Volume 508, 1 March 2015, Pages 395–401
A framework for rating environmental value of urban parks
Highlights
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- A model has been been developed for rating the restorative value of urban parks.
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- Surveys were conducted into the appreciation of parks in the city of Rotterdam.
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- Urban value of parks depends on intrinsic qualities and distance to surroundings.
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- The model can be useful to epidemiologists in studies into health effects.
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- The methodology supports urban planning aimed at good environmental quality.
Abstract
In
this study, indicators are proposed to characterize the intrinsic
environmental properties and external value of urban parks. The
intrinsic properties involve both acoustic factors and non-acoustic
factors, such as visual aspects and size. To assess external value, the
restoration level is defined, which measures the nearby presence of a
quiet, ‘green’ area at residential areas outside parks. The restoration
levels of green areas are based on intrinsic properties and the
distances of each dwelling to urban park areas. The overall
environmental value of a park, the group restoration level, is defined
as a logarithmic summation of the restoration levels over its
surrounding residential areas. Restoration levels were determined for
sixteen public parks in the city of Rotterdam and compared with survey
data from questionnaires. Results show that the investigated parks
display a large variation in the group restoration level levels, mainly
due to differences in size and average noise levels. To validate the
proposed method, survey data from questionnaires are investigated as to
correlation with restoration levels.
Keywords
- Noise;
- Environment;
- Soundscape;
- Restoration;
- Parks
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
