The Importance of Green Spaces in Urban Planning

Green spaces, as an urban planning tool, is more than the spaces designed for social activities and human interactions such as parks, gardens and sport reserves. By definition green spaces are the spatial networks used by urban planners that link green belts of the urban landscape, which can create a new green identity for cities. Green spaces are integral to a city's network of green elements by increasing interactions between 'green' and built-up city components as well as defending existing green spaces from fringing infrastructure.

Green Spaces in the city of Munich cover 21% of the inner city and city fringe.  It is a booming city, and so one of the greatest challenges of green space loss is from infill densification in residential areas. Source: Mun-eco

Green Spaces help encourage residential interactions.

Green spaces have a multitude of key ecological and human values such as;

• Increases rainwater infiltration that would otherwise contribute to run-off pollution from urban hard surfaces.
• Improve air quality.
• Regulate the urban micro-climate.
• Facilitate biodiversity through corridors and connecting cities to a larger ecosystem.
• Green belts aid to contain urban growth and can play a role in urban renewal.
• Improve aesthetic values.
• Increase social control and safety, including reduced crime.
• The relationship between people and nature through active or passive activities affects our moods, well-being, activities and emotional health.



Here is a corridor between a residential block and a kindergarden and is home to various birds, squirrels and hedgehogs in the city of Munich.

Green spaces are significant to the sustainability of a city but the promotion and conservation of green spaces are dependent on the co-operation between stakeholders, from the decision-makers to the local resident. A consensus on what green spaces mean need to be clearly established between stakeholders as individual perception will influence whether a space is used or not. Enabling partnerships must be fostered by planning authorities, who should develop their own standards at a local level. This way the perceptual relationship of nature in cities, rather than nature outside of cities, will develop and aid in integration of design. The collation of an information database can then be shared between planners. If planning policies are able to satisfy local needs then green spaces in cities will support a higher quality of life for its citizens.