentation of GI in Vilnius, Lithuania. The analysis shows that climate adaptation policy should guide the development of GI addressing simultaneously the demand of ES and fragmentation of the GI, for instance, by reconnecting existing natural areas in this way increasing accessibility and reducing the risk of further habitat fragmentation.

Keywords Urban green infrastructure · Ecosystem services · Fragmentation · Accessibility · Climate change adaptation

### 1 Introduction

Healthy ecosystems can support biodiversity and provide a range of ecosystem services (ES) important for human well-being, enhance resilience and adaptation to climate change. It is especially important in urban environments as over half of the world population lives in the cities raising an enormous pressure on the natural environment (United Nations, 2019). Since urban population continues to grow, the pressures and the demand for healthy ecosystems and their services increase as well.

Urbanization causes environmental problems, such as urban heat island (UHI) effect, increased runoff due to impervious surfaces, change in biodiversity when non-native species change native species and the level of their diversity, and increased production of carbon dioxide (Bryant, 2006). Additionally, urbanization

Institute of Geosciences, Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
I. Misiune (\*) · J. Kazys

causes fragmentation and homogenization of the landscape's diversity and, thus, contributes to the decrease in habitat diversity (Antrop, 2004). Ultimately these problems contribute to more severe consequences of climate change and deteriorating quality of life.

Urban green infrastructure (GI) is one of the key strategies to respond to the pressures, including climate change, and to support biodiversity as well as ES provision in urbanized territories. GI is a network of (semi-) natural areas which can help in mitigating the impacts of urbanization and deliver different environmental, socio-cultural and economic benefits (EC, 2013). A number of documents at European level address the ecological problems in cities and the need to improve the quality of life of its citizens (EP, 2013/2663 (RSP)). GI is acknowledged as being an important strategy for the effective solutions and for the implementation of EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020.

Strategies for optimal design of GI could provide climate-related benefits such as microclimate regulation, air purification, reduction of carbon emissions, precipitation and runoff regulation. For UHI reduction trees are seen as the best microclimate regulation option (Venhari et al., 2017; Balany et al., 2020). Studies dealing with urban forest impacts on microclimate regulations found that older and larger trees have greater benefits for cooling and air pollution reduction. Venter et al. (2020) identified negative correlation between land surface temperatures to tree canopy cover and vegetation greenness in Oslo (Norway). Nastran et al. (2019) defined that higher proportion of forest, higher largest patch index and higher proportional landscape core are associated with a lower UHI in the cities of new EU members. Even very small parks that are heavily forested can produce greater cooling effects than parks or lawns with grass only (Jaganmohan et al., 2016). Although even small green spaces can decrease the temperature, most of the studies indicated that the larger the park (>3 ha), the stronger the effect (Venhari et al., 2017). Thus, the extent and type of GI areas are more important than the typology of urban development in which urban greening strategies are located (Jaganmohan et al., 2016).

For sustainable city planning it is important to know the demand of urban ES and if public urban green spaces (UGS) can meet it. At the same time, it is essential to ensure an effective planning of GI with healthy and resilient ecosystems that provide the key urban ES and can help adapting to and mitigating climate change effects. Thus, this analysis provides insights on how the demand can be addressed reducing the fragmentation of the major GI elements – urban forests and UGS – in Eastern European capital Vilnius, Lithuania. The work focuses on the social demand using population data and accessibility to GI using a spatial analysis approach. Further, fragmentation examination allows to identify the areas of GI that can address better the demand and at the same time has a high improvement potential. Some planning recommendations are provided at the end.

### 2 Materials and Methods

#### 2.1 Study Area

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania situated in the southeast of the country with over 561,000 inhabitants. It is the only growing city in the country with an intensive internal rural to urban migration. Regardless of an ongoing urban sprawl, a large share of the city is covered with green infrastructure. Public UGS, which are intensively used (having recreational infrastructure) and extensively used UGS (without infrastructure) cover over 3300 ha (8.25%) of the city. Urban forests cover over 13,450 ha (33.55%) and are open to people for recreational use. Altogether these elements of GI make up 16,758.66 ha (42%) of the city municipal area. Additionally, 2385 ha is covered by allotment gardens, agricultural areas and water bodies, which are the elements of GI. These territories, however, not always are accessible publicly, thus, were not included in the analysis. Nearly 39% of the territory is urbanized with 12% (4709 ha) having impervious surfaces (Fig. 19.1).

Neris, the second longest river in the country, flows over the whole town from its North to South. The richness of green spaces like urban parks, forests and protected areas as well as the water bodies provide a multitude of ES to the residents of Vilnius city. Based on GreenMatch's findings, however, the surface temperature in Lithuania has increased the most compared to other 31 European countries, with an increase of 0.325 C per decade. Years 2019 and 2020 were the hottest throughout the instrumental measurements (since 1770). During the first two decades of the twenty-first century compared to the twentieth century, the average air temperature in winter and spring became warmer by 1.6 C, in summer by 1.4 C, and in autumn by 1.3 C. No significant trends have been observed in the sequence of annual precipitation (since 1887), but in recent decades' precipitation has increased in the cold and decreased in the warm period. This is due to the prevailing marine air masses in warm winters and a more frequent recurrence of anticyclonic processes in summers (Bukantis & Kažys, 2020).

#### 2.2 Dataset and Methods

The dataset of urban GI for the study area was prepared according to the latest Vilnius city master plan (V-Planas, 2020). Official municipal data on land use with 15 land use types, location and number of inhabitants was acquired from the city municipality.

The main components of urban GI in Vilnius are: intensively used UGS (having more recreational infrastructure, like benches, playgrounds and other), extensively used UGS (usually without recreational infrastructure), urban forests and water bodies, which only partly included in the analysis. Allotment gardens and agricultural areas are important for GI connectivity in the city, however, these territories are

Fig. 19.1 Green Infrastructure of Vilnius city. Source: own elaboration based on the land use data from Vilnius municipal plan. (V-Planas, 2020)

not public and thus will not be included in further analysis. All mentioned green spaces compose a network of (semi-) natural areas which provide different ES and ultimately helps mitigating the impacts of urbanization, like air pollution, urban heat-island effect and others. Different urban GI areas can provide different ES, however, the size and the type of the green space is a decisive factor for the capacity of the ecosystem and its potential to adaptive climate change effects.

Scientific literature has a choice of indicators dealing with ES demand. Many approaches use comparative methods and define several indicators, based on provision or accessibility to GI. Social demand for urban ES was assessed using population data – inhabitant number living in each apartment building or private house within the city limits – and it was calculated using a kernel function.

In this study, we defined access a maximum 300 m linear distance to the boundary of urban green space of a minimum size of 1 hectare (10,000 m2 ) as recommended default options for the indicator (Annerstedt van den Bosch et al., 2016). Distance of 300 m and the size of the green space are suggested to serve as a proxy measure for assessing public accessibility to urban green spaces.

Fragmentation of urban GI was assessed using The Landscape Fragmentation Tool (LFT), which provides a method to quantify landscape fragmentation (Parent & Hurd, 2008). The tool classifies a land cover type of interest (in this case urban GI) into four main categories:

The classification of pixels is based on studies of forest ecology, which have found that the size of forest patch impacts its viability in terms of supporting wildlife. Larger areas are more likely to support greater numbers of interior species and as it was discussed in the Introduction it also helps to adapt to climate change more effectively. All geospatial and geostatistical analysis was performed using ArcMap 10.7.1.

### 3 Results and Discussion

#### 3.1 Addressing the Demand by Fixing Fragmentation in the Study Area

The results of the assessment in Vilnius are presented in Figs. 19.2, 19.3, 19.4 and Tables 19.1 and 19.2. As one may see the highest demand of ES are in the center and the west of the city (Fig. 19.2). These territories have the highest number of people usually living in multistorey houses with no gardens or private backyards. It is important for them to have a good access to UGS so to avoid severe climate change effects or for recreational purposes.

The analysis shows a spatial disproportion of GI (Fig. 19.1) and demand of the UGS (Fig. 19.2) which is a serious issue for supplying ES in Vilnius. The demand for the UGS greatly correlates with the values of territorial index of matter artificiality found by Jukna (2014). Maximum values of this index are dominant in greatest matter artificiality core territories of cities with very high building density level.

Fig. 19.2 Demand of the UGS in the study area based on inhabitants' location

Vilnius characterized by a greatest diversity of technogenisation area types, which can be seen through the whole city's structure, also in the center of it (Jukna, 2013). The areas of the highest demand of UGS are related to processes of massive industrialization and urbanization during the communist period, massive urban transitions in the post-1990 period and the changing occupational structure and an increase in social inequalities since 2001 (Valatka et al., 2015).

Geospatial analysis of urban GI shows gradient change in its fragmentation. This obviously depends on the dispersion of GI within the city limits. In the city center urban GI is most fragmented and has the smallest patches, which are scattered in the territory. Patch is considered a small isolated fragment of forest or other type of GI that are completely degraded by "edge effect". The core elements of GI increases with the distance from the city center as urban forests are mostly at the far north and south of the city. However, these core areas are affected by forest pixels along the edge of an interior gap in a forest ('Perforated' in Fig. 19.3) that are degraded by "edge effects".

Fig. 19.3 Fragmentation of urban GI in the study area

Looking at the share of different fragmentation units of the GI one can see that core forest areas over 202 ha make up almost half of the GI in Vilnius (Table 19.1). These territories, however, are at the outskirts of the city and do not address the demand, which is concentrated in the city center. Another important insight is that one quarter of the GI territory is considered as degraded by the "edge effect" (Edge in Fig. 19.3).

Even though Vilnius has a lot of green spaces, fragmentation shows that ES related to the microclimatic and air quality are hardly accessible in most central parts and could become even less accessible in the future due to climate change higher average temperature and the higher magnitude and recurrence of extreme events such as heat waves. The probability of temperature extremes generally increases non-linearly with increasing global warming levels. The most recent research showed that, compared to the historical climate, warming will result in strong increases in heat wave area, duration, and magnitude. These changes are mostly due to the increase in mean seasonal temperature (Vogel et al., 2020). In Lithuania, the annual average temperature could increase from 1.5 to 5.1 C (depending on different emission scenarios) until 2100 (Keršytė et al., 2015). The temperature changes could be slightly higher according to the newest CMIP6 project modelling results (Tebaldi et al., 2021). Moreover, future climate change could intensify UHI

Fig. 19.4 Accessibility to: (a) urban forest; (b) intensively used UGS having recreational infrastructure; (c) extensively used UGS without infrastructure

Table 19.2 Number of people living 100 m and 300 m from the closest GI, including water bodies

effect and warming will probably be equivalent to about half the warming caused by climate change by the year 2050 (Huang et al., 2019).

There is not a lot of evidence about UHI magnitude in Vilnius. However, some studies revealed the existence of this phenomena. Mažeikis (2013) used Enviro-HIRLAM numerical weather prediction model and found the differences in meteorological parameters (air temperature, wind speed, precipitation field) in the urbanized areas in Lithuania (Vilnius case study). Higher anthropogenic heat flux sums up to higher sensible heat flux and it means that the energy available for UHI formation near surface air is higher. Urbanavičiūtė and Bukaintis (2020) found that the average monthly air temperature (2012–2017) measured at Vilnius University meteorological station (located in the city center) at all times of the year were 0.8–1.54 C higher than temperatures recorded in suburbs (Trakai Vokė and Civil Aviation meteorological stations). The highest UHI magnitude values are reached in warm season (May-September). In most cases, UHI effect persisted not only during the day, but also at night time.

The higher magnitude of recurrence of heat waves, UHI effect with a combination of air pollution (mostly of traffic) could cause serious health, social and other problems in central parts of Vilnius, which lacks GI. Venter et al. (2020) identify the increase of health risk threshold in Oslo (Norway) during the summer (>30 C) while each city tree was replaced by the most common non-tree cover. In Vilnius, heat related mortality could increase from 7 deaths per year in 2015 up to 46 deaths in 2100 if there would no adaptation and reduction measures implemented (Martinez et al., 2018). Pfeifer et al. (2020) indicated that heat and heat waves lead to an increase in mortality in Nordic climatic region, despite these countries having low average temperatures, suggesting that relatively high temperatures as compared to more normal temperatures may be of importance.

Accessibility visualizations in Fig. 19.4 show the access to different types of GI. It is no surprising, that intensively used UGS having recreational infrastructure, like benches, lights or playgrounds (Fig. 19.4b) are concentrated in the areas with the highest demand (Fig. 19.2). However, these are usually small fragmented patches having low capacity to provide regulating ES related to climate adaptation. There are much less people that has access to the core areas of GI or other type of GI (Table 19.2).

The Fragmentation map of urban GI (Fig. 19.3) illustrates that the most core elements could not support ES functions, such as microclimatic regulation and air purification in the place with highest demand (Fig. 19.2); in Vilnius, the accessibility to forests (Fig. 19.4a), which could fully support these functions, are lower than 50% (Table 19.2). Moreover, the accessibility to water bodies, which could additionally improve microclimate regulations, is even more limited (Table 19.2).

The expansion of perforation zones (Perforated in Fig. 19.3) could be related to extensively used UGS without infrastructure (Fig. 19.4c). Even though now the accessibility to extensively use UGS is limited (Table 19.2), it could trigger the collapse of core components as a result of the growing demand of its usage in the future. Therefore, the situation in perforation zones should be monitored and maintained to prevent the loss of core elements in Vilnius.

#### 3.2 GI Planning for Effective Adaptation to Climate Change

Urban green cover in Vilnius can be improved in different ways. First of all, improving connectivity between existing elements of urban GI by preservation of green corridors and connection of patches identified in the fragmentation analysis. This helps to counter fragmentation and increases ecological coherence. Identifying multifunctional zones is another effective technique for GI development. Territories that support healthy biodiverse ecosystems and at the same time encompass compatible land uses such as recreation, forestry or farming. Such territories should become a backbone of the urban GI from the city center to the outskirts. Nevertheless, there are two noticeable problems in the city: lack of core elements and over exploitation of them. Even though the percentage of accessibility to intensively used UGS is high (Table 19.2), most of these UGS are recognized as patches in Fragmentation map (Patch in Fig. 19.3). In the future, planners should include more core elements in the most demanding districts in Vilnius. Foremost larger GI elements would serve for climate adaptation. Second, it would benefit the city dwellers as they tend to look for larger green spaces to have longer and more diverse physical activities that the small parks and gardens even with recreational infrastructure cannot support. It means that the demand for larger spaces in central parts of the city (like Vingis park, Karoliniškės landscape reserve, Neris river embankments, etc.) will grow. It is even more important if the pandemic lockdown situation recurs in the future as now a lot of citizens spend their time in the biggest intensively used UGS in the city center. The overexploitation of these core elements could lead to a loss of the core functions in the future.

Urban GI is currently receiving growing attention from urban planners and policy makers as an important strategy to reduce heat related effects in the cities (Balany et al., 2020; Venter et al. 2020). From a policy standpoint, tree protection standards can greatly reduce UHI (Sung, 2013). Urban GI inclusion into urban spatial panning and policies are seen as a key to success. A proper identification of climate change risks and threats would allow effectively plan land use or operational regimes. Thus, the interest of city dwellers and the principles of climate change adaptation must be addressed in municipal spatial planning documents. However, there are limited policies for urban GI of climate mitigation and adaptation in Lithuania. Kilpys et al. (2017) provided the recommendations for climate change mitigation and adaptation for municipalities. Recent Vilnius city master plan (2021) briefly indicates several measures, including nature based solutions for climate change adaptation. The development of GI, therefore, especially in high demand areas, should be better addressed by policy makers and urban planners for effective adaptation policies.

### 4 Conclusions

The large part of Vilnius territory covered by GI and makes the City to be seen as "a green city". However, the largest part of the 'core' (>202 ha) vegetation areas, which are essential in securing ES supply (microclimatic regulation and air purification), are located in the outskirts of the city. The quarter of city area, instead of creating 'core' and 'patch' fragments, is indicated as 'edge' territories. This fragmentation and unequal distribution of urban GI affect the demand and accessibility of ES. Now there is a great dislocation of GI accessibility and areas with higher demand of UGS and so of ES in Vilnius City. The disproportion of demand and accessibility will raise due to climate change processes (e.g. UHI) and continuing fragmentation of GI. Moreover, the absence of proper climate change adaptation regulations could bring more severe challenges for the city in the future.

### References

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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### Chapter 20 Social Demand for Urban Wilderness in Purgatory

Shadi Maleki, Jason P. Julian, Russell C. Weaver, Christina Lopez, and Mike Kraft

Significance Statement In a rapidly urbanizing world, urban wilderness areas offer unique opportunities to connect with raw nature. After examining social demand for urban wilderness in one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, we found that high levels of naturalness positively influence visitors' use and perception of natural areas. Age and youth experiences with nature were the most significant, positive correlates with perception of wildlife. Regardless of race/ethnicity, income, and education, visitors recognized the importance of wildlife in urban wilderness. Overall, this study found that social demand for urban wilderness is a multidimensional balance between natural amenities and cultural conveniences. This knowledge is useful to city planners to properly plan and protect the natural areas within urban environments.

Keywords Parks and protected places · Natural areas · Urban green space · Perceptions and preferences for wildlife · Cultural ecosystem services · Urban wilderness · Social demand

### 1 Introduction

Urban green spaces are vegetated lands within a city designed to improve public welfare. Wilderness areas, by contrast, are natural lands "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by [humans], where [a human is] a visitor who does not remain" (Wilderness Act, 1964). While there is no universally accepted

S. Maleki (\*)

J. P. Julian · C. Lopez · M. Kraft Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA

Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
R. C. Weaver The ILR School, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

definition for urban wilderness, it commonly refers to an undeveloped area (save natural surface trails) within city limits that is large enough where human activities are not seen or heard. With a minimum human imprint, urban wilderness areas offer unique opportunities for a proximal population to connect with raw nature and engage in primitive recreation (Nash, 2014).

While numerous studies have examined the effects of urban green space on physical and mental wellbeing, far fewer studies have explored social demand (i.e., use, perceptions, preferences, and values) for urban wilderness. This chapter presents a case study to assess the use, perceptions, preferences, life experiences, and sociodemographic characteristics of visitors to Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA), a large urban wilderness with high levels of biodiversity and natural amenities located in San Marcos, Texas, USA (Fig. 20.1). Urban wilderness demand was explored, emphasizing users' perceptions of wildlife and solitude as elements of wilderness. The guiding research question of the study was: "What sociodemographic characteristics are associated with perceptions of and preferences for wildlife and amenities in PCNA?" Because experiencing "solitude and

Fig. 20.1 Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA) study area in San Marcos, Texas, USA. (Data for this map were obtained from the City of San Marcos, Texas Department of Transportation, and Esri base maps)

naturalness" are important aspects that distinguish wilderness from other types of urban green spaces (Nash, 2014), we set out to understand the extent to which users cite these characteristics as reasons for their use.

The benefits of urban wilderness and green spaces are wide-ranging and far-reaching. They benefit the environment on multiple fronts by mitigating the impacts of urbanization on climate and ecosystems (Kubiszewski et al., 2017). Cultural ecosystem services (CES)—non-material benefits such as environmental education, spirituality, recreation, aesthetics, and stress relief—stemming from nature-human interactions are also abundant in semi-natural areas within cities (Campbell et al., 2016). Following a positive feedback loop, CES encourages the use of and support for parks and natural areas; however, challenges remain for including these non-material benefits in the planning and management of urban natural areas (Dickinson & Hobbs, 2017). Perceived ecosystem services can vary based on the geography of place and different landscape settings. Educational background and professional roles have also been found to influence social demand. Individuals whose work is related to the environment are more likely to display a stronger preference for natural settings (Eriksson et al., 2012). Further, people with previous nature experiences, especially during youth, often show a higher preference for wild elements (Jay & Schraml, 2009).

People tend to relate CES to their individual wellbeing and, based on their perceptions and experiences, assign diverse aesthetic, social, and cultural values to green spaces (Ives et al., 2017). Most people agree that the value of a protected area increases with its naturalness level; however, discrepancies were found between actual preferences for wilderness among those with different cultures and environment-related attitudes and experiences (Buijs et al., 2009). Sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and education are among the most studied factors that influence perception and preferences for natural landscapes within an urban setting (Misiune et al., 2021).

The main characteristics associated with wilderness tend to be the absence of human influence and economic exploitation. However, Bauer (2005) notes that (1) such spaces are difficult if not impossible to find in or adjacent to cities, and (2) users often express a desire for so-called wilderness areas to provide amenities (e.g., fireplaces, trash bins, benches, parking lots) that are at odds with the aforementioned conditions. In other words, while users' preferences for wilderness over the built environment are well-documented (McMahan & Josh, 2017; de Groot & van den Born, 2003), the dissonance between these preferences and the simultaneous demand for built amenities are not well understood. Our case study adds new insights into this balance by asking users of a unique urban wilderness area, among other things, why they choose to use the study area and what, if any, amenities they would like this area to offer. This knowledge is useful to city planners who may not be aware of visitors' preferences for and benefits of natural areas.

### 2 Methods

#### 2.1 Study Area

The urban wilderness area we examined is the ~500-ha Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA), located within the city limits of San Marcos, Texas, USA (Fig. 20.1). PCNA comprises three separately named tracts, but they are contiguous and thus treated as one natural area. At the time of our study, there were three main public entrances: Prospect Park (at the dead-end of a minor residential road), Upper Purgatory (at the dead-end of a service road along a tertiary road), and Lower Purgatory (at the intersection of two major secondary roads). Prospect Park is the original natural area developed in the 1990s, with additional contiguous parcels added later (San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, 2017). PCNA contains approximately 17 km of natural surface trails that visitors use to engage in various activities such as walking/hiking, running, mountain biking, bird watching, and dog walking. Figure 20.2 shows natural landscape and the types of amenities present in PCNA. Purgatory Creek, a large ephemeral stream, runs through the natural area and recharges the Edwards Aquifer, one of Central Texas's major water resources. The fluvial ecosystem and its surrounding woodlands provide habitat for numerous species, including the apex predator mountain lion and the federally-protected

Fig. 20.2 Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA) landscape. (Photos a, b, c, d show the natural landscape and the types of amenities present in PCNA. All photos were taken by C. Lopez)

Golden-cheeked Warbler (Duarte et al., 2016; Groce et al., 2010). PCNA is co-managed by the City of San Marcos (CoSM) and the nonprofit San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance (SMGA).

San Marcos is a college town and rapidly growing city (2017 population of 65,000) located along the Interstate-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, two of the fastest-growing large cities in the USA. San Marcos is also a tourist destination. Each year, approximately 14 million people visit the San Marcos Premium and Tanger Factory Outlets shopping center, and over 100,000 flock to the San Marcos River's recreation areas (Greater San Marcos Partnership 2020). Because PCNA is embedded in a dynamic and urbanizing region, its relative absence of human influence and extensive spatial footprint make it unique within the region and place it in high demand.

#### 2.2 Survey Instrument

The survey design was based on the authors' previous studies on social demand for ecosystem services in natural areas (Castro et al., 2016; Julian et al., 2018), which were an expansion of the social preference framework of Martin-Lopez et al. (2012). Surveys were conducted at the three public entrance/exit points from June 2016 to April 2017, during different days of the week and over the full range of daylight hours to have a sample that represented the full suite of users and uses of the natural area. Visitors who appeared to be 18 years or older and who were leaving the area were approached and invited to participate in a brief survey about their use, preferences, and perceptions of PCNA. Participants completed a 22-question survey in 10 min or less. No incentives were offered for participation in the survey.

The survey instrument used a combination of multiple-choice, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions to collect information about natural area use, access, childhood nature experiences, sociodemographics, and the primary focus of this research: perceptions of nature and wildlife. To evaluate the perception of wildlife, the survey asked participants to rate the statement: "having birds and wildlife in the parks I use is important" on a five-level Likert scale from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." The survey instrument contained two other Likert-scale questions to further explore participants' preferences for nature: (1) their preferred amount of people in the park when visiting and (2) the likelihood they would visit the park if it became crowded (Manning et al., 2009).

Moreover, following Kaplan (1985), this study analyzed nature preference/perception by examining how the environment is experienced. For this purpose, the survey included two open-ended questions. The first such question asked participants to name the amenities they wished to see added to PCNA. The second question sought information on participants' motivations to visit PCNA. To further explore human-environment relationships, our survey included two questions on childhood nature experiences related to environment raised (urban, suburban, rural) and time spent outdoors (regularly, occasionally, rarely, never). The survey also collected sociodemographic information on age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, occupation, and student status.

Demand for green spaces and nature, more broadly, beyond PCNA, was examined through multiple questions about general park use and preferences. The survey respondents were asked how often they visit any natural area and why. Proximityrelated questions asked participants about their current residence and mode of transportation. Finally, visitors were asked a close-ended question, on a scale from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree," on whether park space and trails in their city/ town meet their current needs.

#### 2.3 Data Analyses

The survey instrument was designed to include a mix of closed- and open-ended questions. The analysis was performed in three steps. The first step was exploratory and summarized the descriptive statistics of respondents' characteristics. In the second step, non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests and post hoc pairwise Wilcoxon tests (when required) were employed to test hypotheses related to respondents' perception of nature and wildlife. Finally, we engaged with responses to two open-ended questions that explored motivations for visiting PCNA (Why did you come to this park today instead of others?), and their preference for any further amenities in the park (What other amenities, if any, would you like to see added to this park?).

#### 3 Results and Discussion

#### 3.1 Visitor Sociodemographics

A total of 391 surveys were collected from visitors to PCNA, mostly at the Lower Purgatory entrance (n ¼ 304), which is the most popular among the three entry/exit points, followed by Upper Purgatory (n ¼ 66), and Prospect Park (n ¼ 21). Most visitors were current Texas State University students (65.5%), followed by former students (27.4%). The strong presence of university students and graduates largely explains visitors' age makeup, as more than half of respondents were under 25 years old (50.3%) while another quarter was between the ages of 25 and 34 years old (24.9%). More than 7% of the visitors were over 55 years old. A majority of respondents were white (66.1%) and male (54.6%), with a significant fraction of visitors (22.9%) reporting Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. Most visitors were raised in a suburban environment (58.7%), while 30% were raised in a rural environment and only 11% in an urban environment. The vast majority of the respondents had regular outdoor activity during childhood (86.9%). Only 2.1% reported never or rarely spending time enjoying outdoor activities during childhood and adolescence.

#### 3.2 Natural Area Use

More than half of the respondents said that they visit PCNA one or more times per month: 29.4% make one to three visits per month, while 24.6% visit the park weekly (Table 20.1). Another 26% of respondents reported making between two and eleven visits to PCNA per year, while the remaining 17.1% visit once per year or less frequently. With respect to any natural area (i.e., other than the PCNA), park, or trail, a large majority of respondents (71.7%) claimed to visit such places on at least a monthly (29.2%) or weekly (42.5%) basis. This park/natural area visitation frequency is comparable to a similar study in Vilnius, Lithuania (Misiune et al., 2021). In the second half of Table 20.1, observe that the majority of survey respondents agree (69%) or strongly agree (6.2%) that the parks in their city or town meet the current level demand therein. However, 11.4% disagree, and 2.3% strongly disagree with this statement.

Table 20.1 Visitors' use of Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA)

#### 3.3 Urban Wilderness Perception

While we can debate the definition of urban wilderness, it is generally accepted that it provides favorable habitat for wildlife (Nash, 2014). Almost all of our survey respondents (95.6%) agreed that having birds and wildlife in PCNA is important. An urban wilderness is also perceived as a refuge to find alone time, experience restoration, and recover from the stresses and fatigue associated with an urban lifestyle (Campbell et al., 2016; Stigsdotter & Grahn, 2011). Accordingly, this study found that most respondents wished to experience nature in relative solitude. Indeed, 82.4% preferred to see no or only a few people in the natural area during their visit (Fig. 20.3), and almost half (44.3%) would stop visiting PCNA if it became crowded. On the other hand, almost half (44.6%) would visit PCNA even if it became crowded (Fig. 20.4).

Using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test in conjunction with posthoc Wilcoxon pairwise tests, sociodemographic data (independent variables) were tested against respondents' perceptions of birds and wildlife (dependent variable) to understand the importance of characteristics that might speak to PCNA's wilderness qualities to different users (Table 20.2). Before unpacking these results, observe that we were forced to combine some groups due to low observed frequencies in some categories.

#### 3.3.1 Age

Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed significant differences in the importance of birds and wildlife to respondents by age group (p ¼ 0.026). While the median rank for all age groups was 5 (indicating high importance of birds and wildlife to all groups), post

hoc Wilcoxon pairwise tests suggested that the distributions of responses differed for younger and older visitors. Specifically, visitors 45 years and older placed higher importance on having birds and wildlife in the park relative to younger respondents. The mean ranks for persons aged 45–54 and 55+ were both 4.81. These values were significantly higher than the mean rank of 4.51 for persons 25 years and younger.

#### 3.3.2 Environment Raised and Childhood Outdoor Activity

Youth experiences in nature-based activities have been shown to have a positive relationship with adult environmental attitudes (Jim & Shan, 2013; Julian et al., 2018). From our study, we also found that regular childhood outdoor activity positively influenced the perception of wildlife. Perceived importance of birds and wildlife to the PCNA differed significantly by the amount of childhood outdoor activity (p <sup>¼</sup> 0.020) and marginally significant (p <sup>¼</sup> 0.068) by type of environment (urban, suburban, rural) in which a respondent was raised. The median rank of 4 among respondents who "occasionally" engaged in outdoor activities during childhood was significantly lower than the median rank of 5 for those who regularly experienced an outdoor activity as a child.

With respect to youth environment, at a 90% level of confidence, visitors who grew up in an urban environment placed significantly less importance on the

Table 20.2 Relationships between sociodemographic variables and perception of wildlife ("Having birds and wildlife in the parks I visit is important")

presence of birds and wildlife in a natural area (median ¼ 4) compared to persons who hailed from suburban and rural communities (median ¼ 5 for both groups).

#### 3.3.3 Education, Income, Race/Ethnicity/Origin

Unlike previous studies, which found that use of and preferences for green space varied among people from different racial/ethnic groups (Payne et al., 2002), and with different levels of education and income (Jim & Shan, 2013), this study did not find any significant differences in how people perceive the importance of wildlifebased on their race/ethnicity/origin, educational level, and income class. Regardless of any of these factors, the survey respondents positively valued the existence of wildlife and other nature elements in wilderness areas.

One difference that our study did show was that age could influence the perception of wildlife, as younger visitors demonstrated lower awareness compared to older visitors. This finding supports a previous study that found age to be an influential factor in nature perception, where older people assign greater importance to experiencing wildlife in urban green spaces (Sang et al., 2016).

#### 3.4 Motivations for Natural Area Usage

As in previous studies (Paul & Nagendra, 2017; Campbell et al., 2016; Misiune et al., 2021), proximity to the green space was the most frequently mentioned factor (n ¼ 127) that motivated respondents' visits to PCNA (Fig. 20.5). Indeed, most of the survey respondents lived in San Marcos or came from nearby towns. Some participants cited the size and quality of trails (61) as reasons for using PCNA rather than other nearby parks. Some respondents mentioned that they visit the park to engage in activities such as walking, running, biking (46), or walking their dogs (14).

Two main themes emerged from survey responses, which provided insight into respondents' perceptions of natural and anthropogenic amenities. The first concept was "naturalness" (12), expressed with various terminologies such as "natural," "raw nature," "natural landscape," "rugged," and other statements used to describe their preference for a more natural landscape. Respondents also used "scenery" (6) through various expressions to show their appreciation for naturalness's aesthetic value. The second theme that arose from survey responses was "solitude" (19), expressed through words such as "quietness" and "secluded."

#### 3.5 Preference for Amenities

Despite a strong consensus on the importance of having wilderness elements in natural areas, our qualitative results indicated what visitors wanted to see in wilderness areas (e.g., trash bins, benches, camp-fire places) is not well-matched with

Fig. 20.5 Visitors' motivations for visiting Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA). (This word cloud was generated using Wordle.net)

Fig. 20.6 The most desired amenities by visitors in Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA)

typical characteristics of a wilderness (Bauer, 2005). The interpretive analysis of 102 total comments identified several amenities that survey participants most desired (Fig. 20.6). Trashcans were at the top of the list (n ¼ 72), followed by water fountains (63), improved signage (53), better trails (42), and benches (13). Some people asked for picnic areas (3), and only two people asked for a larger parking lot. Many asked for dog water fountains and waste bags (23). Several respondents stated that they like the park as is and did not desire any changes. In these 16 comments, respondents said either they "loved" the park or it was their favorite.

### 4 Conclusions

The Purgatory Creek Natural Area (PCNA) case study shed light on the complex social demand for urban wilderness, including how that wilderness is used, perceived, preferred, and valued. The findings buttressed the widely accepted notion that high levels of naturalness—rare within urban settings—positively influence visitors' use and perception of natural areas in cities. Age and youth experiences with nature were the most significant, positive correlates with perception of wildlife and nature in PCNA.

Our study also showed that visitors from different races/ethnicities, income, and education levels agreed on the importance of wildlife and relative solitude in the selected urban wilderness. However, there were some mismatches between what visitors valued of urban wilderness (i.e., raw nature) and what amenities they desired for that same urban wilderness (e.g., trash bins, signage, benches). To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of visitors' perception and preferences of urban wilderness, there is a need for further studies that involve participants with more diverse sociodemographic characteristics. Understanding users' perception of urban wilderness is essential for managing and protecting these unique spaces as well as increasing awareness about the importance of wilderness areas within urban settings.

Overall, this study found that social demand for urban wilderness is a multidimensional balance between natural amenities and cultural conveniences. While in Purgatory, we want to be cleansed (of urban stresses), but we do not want to suffer too much in the process. Place-based studies, like this one, in a wider variety of environments are needed to shed more light on social demand for urban wilderness to promote a healthy balance between people and nature in an ever-urbanizing world.

### References

Nash, R. (2014). Wilderness and the American mind. Yale University Press.

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### Chapter 21 The Role of Allotment Gardens for Connecting Nature and People

Petra Schneider and Tino Fauk

Significance Statement Allotment gardens (AG) are valuable elements of communities that provide substantial ecosystem services. An AG as a type of community garden is a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening or growing food plants. Beside the provision of urban ecosystem services, AG's deliver an ecological potential to habitat connectivity in the urban realm as well a substantial contribution to human health. The role of AG's in the frame of urban ecosystems is manifold and multifunctional. Beside their purpose for food production and recreation, AG's offer crucial benefits for public health and wellbeing, social inclusion, environment, and as cultural archive. Their intrinsic purpose is connectivity, for habitats, people, ecosystem services and circular flux management. The contribution is based on a literature review supported by a field survey that was performed in the period 2017–2020 in Ecuador, Germany, Sweden, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Keywords Urban gardening · Green infrastructure · Habitat connectivity

### 1 Introduction

Allotment gardens (AG) have a long tradition. Nowadays an AG is considered as a type of community garden, a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening or growing food plants. In countries under development they are conceived as "gardens for the poor", as an important motivation was selfsufficiency through the cultivation of fruits and vegetables (Gusted, 2017). In any

Allotment Garden Association Schnarsleben e.V., Niederndodeleben, Germany

P. Schneider (\*)

Department for Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
T. Fauk

Department for Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany

case, AG are a location of social interaction, and increasingly are recognised as biodiversity hubs in Green Infrastructure (GI). GI describes a strategically planned network of natural and near-natural areas with different natural features on different scales. In this respect, the GI represents a new planning approach for landscape architecture, which is based on a comprehensive and sustainable view of nature and the landscape. In addition to ecological, socio-cultural, aesthetic and economic aspects, diverse socio-political goals such as climate change, biodiversity or social cohesion are integrated into the concept. These biotope networks are intended to preserve biodiversity on the one hand and to strengthen and regenerate ecosystem functions and the potential for providing ecosystem services based on them on the other. The main aim of this contribution is to have a look at AG and their GI potential. This concerns several questions, like in which way AG might be part of urban biodiversity networks, their contribution in terms of ecosystem services and which role AG may play in nature conservation, restoration and habitat connectivity in the long term.

### 2 Materials and Methods

The present research is based on a qualitative literature review through the Web of Science and other scientific research platforms like Scopus and Google Scholar supported by field survey evidence. The literature review focused on AG's as such, their history and traditional role for food supply for the poor, and their recently transformed role as GI element including. The field survey was performed during excursions with collection of qualitative information in the period 2017–2020 in Ecuador, Germany, Sweden, Uganda, and Vietnam (countries in alphabetic order). Several types of stakeholders where consulted during the field surveys, particularly random AG gardeners from the mentioned countries, complemented with information from local communal and academic stakeholders. Interviews with gardeners comprised the topics of garden size, mode of cultivation, role of biodiversity, role of environment and health, as well as their opinion on the role of AG's as GI. The survey included from five (Sweden, Uganda) to ten (Ecuador, Germany, Vietnam) stakeholders per country. Literature review focused on a qualitative approach, quantitative data from the literature were used to support the drawn conclusions.

### 3 The Role of Allotment Gardens Around the World

#### 3.1 Dimension and Purpose of Allotment Gardens

Having a look on the dimension and purpose of AG's, country specific diversity becomes already obvious. The Cost Action TU1201 defined AG's as 'small plots of urban land allocated by local authorities to households who are interested in producing their own vegetables' (Veen, 2014). Veen (2014) underlined that the international termination differs in terms of the AG characteristics, and they are different from community gardens where people do not have individual plots. According to Guitart et al. (2012) community gardens refer to green spaces for mainly horticultural uses, which are run by local communities in urban areas including communally and individually managed or rented plots of land. AG's are also different from urban agriculture, which is practised on larger scale and commercially. As documented by Veen (2014), a Norwegian dictionary defined AG as a "collection of small garden plots, 150–300 square meters, outside the owner's domicile, usually on rented, most often municipal land". Sovova and Veen (2020) investigated Dutch and Czech AG's and found an AG size in The Netherlands of 100–500 m<sup>2</sup> , as well as in Czech Republic of 200 and 240 m<sup>2</sup> . In Germany, the size is limited to 400 m<sup>2</sup> , and the only permanent building in the AG may be a bower that is not used for living. Also, the Polish Allotment Garden Act contains restrictions regarding the bower (Moskalonek et al., 2020). The AG dimensions were confirmed in the field surveys.

In the Global North, importance and function of urban AG has repeatedly undergone major changes, particularly in the last decades. As a place with an existential and health promoting function more than 200 years ago, AG's were transformed recently into the main leisure and recreational facility in the urban realm that serves social interaction (Moskalonek et al., 2020). AG's became substantial GI part, representing harnessed nature that is used infrastructurally (Benedict & McMahon, 2012). Meanwhile, particularly in European cities, their leisure and recreational value is more important than an economic benefit (Moskalonek et al., 2020).

However, the AG history shows, that in economically difficult times the practical use becomes more important. This is also the case in developing countries where AG's still have a crucial food security function and serve families with low incomes (Khalil et al., 2017; Singh & Singh, 2017), as is illustrated in the example from Uganda (Fig. 21.1). Khalil et al. (2017) defined small-scale food producers as smallholders and summarised that they are taking the bottom 40% of the (i) operated land size, (ii) the Tropical Livestock Units and (iii) the distribution of

Fig. 21.1 AG's in Uganda. (Photo: Petra Schneider)

revenues. Particularly in economically less developed countries of the Global South, AG's are usually used by individuals or families, even families might support each other (Singh & Singh, 2017). In a later stage of development, there is a trend of transition from cooperation to cooperatives, as was illustrated in an investigation in Benin by Houessou et al. (2019). Do to the extreme climate in Africa, AG's are often practised as agroforestry in order optimise the water balance and to protect the soil from evaporation in a hot climate (Lorenz & Lal, 2018) (Fig. 21.1, left).

Water retention systems, trees for shadow, or frost protection systems are typical AG elements differing according to climate and biogeographical zones. Furthermore, urbanisation, growing population and community development have an impact on AG's structure and size. Roberts and Shackleton (2018) found a clear decline in most community food garden attributes in South Africa between the 1980s and 2000s, which refers to the number of gardens per town, the total area of all gardens combined and the mean size per garden with a maximum garden size loss in King Williams Town by 77%. Trembecka and Kwartnik-Pruc (2018) argued that also in European countries the number of AG's is decreasing due to increasing property prices, except Austria and Germany where the AG's are located on municipal land and are under special protection.

#### 3.2 Allotment Gardens for Health and Wellbeing