The survey and cataloguing of public-use green spaces in the City of La Plata, Argentina

Abstract

This study is part of the UNLP-accredited research project "Landscape as a mitigating factor in the socio-environmental degradation in the La Plata Region". In this context, public-use green spaces are strategic spaces to be studied because they naturally attract the population; have been an inherent part of the structure, morphology and urban landscape since the founding of the city of La Plata; and based on their vegetation, constitute a fundamental and characteristic element of the landscape, a basic component for life. This article proposes the development of a methodology for cataloguing public-use green spaces that includes urban, social and landscape dimensions through the incorporation of key variables. These dimensions enable the creation of a methodological base capable of integrating interdisciplinary issues, which differentiates this from other research and aims to build new ways of knowing and operating in the built environment. This study made it possible to spatialize green spaces on a map made from the city of La Plata fieldwork. Areas devoid of green spaces were identified, that is, outside the range of coverage. Likewise, it was possible to integrate the results in a data matrix and analyze the relationship between the number of inhabitants and the square meters of green space available by zones, considering the WHO recommendation that indicates a minimum of ten square meters per inhabitant.