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Morfologia e Biodiversidade nos Espaços Verdes da Cidade do Porto - Livro 1: Selecção das áreas de estudo - 2ª Edição, revista e aumentada.
... The city of Porto, in the littoral north of Portugal, comprises a diversity of PUGS scattered throughout the dense urban fabric, with a high variety of characteristics in terms of age, size, use, spatial quality, surroundings, and vegetation cover and structure (Farinha-Marques et al., 2014). This diversity is also found in the socioeconomic profile of Porto inhabitants (Alves, 2016), making this city a case study. ...
Public Urban Green Spaces (PUGS) play a vital role in the dense urban fabric as places of Nature-Society contact and socialization. Despite some advances in the field, the relationship between the PUGS surroundings and their users' behaviours remains unclear. This study examined the patterns of human behaviour in four PUGS of the city of Porto, on the north Portuguese coast, where the behavioural mapping method was applied. Observational data regarding 979 PUGS users' socio-demographics and behaviours were recorded on a base map and a grid between August and November 2020. The use patterns during different times of the day were disaggregated across behaviours and users' profiles, and their relationship with the surroundings and design elements was assessed with ANOVA, Chi-Square test, and Pearson correlation. The findings presented may pave the way for future studies and inform the urban planning and design of the effectiveness of new interventions, namely providing more accurate aligning between the greenspace design language with users' needs. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of considering the sociodemographic background of PUGS users and the surroundings to guide designers and planners.
... This is below the guideline proposed by the World Health Organization of 9.0 m 2 [46]. Farinha-Marques [47] identified and mapped 95 green spaces in the city which are fully accessible to the public and managed by the local authority. For this study, 25 urban green spaces were randomly selected to explore the biophilia hypothesis ( Figure 1). ...
This paper considers the relationship between biophilia and well-being in a sample of users of urban green spaces in the city of Porto (Portugal) as a case study. The biophilia hypothesis is explored through the responses of 131 participants in a survey. Users of urban green spaces valued their provision of quiet and shade, with a high diversity of plant species and tranquillity. The survey also found that being satisfied with urban green spaces enhances self-perceived health status, which means that being satisfied with a green space that fulfils users' expectations can be a way to improve well-being in urban areas. Creating stimulating regenera-tive urban green spaces offers the possibility to experience significant connections to nature.
... The first step in the elaboration of this database comprised the selection of a list of plant species. For that, we resorted to a previous work that assessed level of urban ecological novelty throughout 85 urban green spaces in Porto ( Fig. 1 ), belonging to three different urban green spaces categories: Parks and Gardens, Urban Woodlands, and Vacant Lands [2][3][4] . We selected 19 sites (out of a total of 85 urban green spaces) where the level of urban ecological novelty was higher, based on the Urban Ecological Novelty Index (UNI). ...
The database presented in this data article is related to the article “Adaptive planting design and management framework for urban climate change adaptation and mitigation” [1]. It includes a list of 287 plant species presently occurring in Porto, Portugal, more precisely in urban green spaces with high urban ecological novelty levels. The plant species in this list were classified and organized according to several traits with a particular focus on plant species’ adaptation, mitigation, and ornamental characteristics. Data collection resorted to articles, books, and various open access and online datasets. Data were organized in an Excel file that organizes information on more than 50 plant species traits/variables.
... However, several parks and public gardens are still scattered in the middle of the dense urban fabric, varying by to age, location, use, spatial quality, surroundings, size, green structure and equipment. According to the inventory realized by Farinha-Marques et al. (2014), 95 urban green spaces were identified in the city. Along with the green structure diversity, Porto inhabitants socioeconomic profile varies, being considered a mosaic because of their huge heterogeneity (Alves 2012(Alves , 2016. ...
Using the city of Porto, a medium-sized European city, as a case study, this contribution aims to explain how combining cluster analysis and behavioural mapping techniques may be useful for decision-making.
... A importância socioecológica destes espaços em contexto urbano é reconhecida pelo próprio município na revisão do PDM, sendo espaços ordenados e caracterizados por predomínio de vegetação, com acesso direto ao público e principalmente utilizados para fins recreativos, representando 13,7% da proporção de espaços verdes urbanos da cidade (Farinha Marques et al., 2018). Num outro estudo realizado na cidade do Porto (Farinha Marques et al., 2014) foram identificados 95 espaços verdes de acesso público: 74 parques e jardins e 21 praças ajardinadas. Uma vez que seria incomportável estudar todos estes espaços verdes de acesso público, procedeu-se à aplicação do Índice de Privação Socioeconómica e Ambiental Vidal, D. G., et al., Finisterra, LVI (116), 2021, pp. ...
The crescent population concentration in cities is recognized as one of the main contemporary challenges. It is in cities that social and environmental challenges are increasing, which implies a look at the sustainable urban planning. Urban green spaces play an important role in responding to such challenges, specifically through ecosystem services. Cultural services gain special importance, particularly in improving the mental, physical, and social health of its users. This work aims to examine the uses and perceptions of users of gardens and public parks in the city of Porto, as well as how these same spaces are meeting their needs, establishing a relationship with their location considering greater or lesser socio-economic and environmental deprivation. A survey is being conducted to the users of 25 gardens and public access parks and a discussion on the preliminary results obtained (n=131) is proposed. The results provide a sketch of the profile of potential users of these spaces, besides revealing that the spaces of the city with greater socio-economic and environmental deprivation are perceived by their users as green spaces with lower quality. It is expected that the results can help to define attraction strategies for the green spaces of the city with lower
quality and in areas of higher deprivation.
... Municipal boundary of Porto and groups of parishes used in the pre-startification scheme developed for this investigation. The green infraestructure was used to subdivide each parish group in two substrata: GREEN and URBAN (source of municipal boundaries: CAOP 2013; green infraestructure adapted from[5]. ...
As one of the matrix elements of urban ecological structure, vegetation may play a major role in promoting ecosystem services (ES) proficiency through planting design. Although a few examples have explicitly applied the ES approach to urban planting design or to urban forestry, very few studies address how composition and configuration of urban vegetation affect ES proficiency, though this need has been identified. In this research, we investigate associations of socioeconomic indicators and structural variables in the urban forest of Porto (species composition, tree density, condition and maturity of specimens, among others). We also relate patterns of structural variables of urban forest of Porto with several regulating Ecosystem Services. The purpose is to assess and compare the relative ES proficiency of the urban forest among socioeconomic strata of Porto, in order to provide useful insights to urban planning, planting design and management.
Contemporary cities face socio-environmental challenges that, if not addressed, undermine their sustainability and the well-being of their populations. Nature-based solutions are internationally recognized as one of the most efficient long-term strategies. Among these solutions, the Urban Green Spaces (UGS), as bridges of connection between nature and the urban, assume themselves as places of socialization, physical, cultural, and recreational activity, in addition to being able to play a role in mitigating atmospheric pollution and the effects of climate change. Although there is a considerable amount of literature dedicated to these spaces, there is still a gap in how the potential of ecosystem services, preferences, motivations, and emerging relationships of their users are mediated, considering the surrounding socioeconomic and territorial profile. Taking as a case study the city of Porto, located in the northern region of the Portuguese coast, integrated into the second largest area of the country, which suffered a significant loss of urban green structure during the second half of the 20th century, this investigation aimed to understand how UGS are responding to contemporary socio-environmental challenges. Of the 95 UGS identified in the city, twenty-five were selected, to which a triangulation technique approach was applied, namely the construction and application of a grid to assess the potential of ecosystem services, the construction and application of a questionnaire survey to 131 UGS users and, finally, the mapping of the human behavior of 975 users in four of the 25 UGS. Through univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, and using SPSS, R, and ArcGIS programs, it was possible to respond to the objective of the present investigation. The results make clear a situation of environmental injustice in the provision of UGS in the city, considering that, in areas of greater socioeconomic deprivation, these spaces tend to have less potential for ecosystem services, in general understanding by users. To propose a typology of UGS, five groups were identified: environmentally capable and socially expectant spaces, socio-environmentally active spaces, environmentally capable but socially dynamic spaces, socio-environmentally neglected spaces, and socio-environmentally unexplored spaces. With this proposal, it becomes possible to identify the dimensions that most need intervention, in addition to observing that the last two groups, with less potential for ecosystem services, are those that aggregate UGS that are in areas of the city of greater socio-economic deprivation. UGS are used to relax, socialize, and contact with nature amongst the dense urban fabric, in addition to promoting greater ecological awareness as the degree of attendance increases. The mapping of human behavior also revealed patterns and regularities between behaviors and the design of the UGS, as well as natural elements and urban furniture, contributing to a greater correspondence between human needs and space. In addition, the UGS with greater dynamism and frequency of users are in less deprived areas of the city. The answer to the objective initially proposed is that the UGS are responding to socio-environmental challenges at two paces: if, on the one hand, their socio-ecological potential is used by their users, on the other, not everyone benefits from them in an equitable way. The greatest expectation is that the results of this work can be a contribution to the definition of local strategies that enhance the ecosystem services of the city's UGS, providing equitable access for all to these spaces and satisfying the needs of their users toward green cities, fair and inclusive.
Public Urban Green Spaces (PUGS) are the main drivers for increasing the quality of urban environments, potentiating local resilience, promoting sustainable lifestyles, as well as improving both the health and well-being of their users. Municipal leaders are responsible for the maintenance of PUGS. However, current evidence identifies limited knowledge about urban green infrastructure governance since the lack of data about PUGS is the main obstacle to effective intervention. Set against this background, this study aimed to identify clusters of ecosystem services potential in 25 PUGS in the city of Porto, Portugal, through a validated tool application. Multivariate techniques allowed identifying predictor dimensions of ecosystem services potential: the environmental quality and facilities. Five PUGS clusters were validated: i) Environmentally Empowered and Socially Expectant Spaces, ii) Socioenvironmentally Empowered Spaces, iii) Environmentally Empowered but Socially Un-dynamic Spaces, iv) Socioenvironmentally Disempowered Spaces, and v) Socioenvironmentally Unexplored Spaces. This typology proposal brings to the discussion a possible solution for better qualifying these spaces, as it complements PUGS type with a socioeconomic and environmental characterisation. Furthermore, these results are useful in the design of place-based intervention in PUGS, contributing to the increase of ecosystem services potential and improving urban environment quality and sustainability.
Cities must be pleasant and healthy spaces able to contribute to ecosystems regeneration and to bring closer Humans and Nature. Contemporary social and environmental issues present big challenges to promoting sustainable and resilient cities. The potential of ecosystem services of the urban green spaces is visible in the regeneration of the urban environment, namely in the improvement of environmental and public health and social dimensions. This work presents the development and validation of a grid to evaluate ecosystem services of public urban green spaces. The grid was applied in 25 public urban green spaces in the city of Porto. Statistical tests were performed to evaluate the reliability and consistency of the tool. Results show that the grid is robust and reliable, thus its application is acceptable and could result in potential gains. These include the monitoring of ecosystem services of public urban green spaces to adjust them to citizen’s social and environmental needs, namely if the tool will be adopted by the municipal department of green spaces and infrastructure management of the city of Porto, Portugal.
The complex interaction of ecological and social systems has shaped the cities through the time. This fosters the need to develop interdisciplinary approaches to urban issues by combining natural and social sciences. Cities, as the predominant mode of social organization, are vulnerable to social and environmental challenges which urban green spaces (UGS) can contribute to solve by the ecosystem services (ES) that can provide. The objective was to assess the quality of UGS framed by the ES classification and relate with the provision of these services in areas of distinct socioeconomic and environmental deprivation. An evaluation grid was applied in 25 UGS in the city of Porto. Socioeconomic and environmental deprivation index applied by the Porto City Hall in the Municipal Master plan to divide the city into 5 clusters of deprivation was used to select 5 UGS of each cluster. In the most deprived communities, namely in clusters of high and very high socioeconomic and environmental deprivation, the quality of UGS is lower than in the less vulnerable ones. Besides this, it was found that some UGS located in clusters with higher vulnerability have an overall good quality, namely those located in historic and touristic areas of the city. The evaluation grid may be useful to the local authorities to diagnose, monitor and evaluate the ES of UGS and to identify situations of environmental injustice contributing to pursue the implementation of sustainable development goals at a local level.
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