Sei sulla pagina 1di 9

Review of Literature ______________________________________________

Kowarik (1990) examined that the urban flora and vegetation respond sensitively to man-made disturbance. For most parts of the central European landscape, human impact has been recognized as the most important influenced on the composition of the flora and vegetation during the last 5000 years. The effects of mans activities can be analyzed nowhere better than in large cities and their surroundings. Stulpnagel et al (1990) proved that the problems of the towns and cities can only be solved if due consideration is given to both ecological and social requirements. Ecological criteria should serve primarily to make clear to people what the consequences repercussions of their actions may be for their environment, the society and for themselves. Nature in the cities should be preserved and developed to provide a basis for people to develop direct contact with the natural elements of their environment. Sampson et al (1997) evaluated parks and described their tangible contributions to youth development, employment opportunities, and public health, parks help build and strengthen ties among community residents by bringing people together, including those who are otherwise divided by race or class, and by helping they work together on common projects. These ties often labeled social capital represent subtle but important assets for a community. They provide avenues through which information, values, and social expectations flow, and they empower people to tackle communitywide problems, embark on collective actions, and advocate effectively for

their community. The promise of social capital as a vital ingredient in neighborhood health rests on a solid scientific foundation. Recent research demonstrates, for example, that a neighborhoods collective efficacy peoples connections with one another and their capacity to work together to achieve shared goalscan reduce crime and disorder, even in very poor communities. Bolund et al (1999) studied the green areas which have become a fundamental

element in the towns and cities. Squares and urban parks occupy restricted areas in the cities, and are considered like a public utility. Initially, these green areas were related only with aesthetic and climatic aspects, but slowly started having a more expressive meaning with the recognition of their ecosystem services, mainly associated with air filtration, microclimate regulation, rainwater drainage, noise reduction, and recreational and cultural values. Shaheen et al (2002) made a study design to understand the perception of community about the under developed green space, to find out that, how community participates in the development of green space. Their study was conducted in Madina Town, Faisalabad. 100 respondents having residents of Madina Town were randomly selected. Majority of respondents were in favor of green spaces alongside the roads because there are some economic, social environmental benefits associated with the development of the green space and majority of the respondents were agree that they will be financially contribute for the development of green spaces. Hope et al (2003) examined that cities represent extreme cases of human influence on ecosystem function and provide unique opportunities for integrating humans into

ecology. Spatial variation in plant diversity has been attributed to heterogeneity in resource availability for many ecosystems. However, urbanization has resulted in entire landscapes that are now occupied by plant communities wholly created by humans. Hence in and around cities, plant diversity may reflect social, economic, and cultural influences as well as those recognized by traditional ecological theory. Chiesura (2003) identified that international efforts to preserve the natural environment are mainly concerned with large, bio-diverse and relatively untouched ecosystems or with individual animal or vegetal species, either endangered or threatened with extinction. Much less attention is being paid to that type of nature close to where people live and work, to small-scale green areas in cities and to their benefits to people. Increasing empirical evidence, however, indicates that the presence of natural areas contributes to the quality of life in many ways. Besides many environmental and ecological services, urban nature provides important social and psychological benefits to human societies, which enrich human life with meanings and emotions. Levent and Nijkamp (2004) found that urban green spaces play a key role in improving the livability of our towns and cities. The quality and viability of cities depend largely on the design, management and maintenance of urban green as well as on open and public spaces that make up an important social constellation and offer a visual representation of urban quality. Urban green spaces are a nice example of positive environmental externalities and play a key role in improving the livability of our towns and cities. The quality and viability of cities largely depend on the design, management and maintenance of urban green as well as on open and public spaces with a view to their social, ecological and visual functions. The quality of green spaces helps to

enhance the identity of towns and cities, which can improve their attractiveness for living, working, investment and tourism. Therefore, urban green can positively contribute to the competitiveness of cities. Walker (2004) stated that parks have long been recognized as major contributors to the physical and aesthetic quality of urban neighborhoods. But a new, broader view of parks has recently been emerging. This new view goes well beyond the traditional value of parks as places of recreation and visual assets to communities, and focuses on how policymakers, practitioners, and the public can begin to think about parks as valuable contributors to larger urban policy objectives, such as job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community building.

Chiesura (2004) discussed that less attention is being paid to that type of nature close to where people live and work, to small-scale green areas in cities and to their benefits to people. Increasing empirical evidence, however, indicates that the presence of natural areas contributes to the quality of life in many ways. Besides many

environmental and ecological services, urban nature provides important social and psychological benefits to human societies, which enrich human life with meanings and emotions.

Maas et al (2006) examined that the percentage of green space in peoples living environment showed a positive association with the perceived general health of residents. People with a greener environment within a 1 km or 3 km radius around their homes have better self perceived health than people living in a less green environment.

The effects inside a 1 km or 3 km radius were equally strong, and it is only in the very strongly urban areas that the proximity of green space becomes more important. The amount of agricultural and natural green in the living environment was positively related to perceived general health. They hypothesized that the relation between green space and health would be stronger for people who are assumed to spend more time in the vicinity of their homes.

Berg et al (2006) studied that urban green space is under strong pressure due to increasing urbanization, combined with a spatial planning policy of densification, more people face the prospect of living in less green residential environments. Especially people from low economic strata, without resources to move to greener areas outside the cities, will be affected. This may lead to environmental injustice with regard to the distribution of (access) to public green space. Policy makers tend to view green space more as a luxury good than as a basic necessity, and appear to overlook the potentially important effects of green space on health, well-being, and safety. It is vital that these findings become implemented in urban planning and design. At present, however, there is not sufficient knowledge to translate findings into guidelines for urban planning and design. In particular, little is known about the strength of the relationships, possible social differences, and the spatial conditions that promote beneficial effects of nearby nature. Aldous (2006) examined that from earliest times, human beings have had an association with the natural green space in the urban landscape. Not only have humans benefited from these natural green spaces for food, clothing and medicine, but natural

green space has also enriched the daily lives of men. Although the importance of this relationship has long been recognized, it is only in recent times that an attempt was made to understand this relationship in the form of a people-natural green spacelandscape paradigm and the impact that natural green space has on human behavior and well being. Cranz (2006) studied that the most important lesson in park history is that form always reflects immediate social goals, an ideology about order, and an underlying attitude toward the city. Park history can be divided into periods, but no model has died out. Rather, each new one has emerged alongside earlier models so that at any given point in time we can find examples of several types. Playgrounds, for instance, were tucked into pleasure grounds. A consequent temptation is to take an eclectic view of park purpose and design those results in a hodgepodge of elements from each model. Because no one is sure what parks are for and whom they should serve, park planners tend to favor a scattershot approach in the hope of covering the most bases. A closer look at our own era might crystallize park policy based on contemporary needs. Balancing all our needs will yield a park model appropriate for us and us alone. Jim and Chen (2008) worked on the urban vegetation increasingly contributes to nature conservation and ecosystem services, but lacking understanding of site variations has restricted such uses. He analyzed the spatial pattern and differentiation of tree communities in three major green landscape types (urban parks, riverside parks and street verges) in Taipei city. Significant recent increase in Taipei's green spaces was traced. His research contained 164 plant species, but few were shared by the three landscape types and none by 30 communities. Native evergreen broadleaf species with

large final dimensions were dominant. Urban parks registered the highest species richness, landscape fidelity, rare species and urban endemics. Pronounced species differentiation between urban parks reflected diversified site topography, natural woodland inheritance, woodland creation, and past landscape fashion. The findings could inform management of urban forest, urban nature conservation, and ecological services of urban green spaces. Yamamoto (2008) examined that most large cities in Asia have an extraordinarily high development density compared with their counterparts in Europe and North America. An acute lack of green space in the metropolitan areas in Japan in particular has given rise not only to problems in land use but also to deterioration of the quality of the urban environment. Quite apart from the problem of environmental conservation, green spaces fulfill a number of diverse functions, and thus constitute one of the most important elements in urban areas. Lortie (2008) described that Toronto is the most urbanized city in Canada. Development within urban areas often comes at the cost of plant and animal diversity. Therefore, sustainable practices must include the assessment and management of biological diversity within the urban context. A simple positive remediation of negative development effects could be privately owned residential gardens that comprise a significant proportion of most cities in North America. Private urban gardens and public parks were sampled in Toronto to assess plant diversity, structure, and spatial pattern. Urban gardens significantly enhanced local and regional plant diversity patterns. Spatial contiguity was important and human demographic factors impacted diversity levels and management choices.

Goncalves (2008) examined that green spaces are regarded as essential elements in urban sustainable development, performing diverse social, environmental and economical functions. Moreover, they are key elements in the urban structure, as they can act as important elements of equilibrium in the balance with landscape natural or semi-natural elements. Bragana, a Portuguese middle size city, took an important step forward by developing a local Green Plan. Although this kind of initiative has significantly grown over the last decade, differences approaches can be identified. Mahassine (2008) studied that reintegrating human civilization with the natural world is the challenge of our times. The crises of climate change and species extinction reveal our responsibility for planetary health. Over half of humanity now lives in cities. Healthy cities, like vital biological systems, depend on diversity within the context of an evolving future. We encourage fertility and creativity by increasing nature's presence and role in the urban environment. Softening the hard edges of the city helps us to reclaim our humanity and our communities through reconnection with life. Training people as stewards who foster and maintain urban biodiversity can also revitalize inner city economies. Surface Area Vegetation has the potential to be a pivotal component of urban renewal. Baycan et al (2009) studied that green spaces, such as parks, are an essential constituent of urban quality of life. It is noteworthy, however, that some cities have been more successful in implementing a green space policy than others. They aims to assess the complex and heterogeneous supply of urban green spaces by means of a multidimensional evaluation approach, and to compare the `green performance' of European cities in terms of the present situation, priorities in decision making and

planning, and their success level as evaluated by experts in the field. They examines urban green spaces from the viewpoint of relevant indicators, in particular `quantity and availability of urban green spaces', `changes in green spaces', `planning of urban green spaces, financing of urban green spaces' and `level of performance', on the basis of a comparison of 24 European cities. It deploys a proper type of multi-criteria analysis for mixed quantitative and qualitative information, coined Regime Analysis. A comparison of urban green spaces in European cities by means of this multi-criteria analysis brings to light the critical elements in green space availability and sets out choice directions based on priorities in decision making and policy evaluation. The results of this Regime Analysis show that when only the indicators on the availability of urban green spaces are used to assess the green performance with a view to a ranking of European cities, the Southern European cities are in the lead. However, when the planning performance indicators are also taken into consideration, the Northern European cities appear to have higher scores.

Potrebbero piacerti anche