Land Use Significantly Affects the Distribution of Urban Green Space: Case Study of Shanghai, China

Abstract

Urban green space distribution has been extensively investigated; however, few studies have examined how these distributions are linked to anthropogenic activities at very fine scales. Here, the authors investigated the spatial variations of green space among different land-use categories within the city of Shanghai at the city, inner-outer ring road, and district scales. Land-use patches were delineated from aerial photos, and green coverage was derived from advanced land observation satellite (ALOS) imagery. Green space composition and configuration were then calculated for each land-use polygon. New residential, old residential, villa residential, industrial, and institutional were the five dominant land-use types. At the city level, green space coverage and configuration varied significantly among different land-use types. Villa residential had the highest green space coverage (67.63%), followed by institutional (38.81%), new residential (27.64%), industrial (27.54%), and old residential (16.79%). At the inner-outer ring and district levels, green space variation was consistent with the spatially changed anthropogenic activities. This study highlights the importance of considering anthropogenic impacts on green space planning and management.