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

Abstract

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.