Space Accessibility and Equity of Urban Green Space

Abstract

Urban green space is an essential form of infrastructure for cities, providing a significant spatial guarantee for sustainable urban development, an essential ecological, social, and cultural function, and an important symbol of urban modernisation and civilisation. However, with the development of cities, urban problems are becoming more serious, such as the increase in impervious surfaces and urban heat islands and the decrease in urban green space and liveability. Therefore, this study integrates the theories and methods of landscape ecology and spatial syntax with GIS technology to construct a comprehensive model for examining the spatial accessibility of green spaces based on remote images and landscape pattern indices, using Fuzhou City as the study area. The study then incorporates demographic variables to explore the characteristics of an equitable distribution of urban green space at the street scale. The results show that the accessibility of green space in the urban areas of Fuzhou decreases from the centre to the periphery. From north to south, there is a trend of ‘low-high-low’, with the northern region exhibiting the lowest accessibility, followed by the southeastern region, and then the western region. In terms of spatial equity in green space, Fuzhou has a more significant share of surplus green space provision, both in terms of the number of streets and area. This shows that the surplus of green space in Fuzhou is greater than the deficit and that the distribution of space is fair. We hope this study will not only help people gain a deeper understanding of green space but also provide a reference for their rational planning and management, thereby improving the accessibility and equity of urban green space as well as their quality and configuration. We also expect it to provide valuable theoretical and technical support for the planning of ecological functions and sustainable development.