Urban vegetation and the environmental health of sixteen global cities

Vegetation plays an important role in regulating the health of urban ecosystems (Sanders, 2004; Jim, 2004). Riparian zones, parks, nature reserves, and other forms of urban vegetation help minimize atmospheric and hydrologic pollution and reduce the urban heat island effect (Weng, 2003). In this study I used satellite imagery to classify and quantify vegetative cover for sixteen of the most populated cities on Earth. It was found that London England had the greatest percentage of urban vegetation with 53% while Karachi Pakistan had the least at 3.06%. The highest correlating physical variables with urban vegetation were year of origin (r² = -.602), population density (r²=.531) and latitude (r²=.215). Satellite imagery collected from NASA was analyzed to determine the percentage of vegetation cover in each of sixteen sample cities. The amount of vegetation recorded within the urban environments was dependent upon multiple variables. Climatic variables play a large role as habitat dictates vegetation cover. Physical independent variables including latitude, temperature, average annual rainfall, and elevation were tested for correlations with the dependent variable of urban vegetation. Further methods and analysis in this study include basic statistics, t-tests, and multiple step regression. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were utilized in this thesis to objectively measure vegetative and geographic variables within major global cities. Outside of physical variables, vegetation within the urban environment is largely determined by human decisions and behavior. Public planning, non-profit organizations, and private owners may have had more influence on the percentage of vegetation within urban environments than the restrictions of climatic variables. Further, the examination of physical and sociological variables in relation to urban vegetation is included in the discussion. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the academic field of geography specific to vegetation and environmental services in urban environments. Results may be a reference or guide to scholars, planners, developers, and residents of urban environments

Emerging issues in urban ecology: implications for research, social justice, human health, and well-being

Urbanization affects landscape structure and the overall human condition in numerous ways. Green spaces include vegetated land cover (e.g., urban forests, trees, riparian zones, parks) which play a distinctive role in urban ecology. This article reviews emergent literature on the linkages between urban green spaces, social justice, and human health. We explore this subject in the context of landscape structure, ecosystem services, and distributional equity as it relates to various health outcomes. Finally, we conclude by identifying gaps in the scholarship and potential areas of future research